A car crash sparked by an Avalon Park police chase allegedly in violation of department rules is on track to cost Chicago taxpayers $1.7 million.
Aldermen on the City Council’s Finance Committee approved the hefty settlement Wednesday, alongside two more deals to settle lawsuits alleging police misconduct. If approved by the full council next week, the agreements will cost the city over $2.5 million.
The committee also moved forward with a plan to refinance bonds to save money and help close this year’s yawning budget deficit.
The month’s most expensive settlement stems from a “willful and wanton pursuit” by Chicago police, city attorney Margaret Mendenhall Casey told aldermen. Officers Kevin Gomez and Andrius Tkachuk tried to pull over John Tinker during the July 2018 early morning stop, according to court records.
But Tinker, driving a Dodge Charger, would not stop. He tried to evade police, who chased him for about two minutes over the course of a mile, Mendenhall Casey said.
That’s when Tinker’s car crashed into the vehicle of Eddie Banks Jr. at the intersection of South Stony Island Avenue and East 83rd Street. The collision left Banks, an innocent bystander, with fractured ribs and a fractured pelvis. He spent a month in the hospital and required two abdominal surgeries, Mendenhall Casey said.
Police arrested Tinker at the scene, Mendenhall Casey said. Court records show he pleaded guilty in 2021 to one felony charge and was sentenced to 30 months of probation after spending most of the pre-trial time out on bond. He completed probation in March, according to court records.
Banks filed a lawsuit against both Tinker and the city, alleging the police caused the crash by failing to follow the Chicago Police Department’s rules on car chases as they pursued Tinker. A city analysis showed Tinker has no assets, meaning the city would likely need to foot the bill if a jury awarded Banks a larger settlement in court, Mendenhall Casey said.
Ald. Bill Conway, 34th, voted for the settlement, but not without grumbling about the Illinois laws that make cities responsible to cover the legal costs of such settlements.
“The law for us is just terrible when it comes to police chases and the liability we face on that,” Conway said.
Aldermen also moved forward on a $332,500 settlement for a woman who was involuntarily sent to a mental institution for two days by police. The woman had called police in June 2019 after staff at her Streeterville high rise building allegedly entered her apartment without permission while she was undressed, according to city attorney Caroline Fronczak.
The woman hoped to file a police report for criminal trespassing, but when then-Sgt. Andrew Dakuras refused, and an argument started. She asked Dakuras to leave. When he would not, she tried to get away from him in another room, then left her apartment barefoot to flee him, Fronczak said. Dakuras followed close behind.
“This is not how rational people act,” he told her, Fronczak said.
The woman was handcuffed and transported to a hospital. She spent two days at a mental institution. But no evidence suggested she would harm anyone or herself, meaning her behavior did not meet the threshold for involuntary institutionalization, Fronczak said.
And the committee recommended $445,000 for a woman who suffered a broken shoulder and spine when an officer driving at 55 miles per hour “unsuccessfully attempted to brake” and crashed into the car carrying her and her 11-month-old child at a Douglas neighborhood intersection.
BOND REFINANCING
Aldermen also approved plans to refinance up to $1.5 billion in debt, a move budget officials said would not add to the city’s tab, and would help close this year’s deficit.
Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski estimated the transaction could generate $90 million in savings that would be counted for this budget year and $35 million next, while reducing the city’s overall debt load.
“Because the interest rates are lower in the market today, instead of paying 5% on the old bond… we can sell those at the lower yield,” Jaworksi said, likely 3 or 3.5%. The refinancing could also include a tender in which the city could purchase and cancel its own debt. “That’s how we generate savings,” she said.
This refinancing — which will include General Obligation and Sales Tax Securitization Corporation bonds — has been planned since last year, when Jaworski’s team counted on $70 million in refinancing savings to balance the 2024 budget.
Some aldermen felt rushed, however, at having to approve the issuance with little notice of the details. Most were briefed Friday, while the city wants to go to price the bonds before the November election and close soon after. Four members of the Finance Committee voted against the refinancing.
“If we don’t do the transaction at all, we’ll have $70 million added to our budget deficit, in essence,” Jaworski said. “Now, we’re expecting to get more than that $70 million, which will be helpful, because that will reduce the budget deficit for this year. But we’d add to the deficit if we didn’t execute the transaction.”