City Hall faces another $29.1 million in settlements tied to corrupt Chicago police Det. Reynaldo Guevara

Chicago City Council members on Wednesday weighed another $29.1 million in settlements linked to allegations of police misconduct committed by now retired Chicago police Det. Reynaldo Guevara. All four proposed recipients were framed for murders they did not commit.

The new round of proposed police settlements come after City Council approval four months ago of a $90 million “global settlement” for 180 shakedown victims of corrupt former Sgt. Ronald Watts.

In the Watts settlement, 176 cases were settled for an average of $511,363 apiece. The latest wave of Guevara cases carry an average settlement price tag of nearly $7.3 million.

Guevara, 81, is accused in lawsuits of framing people for murder. Forty-three people, including three women, have been exonerated after they were sent to prison on murder convictions in cases handled by Guevara in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of them lived in Humboldt Park.

Most of the exonerations in the Guevara cases came between 2016 and 2024, while Kim Foxx was Cook County’s state’s attorney. One man, Jacques Rivera, was exonerated in 2011 under Foxx’s predecessor, Anita Alvarez. Guevara, who couldn’t be reached for comment, now lives in Texas. He has never been charged with any crime.

The city's Law Department recommended approval of the latest Guevara-related settlements, saying they would "reduce financial exposure and bring the matters to a responsible close. Although the cases share a common defendant, they stem from separate events, date as far back as 35 years ago, and involve a wide range of fact patterns. Each had its own unique considerations."

The largest of the new settlements — for $16.6 million — would go to Demetrius Johnson.

Johnson was framed for murder by Guevara when he was just 15 years old. He spent 13 years in prison for the 1991 murder of Edwin Fred. That was after several of Johnson’s friends testified that they were with Johnson at the time of the murder watching the Chicago Bulls clinch their first NBA title in their first of two three-peats. Johnson was released from prison in 2004, but waited until 2021 for his certificate of innocence.

The next highest Guevara settlement, for $6.95 million, would go to Angel Diaz.

Diaz spent 15 years in prison for the 1995 murder of Yolanda Leal. The Diaz conviction relied on a single witness who, Diaz attorneys claimed, was coerced by Guevara and another detective into making false statements implicating Diaz.

“For more than 15 years, Angel lost his freedom because of misconduct tied to former Detective Reynaldo Guevara," said Diaz's lawyer, Chet Cameron. "This resolution represents an important step toward accountability and toward closing a long, dark chapter in Angel’s life."

Yet another settlement, for $4.85 million, would go to Ariel Gomez. Gomez was just 17 years old when he was convicted for the 1997 murder of Concepcion Diaz during the citywide celebration that erupted after the Bulls captured their fifth NBA championship.

According to Gomez's attorneys, his conviction was based on evidence that was false and manufactured by Guevara and his crew. Evidence used to wrongfully convict Gomez included a “concocted and coerced” statement that Gomez gave after he was “subjected to horrendous physical and [psychological] abuse.”

The fourth Guevara settlement, for $800,000, would go to William Negron, who spent 23 years in prison for the 1994 double murder of Jorge Rodriguez and Amy Merkes. A third person was wounded in the shooting.

Roberto Almodovar was awarded a $17 million settlement last year. He was 19 with no criminal background when he was wrongfully convicted for the 1994 double murder of two teenagers killed in a drive-by shooting based on evidence fabricated by Guevara, according to his attorneys.

In that case, Guevara showed one of the witnesses a Polaroid and said, ‘This is the guy who did it. You pick him out.”

In 2017, Foxx recommended vacating the convictions of Almodovar and Negron. Almodovar was subsequently released from prison. Negron stayed in prison in connection with another, unrelated murder before being released.

The $16.6 billion budget approved by a City Council majority that rejected Mayor Brandon Johnson’s corporate head tax authorized $286 million in borrowing to cover settlements stemming from police wrongdoing, including the Watts global settlement.

The budget also set aside $83 million for additional settlements. The $37.4 million in proposed settlements on the Finance Committee agenda would gobble up more than 45% of that amount with more than ten months to go in the year.

City Hall sources have argued that the Watts cases were easier to settle because Watts pleaded guilty, while Guevara had taken the Fifth. In addition, the Watts victims served shorter sentences for their shakedown cases and were represented by only two attorneys. Guevara’s alleged torture victims served longer sentences after being framed. Many of the witnesses have since died.