"There have been 60 cases dropped to date," said John Gorman, a spokesman for the state's attorney. "We plan to drop 50 more."
Gorman declined to comment on the specific cases or provide any more information other than to say that a Sept. 12 memo -- alerting prosecutors that the state would no longer be pursuing those cases -- was not supposed to be publicly released.

According to the Chicago Tribune, that memo instructed prosecutors to drop cases handled by four Chicago police officers who were later charged with robbery and kidnapping.

The officers involved are Jerome Finnigan, Keith Herrera, Thomas Sherry and Carl Suchocki. If convicted, all will face up to 30 years in prison, according to prosecutors.

The memo also reportedly informs prosecutors to stop working on cases involving five other officers whose police authority has been revoked. Those officers are not currently charged with any crimes.

As for the long-term impact of the alleged police misconduct, at least one criminal law expert said it could have two consequences on the Chicago area.

"Obviously we've had a number of people held in jail for long periods of time, awaiting trial in cases that have no merit," said Rob Warden, executive director of Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions.

"On the other hand, we have people who are in fact guilty of crimes who are going to be released as a result of bad police work."

Despite the possibility of dangerous criminals being released, Warden said there is little need for increased public concern.
"It's not going to affect the crime statistics, and it is not creating any appreciable danger in society," he said.