The Chicago Justice Project has filed a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Chicago Department of Law as part of a broader effort to understand how much the City of Chicago spends on litigation, settlements, judgments, and related legal costs stemming from the Chicago Police Department (CPD).
This filing is one of four coordinated FOIA requests being submitted to multiple city agencies to uncover how Chicago tracks police litigation, evaluates legal risk, manages settlement payments, and uses data generated by lawsuits involving CPD officers and employees.
While large settlements and court judgments often attract public attention, much less is known about what happens behind the scenes. How does the City track litigation trends? What data systems are used to monitor lawsuits? How are settlement payments processed? And perhaps most importantly, how does Chicago use litigation data to identify patterns, reduce future harm, and improve accountability?
Our request to the Department of Law seeks answers to those questions.
Why the Department of Law Matters
The Department of Law sits at the center of the City’s response to litigation involving the Chicago Police Department. It manages cases, oversees legal strategy, tracks lawsuits, works with outside counsel, and processes settlement and judgment payments. As a result, it maintains some of the most important records concerning the costs and consequences of police-related litigation.
The records sought through this FOIA request are intended to help the public better understand not only the amount of money spent on CPD litigation, but also the systems and analyses the City uses to manage that exposure.
What We Are Requesting
Internal Litigation Analysis
The first section of the request seeks records, reports, memoranda, emails, and other documents analyzing litigation involving the Chicago Police Department from 2016 to the present.
These records may include analyses concerning:
- Types of lawsuits and claims filed against CPD.
- Litigation outcomes and trends.
- Officers, units, or divisions associated with the greatest litigation exposure.
- Geographic areas or incident types generating significant legal liability.
- The overall costs and budgetary impact of CPD litigation.
We are also seeking specific records referenced in the Office of Inspector General’s report Use of Litigation Data in Risk Management Strategies for the Chicago Police Department, including:
- The Department of Law’s “Report on Chicago Police Department 2019 Litigation.”
- The spreadsheet used to track payment requests sent to the Office of the Comptroller for settlements and judgments.
- The repository created to comply with Consent Decree requirements concerning litigation information collected at case disposition.
Understanding these analyses is essential for determining whether the City is using litigation data as a proactive accountability and risk-management tool or merely as a mechanism for processing cases after the fact.
Litigation Databases and Case Tracking Systems
A second section of the request focuses on the databases and electronic systems used to manage CPD-related litigation.
We have requested records identifying:
- Litigation databases maintained by the Department of Law.
- Electronic Litigation Management Systems.
- Internal litigation trackers.
- Third-party systems used by the City.
- Data dictionaries explaining what information these systems collect.
- Training materials used by employees and attorneys.
The request specifically references systems identified in the Inspector General’s report, including TeamConnect and CounselLink, which are used to manage litigation information and outside counsel billing data.
We are also seeking non-privileged case-level litigation data from 2016 to the present. Access to this information would provide an unprecedented opportunity to better understand patterns in police litigation and the financial impact those cases have on Chicago taxpayers.
Settlement and Judgment Payments
The third portion of the request focuses directly on how the City pays settlements and judgments arising from lawsuits involving CPD officers and employees.
Among the records requested are:
- Documents related to Community Insurance Center.
- Records concerning any insurance entities involved in covering settlements and judgments.
- Documents concerning the payment of settlements and court judgments.
- Records submitted to the Department of Finance and Office of the Comptroller seeking payment for settlements and judgments.
- Analyses of settlement and judgment payment data.
This information will help illuminate not only the total costs associated with police litigation but also the administrative process through which those costs are approved, tracked, and paid.
Transparency About the Search Process
As with our other FOIA requests, we have also asked the Department of Law to document its efforts to locate responsive records. Specifically, we are seeking records that identify:
- Where searches were conducted.
- Who conducted those searches.
- Which individuals were asked to provide records.
- Documents that were identified but not produced.
This level of transparency helps ensure accountability in the FOIA process itself and provides the public with a clearer understanding of how agencies respond to requests involving matters of significant public interest.
Why This Work Matters
Chicago taxpayers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the years resolving claims involving police misconduct, civil rights violations, wrongful convictions, and other litigation connected to the Chicago Police Department. Yet significant questions remain about how the City tracks these costs, whether litigation data is being used to prevent future misconduct, and what lessons are being drawn from repeated patterns of legal exposure.
Litigation records are more than accounting documents. They can reveal systemic failures, recurring misconduct, supervision problems, training deficiencies, and policy shortcomings. They can also show whether city agencies are using available data to reduce risk and improve public safety.
Our goal is simple: to help the public understand the full financial and institutional costs of police litigation in Chicago.
What Comes Next
This Department of Law request is the latest in a series of four FOIA filings focused on CPD-related litigation costs, settlements, judgments, and risk management practices. As records are produced, the Chicago Justice Project will analyze the information and make findings available to the public.
Meaningful accountability requires meaningful transparency. These FOIA requests are intended to provide both.
We will continue to publish updates as agencies respond and as new information becomes available.
A copy of our requests is embedded below.
