{"id":656705,"date":"2026-03-15T05:22:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T05:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/656705\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T05:22:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T05:22:40","slug":"aldermen-advance-27-million-settlement-for-woman-killed-in-police-chase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/656705\/","title":{"rendered":"Aldermen advance $27 million settlement for woman killed in police chase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another large Chicago police settlement<\/a> \u2014 this time a $27 million deal for the family of a woman killed by a car officers were chasing \u2014 is poised for approval in the City Council after advancing in a first vote Friday.<\/p>\n

Finance Committee members approved the deal in a voice vote, making it just the latest high-dollar settlement<\/a> for a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department.<\/p>\n

The money, set for a final vote Wednesday, would go to the family of Stacy Vaughn-Harrell, a 47-year-old who was killed in 2017 when a driver speeding while fleeing police rammed into her car at a Hyde Park intersection.<\/p>\n

Vaughn-Harrell\u2019s family won a $10.2 million jury verdict against the city in May 2023. Motions by the city challenging the outcome triggered a new trial.<\/p>\n

But now the city is on the hook for far more: $20 million, with the other $7 million to be paid by the city\u2019s insurer.<\/p>\n

The higher sum in a negotiation sparked by the city is a result of \u201ca different case\u201d forming over time, said John Hendricks, the Law Department\u2019s managing deputy of litigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a different case with new evidence,\u201d Hendricks said. \u201cWe have a different case with new witnesses. We have a different case with new and broader claims for damages. And we have a likelihood of more evidence coming in that was not allowed in the first trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaughn-Harrell\u2019s family would likely pursue a verdict of as much as $100 million at trial, city attorney Margaret Mendenhall Casey said.<\/p>\n

Mendenhall Casey pointed to an array of changed circumstances. More of Vaughn-Harrell\u2019s children would testify, her job as their homeschool teacher would be considered and the suffering she experienced between the crash and her death would come into play, she said.<\/p>\n

Severe injuries to Vaughn-Harrell\u2019s daughter, Kimberlyn Myers, would be considered, as would videos that showed a potentially \u201ccallous\u201d response from police and new questions about a police investigation, she added.<\/p>\n

Myers spoke during a public comment period shortly before aldermen considered the settlement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here to be heard. We are here to be understood. Every day there\u2019s pain that we all go through,\u201d she said amid tears. \u201cToday is just as hard as it was on June 24.\u201d<\/p>\n

She then collapsed into the arms of family members sitting behind her.<\/p>\n

Hendricks said the city has lost many similar cases in court. The settlement was monitored and supported by the city\u2019s insurers, Mendenhall Casey said.<\/p>\n