Chicago’s City Hall moved Monday to cut a $17 million check to Jose Maysonet, who says he lost 27 years to prison after a former detective beat him into a bogus confession. The Finance Committee’s green light now sends the deal to the full City Council later this week—another big-ticket entry on a growing ledger of misconduct payouts.
As reported by Chicago Tribune, the committee advanced the $17 million recommendation for Maysonet and also signed off on two smaller police-related settlements: $750,000 stemming from a traffic crash involving an officer and $500,000 for two women who say they were hurt during a police chase.
How Maysonet Says He Was Coerced
City attorneys backed the payout after filings detailed Maysonet’s claim that then-detective Reynaldo Guevara led a marathon interrogation marked by physical abuse and threats. According to WTTW, Maysonet was 22 at the time, spoke little English, and says he was beaten with objects and pressured to implicate others.
Broader Financial Risk For The City
Deputy corporation counsel Jessica Felker warned that losing similar cases could put the city on the hook for roughly $60 million more—and that aldermen have already approved about $300 million in police-related settlements this year, per the Chicago Tribune. The financial strain was underscored this fall by a $90 million global settlement tied to ex-Sgt. Ronald Watts, a deal covered by the Associated Press.
What’s Next
The committee’s approval now tees up a City Council vote as soon as Wednesday. If it passes, it would close one of several Guevara-linked lawsuits still moving through the courts; advocates and city lawyers say dozens more remain, adding potential future liability for taxpayers, according to WTTW.
For Maysonet and others who say they were coerced, these settlements acknowledge harm but don’t restore lost decades. And for a city trying to balance accountability with fiscal reality, the tab keeps coming due.
