The Chicago City Council is set to vote on a major settlements payout and funding for a rat control program Wednesday.
Chicago aldermen will vote on whether to pay out more than $29 million in settlements to four victims of disgraced former Chicago police detective Reynaldo Guevara.
The largest settlement, for $16.6 million, would go to Demetrius Johnson who was framed for the murder of Edwin Fred in 1991 in Wicker Park, when Johnson was just 15 years old. He spent 13 years in prison. Johnson’s attorneys said he was convicted solely on the testimony of three witnesses who said they saw him shoot Fred, while other witnesses testified Johnson was actually with them at the time, watching the Chicago Bulls win their first NBA championship.
The next largest settlement involving Guevara is a $6.95 million payment to Angel Diaz, who spent 15 years in prison for the 1995 murder of Yolanda Leal.
A third settlement, for $4.85 million, would go to Ariel Gomez, who spent 20 years in prison for the 1997 murder of Concepcion Diaz before he was exonerated.
The final settlement involving Guevara to be considered is an $800,000 payment to William Negron, who spent 23 years in prison for the 1994 murders of Amy Merkes and Jorge Rodriguez before he was exonerated.
Guevara is accused of coercing false confessions and withholding evidence against dozens of murder suspects. Hose men were later exonerated, from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
Alders will also vote on whether to support a rat birth control program on the North Side for the next six months. Ald. Timmy Knudsen teamed up with the Lincoln Park Zoo and Chicago Bird Alliance to get a pilot program started, deploying birth control for rats in areas with reported rodent problems. The pellets prevent the rats from reproducing but are not harmful to them or other animals.
The pilot program was started after two endangered owls died from eating rat poison.
The alderman did not say where the birth control will be placed, but he said a similar program worked in Boston.