In Chicago, expanding conviction-review units and routine 'Certificates of Innocence' have turned overturned convictions—often on procedural grounds—into successful civil-rights suits against the city. Since 2000, Chicago has paid over $700 million, with outside counsel and plaintiff firms specializing in these cases and reaping large contingency fees.
— It recasts wrongful-conviction policy as an incentive design issue that can drain public budgets and distort prosecutorial behavior even when actual innocence is unclear.
2025.09.05
86% relevant
The piece claims Chicago—at the urging of the Cook County State’s Attorney—has granted Certificates of Innocence and paid out large settlements to ex‑defendants, which Paul Vallas says have become a 'cash cow' for law firms and activists, directly matching the thesis that wrongful‑conviction mechanisms are driving major municipal liabilities.
Paul G. Vallas
2025.09.04
100% relevant
Chicago’s $700M+ in payouts since 2000, a $120M jury award in March, and Kim Foxx’s Conviction Review Unit recommending 'Certificates of Innocence' used to win suits.
Steven Malanga
2025.09.03
68% relevant
The article highlights Chicago’s mounting judgments from wrongful conviction cases tied to a disgraced detective (about $39 million so far, with more pending), echoing the broader pattern where exonerations translate into large civil-rights payouts that strain city budgets.