National
A Look into Ferguson’s Pricey Pick to Negotiate DOJ Settlement
Dan K. Webb (left), attorney for former Illinois Gov. George Ryan (right), speaks to the media during a news conference in 2003. Webb represented Ryan on racketeering and corruption charges. Webb is now representing Ferguson in the Department of Justice case against the city. (AP Photo/Brian Kersey)
Christine Byers and Stephen Deere, THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
FERGUSON, Mo. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) — In the days following a Department of Justice report accusing Ferguson’s police and municipal court of widespread abuses, the city made a series of conciliatory moves. Three employees involved in racist emails were forced out. The city manager stepped down. So did the police chief and municipal judge.
Less than a month later, on March 27, a City Council that’s been grappling with declining revenues voted unanimously in a closed meeting to hire one of the nation’s most distinguished and highest-paid trial lawyers to navigate what could be a prolonged and expensive reform process.
His name is Dan K. Webb.
The city of Ferguson is paying him $1,335 an hour.
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