Dolton quietly cut a $30,000 check to Cincinnati law professor Ken Katkin after a village detective seized his 2010 Toyota Camry in 2023. Katkin says the car had been stolen from a spot near his son's Hyde Park apartment, and he contends the settlement finally ends a three-year fight over how the vehicle was taken and eventually returned.
Settlement and court records
An executed settlement agreement and an image of the settlement check show the village issued a $30,000 payment to Katkin and his attorney, with the check dated Dec. 4, 2025, according to DocumentCloud. Federal docket records indicate Katkin filed a civil-rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Katkin v. Village of Dolton, No. 1:25-cv-00321), according to PACERMonitor.
What Katkin alleges
Katkin says he reported the Camry stolen on Jan. 13, 2023, and later learned Dolton Detective Major Coleman had taken the vehicle and told Chicago police it had been used in a robbery, a claim Katkin insists is false. He says he paid $1,400 to a tow company to get the car back, then sued the village and Coleman, accusing them of participating in a broader pattern of unjustified vehicle seizures. Katkin told Axios, "They wouldn't apologize, which I wanted, and I wouldn't sign a confidentiality agreement, which they wanted."
Broader pattern and pressure
The payout lands as Dolton already faces significant legal and financial strain. Reporting has described disciplinary actions and suspensions involving Coleman and other officers, and the village absorbed a $33.5 million jury verdict tied to a 2016 police chase, a judgment that has put long-term pressure on the town's budget. WBEZ has detailed Coleman's prior discipline, while the Chicago Sun-Times has reported on the large 2016 verdict against the village.
Legal note
The executed settlement includes a standard clause stating the village does not admit wrongdoing, according to the agreement on file, and village officials told Axios the case stems from a prior administration and is under review while the officer remains on the force. The payment settles Katkin's claim but leaves larger questions about Dolton policing practices and the village's exposure to future lawsuits unresolved.
