--- description: Chicago will become the first U.S. city to offer reparations to victims of police abuse if its city council approves such a measure. title: Chicago Set to Offer Reparations to Victims of Police Torture image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Chicago Set to Offer Reparations to Victims of Police Torture  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent May 6, 2015 3:19 PM CUT  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent May 6, 2015 3:19 PM CUT Victims of police abuse in Chicago in the 1970s and ’80s [could soon receive reparations](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-burge-reparations-hearing-met-20150505-story.html "undefined"), thanks to a measure that is expected to be approved by the city council on Wednesday. The law, which has the support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, would create a $5.5 million fund to pay the 100 victims tortured by officers acting under the guidance of former Chicago police Cmdr. John Burge, according to the Chicago _Tribune_. Each individual victim would be eligible for up to $100,000. Between 1972 and 1991, Burge and his officers subjected suspects to mock executions, electric shock and beatings, among other abuses. Burge was fired in 1993 after a review board found that his officers had tortured people. He was immune from prosecution due to the statute of limitations on his crimes, but he served four and a half years in prison for perjury in the early 2000s. The $5.5 million payout is drop in the bucket compared to the nearly $100 million the city has already spent on legal fees and settlements related to Burge. \[[Chicago _Tribune_](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-burge-reparations-hearing-met-20150505-story.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3848487/chicago-reparations-police-torture/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3848487/chicago-reparations-police-torture/"},"headline":"Chicago Set to Offer Reparations to Victims of Police Torture","datePublished":"2015-05-06T15:19:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:58:18.046Z","description":"Individual victims will be eligible for up to $100,000 in cash","url":"https://time.com/3848487/chicago-reparations-police-torture/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3848487/chicago-reparations-police-torture/","name":"Chicago Set to Offer Reparations to Victims of Police Torture"}}]}] ```