Chicago Blows Through Budget Set Aside for Police Misconduct

They actually budget for this? And already spent $27 million?

With three new settlements this week and more lawsuits pending, Chicago's price tag for legal claims against its police force is climbing and has already surpassed the $27 million the city set aside for this year.

The City Council agreed to settle three lawsuits this week for nearly $7 million. That's on top of the more than $32 million aldermen signed off on weeks ago in two police misconduct cases. With three more lawsuits stemming from one of the most shameful chapters in the department's history — the torture of murder suspects by detectives under the command of former Lt. Jon Burge — still in the legal pipeline and two more federal lawsuits filed this week, the total could climb significantly higher.

City law department spokesman Roderick Drew said the city now will use bonds to cover settlements, as it has done in the past.