Chicago took a significant step Wednesday toward formally recognizing the survivors of police torture under former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge with the groundbreaking of a long-awaited memorial in the Washington Park neighborhood. The $4.7 million project, supported by a combination of city funds and the sale of city-owned lots, aims to honor more than 125 survivors and serve as a lasting tribute to this dark chapter in the city’s history.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, who began his tenure earlier this year, made good on a promise to pursue reparations and build the memorial—a pledge that echoes a broader effort to repair fractured relationships between the city and Black Chicagoans. The City Council had initially approved reparations totaling $5.5 million in 2015 for 57 victims of Burge’s torture, but the physical memorial itself had yet to be realized until now. Johnson contributed $1 million toward the costs and encouraged further municipal support through the sale of land at a nominal price.
Addressing survivors, their families, and advocates at the ceremony, Johnson apologized again for the abuse inflicted under Burge’s command and connected the legacy of police torture to broader historical traumas affecting African American communities. “The torture that was carried out by Jon Burge is the same torture that was administered against those of us who were descendants of the formerly enslaved,” Johnson said, emphasizing the multigenerational impact of systemic injustice and the need for reparations extending beyond police brutality.
Survivors and their supporters described the memorial as both a form of recognition and a platform for education. Anthony Holmes, who spent more than three decades imprisoned after being tortured into confessing to a 1972 murder he did not commit, called the memorial “about truth” and expressed relief that the city is finally acknowledging their suffering. Holmes detailed the savage treatment he endured, including electrical shocks, suffocation with a plastic bag, and racist slurs during months of detention.
Similarly, Gregory Banks recounted the physical and psychological abuse he experienced while being coerced into confessing to a 1983 murder, an ordeal that led to seven years of incarceration. Banks highlighted the pain caused by long-standing disbelief and dismissal of survivors’ accounts and said the memorial's recognition brings healing. “Our voices are finally being heard. And that recognition is healing,” he said, stressing the memorial’s role in inspiring future generations to confront injustice.
Jen Ash, executive director of the Chicago Torture Justice Memorials Foundation, framed the monument not only as a site of remembrance but as the “final unfulfilled promise” of the 2015 reparations ordinance. She noted that the fight for justice continues beyond legislation, underscoring the importance of transforming city commitments into tangible realities for survivors and their communities.
The commemorative project joins efforts to reckon with the legacy of police misconduct in Chicago and reinforce the city’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and healing within historically marginalized populations. As the memorial’s construction begins, it symbolizes a milestone in Chicago’s ongoing reckoning with systemic abuse and the pursuit of restorative justice.