CHICAGO — State’s attorney Kim Foxx announced Tuesday that 19 people convicted of crimes they did not commit, all tied to former Chicago police sergeant Ronald Watts, will have their cases thrown out.

It’s the most cases vacated in Cook County in one day.

Those wrongfully convicted have been waiting years for this, and it’s not over. Next week, another group of men and women will learn if their cases will be thrown out.

About 35 cases were called Tuesday. The state decided not to contest the convictions of 19 men and women. The other cases, which the state did not agree to, will be back before a judge in March.

The judge called it a blight to the criminal justice system. All of these cases are connected to former CPD sergeant Watts. He led a unit that framed and shook down people living in Chicago’s Ida B Wells housing complex for about a decade back in the early 2000s.

Watts was convicted of stealing money from a drug courier, that was also an FBI informant in 2013. He was sentenced to nearly two years in prison. Some who were arrested by Watts and his team served four years in prison.

So far, 115 cases with connections to Watts have been tossed.