Chicago in $5.5m police torture payout

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A $5.5m (£3.6m) reparations package to the victims of police torture in Chicago has been agreed by the council.

As many as 80 victims of an infamous detective unit that abused suspects over three decades could be in line for a share of the award.

The city council also issued a formal apology and vowed to teach schoolchildren about the abuses.

Former commander Jon Burge was jailed for four years after being convicted of lying about the torture scandal.

Many of the victims were African American. Some could receive as much as $100,000.

The terms of the award were announced last month by city officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

"This stain cannot be removed from our city's history but it can be used as a lesson of what not do do," the mayor said.

The names of more than a dozen torture victims and survivors were read aloud and the city council gave them a standing ovation.

The council then voted 42-0 in favour of the award.