CHICAGO -- Jon Burge is an old man now, but he was once one of the most feared cops in Chicago, the master of a detective unit that allegedly tortured criminal suspects for decades.

Operating out of the notorious Area 2 headquarters, Burge and his men were accused of choking, shocking, burning and beating people -- most of them African-Americans -- until they confessed.

Chicago's city council voted Wednesday to pay $5.5 million to victims of police torture that date back from the 1970s into the '90s. The city has already spent more than $100 million after losing some lawsuits and settling others.