A City Council committee voted unanimously on Monday to pay $260.8 million to resolve 16 federal lawsuits brought by 17 men who spent a combined 383 years in prison after convictions tied to evidence gathered by former Chicago police detective Reynaldo Guevara, according to WTTW News.
What the settlement covers
The oldest of the lawsuits was filed in 2019 and the newest in 2025, WTTW reported. The deal was negotiated under U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland. The city would pay in four equal installments, in April and October of 2027 and 2028, with the plaintiffs' law firm, Loevy & Loevy, receiving 40 percent, or $104.3 million, city lawyers said.
City officials said resolving the 16 cases would save between $300 million and $400 million in legal fees and likely verdicts. A city lawyer told the committee the settlement is in taxpayers' best interest. Another 41 cases naming Guevara remain pending, WTTW reported.
The detective
Guevara has been repeatedly accused of falsifying police reports, framing suspects and coercing witnesses, WTTW reported. He retired in 2005. A judge found in 2017 that he told "bald-faced lies" under oath, and he has invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination hundreds of times in court, according to WTTW.
WTTW reports Guevara is 80, lives in Texas and collects a police pension of $91,000 a year, about $1.5 million since he retired. Because he was never criminally charged while a Chicago police officer, any attempt to revoke the pension is expected to fail, WTTW reported.
The cost
WTTW reports the city has already spent at least $206 million to defend and settle 16 lawsuits naming Guevara. WTTW and the Chicago Sun-Times both report the Guevara cases now cost the city more than the cases tied to former Commander Jon Burge, which the Sun-Times puts at roughly $210 million in settlements, judgments, legal fees and reparations.
The mayor's budget forecast sets aside $401 million for lawsuit settlements in 2027, which WTTW reports is $226 million more than in 2026. The city faces a budget gap of about $882 million in 2027.
Our question
The settlement tops a quarter billion dollars for the cases tied to one detective. Should Guevara's pension be revoked, and should he face criminal charges? Tell us on TikTok, YouTube or Instagram, or write to contact@reofact.com.
Update, Oct. 14, 2026: The full City Council approved the $260.8 million settlement on Oct. 14, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Loevy + Loevy, the law firm representing all 17 plaintiffs, said the vote was unanimous.
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