Jury awards $22 million:

A federal jury has awarded a former Chicago gang member $22 million after he claimed two city police officers framed him for a 1984 double murder. The jury’s award was announced Thursday after 2½ days of deliberations. Former death row inmate Nathson Fields was convicted in 1986 of killing two rival gang members. The one-time El Rukn member was released in 2003 and acquitted in a 2009 retrial. The latest trial was a court-ordered do-over of a 2014 civil trial that ended with Fields receiving $80,000. Fields claimed the officers violated his civil rights by withholding evidence from defense attorneys that could have pointed to his innocence. City attorneys have maintained that Fields is guilty of the killings and deny evidence was concealed.

Drug conviction vacated:

Cook County prosecutors again have vacated the conviction of someone a corrupt Chicago police sergeant arrested. On Wednesday, prosecutors announced their decision to vacate the conviction of Lionel White, who pleaded guilty to a drug charge in 2006 to avoid a potential life sentence if he went to trial. That’s even though White contended former Chicago police Sgt. Ronald Watts framed him. White is out of prison after 2½ years behind bars. Now he can seek a certificate of innocence and payment from the state for his wrongful conviction. In March, a judge overturned drug convictions of a Chicago couple arrested by Watt’s team in 2005. Watts was convicted in 2013 of extorting protection payoffs from drug dealers.

Retail theft a misdemeanor:

Cook County’s new top prosecutor, Kimm Foxx, has made a policy change, saying that the majority of retail theft charges should remain misdemeanors. The Chicago Tribune reported the only exceptions would be if the value of stolen goods were more than $1,000 or the suspect had 10 prior felony convictions. That’s more than the current standard of one. An analysis by the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council found that nearly 80 percent of felony retail theft cases in Illinois between 2010 and 2012 were for a loss of less than $1,000. Supporters of the new policy predict it will lead to a significant decrease in the number of shoplifters locked up in Cook County jail.

Three killed in crash:

Three people were killed and two injured in a crash in South suburban Posen. Police Chief Doug Hoglund said officers responded to the crash about 3 a.m. Thursday. He said the vehicle was likely speeding when it struck several parked vehicles on a residential street. The chief said four passengers were ejected from that vehicle. The driver and another passenger were being treated at a hospital.

Suit filed over jail death:

A lawsuit says Chicago police officers and detention aides ignored a 41-year-old man for more than an hour when he passed out while in custody and died. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that arrest records and the lawsuit in U.S. District Court say Johnny Lopez was taken to a hospital to be treated for dog bites he suffered while being arrested for battery in June 2015. He was held at the Jefferson Park District lockup and later was found unresponsive. The Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled Lopez’s death accidental. The lawsuit filed by his daughter Merary Lopez seeks unspecified damages. The city’s law department has declined to comment on the lawsuit. Records show two officers and three detention aides named as defendants are still on the job.