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Chicago • Chicago's leaders took a step Wednesday typically reserved for nations trying to make amends for slavery or genocide, agreeing to pay $5.5 million in reparations to the mostly African-American victims of the city's notorious police- torture scandal and to teach schoolchildren about one of the most shameful chapters of Chicago's history.
Chicago has already spent more than $100 million settling and losing lawsuits related to the torture of suspects by detectives under the command of disgraced former Police Commander Jon Burge from the 1970s through the early 1990s. The City Council's unanimous backing of the new ordinance marks the first time a U.S. city has awarded survivors of racially motivated police torture the reparations they are due under international law, according to Amnesty International.
Each of the approximately 80 victims will be eligible to receive up to $100,000. In addition, the ordinance calls for the council to issue a formal apology, for the construction of a memorial to the victims, and for the police-torture scandal to be added to the city's school history curriculum. Victims will receive psychological counseling and free tuition at some community colleges.