City cleared in E2 disaster
CLUB STAMPEDE | Case could be taken to Supreme Court
Two days after paying $50 million to the families of those killed in a fire, City of Chicago officials got some good news Friday: They are off the hook in the E2 nightclub stampede that killed 29 people in 2003. For now.
An appellate court -- after a rare 1½-year delay in the 5-year-old case -- ruled that the actions of police officers and city officials did not appear egregious enough to override the City of Chicago's immunity from prosecution.
(Sun-Times file)
Attorneys representing the families of 21 people killed when patrons at the overcrowded club tried to flee will meet next week to decide whether to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Police officers and other city officials have civil immunity, meaning they can't be sued for doing their jobs unless their conduct was "willful and wanton."