Chicago’s spending on police misconduct settlements and other police lawsuits is soaring this year, and the steep price for taxpayers could rise hundreds of millions more.
Through May alone, the City Council has already approved at least $145.3 million in taxpayer payments to settle lawsuits involving the Chicago Police Department, a record number that dwarfs sums from past years, according to a Tribune analysis.
That amount — far above the $82.6 million Mayor Brandon Johnson and aldermen budgeted for settlements, verdicts and legal fees involving the department — does not include many smaller payments that face less aldermanic scrutiny…