The memorial will be built at the corner of 55th Place and King Drive, a site that has been vacant for more than 40 years, in Washington Park on the city's South Side.
During the ceremony, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the memorial acknowledges the lasting impact of police torture on individuals, families and communities.
"That harm has rippled through families, leaving entire generations to carry the weight of trauma and injustice. This wrongdoing also deepened a legacy of distrust between communities and law enforcement that Chicago continues to confront today," Johnson said.
Ald. Jeanette Taylor, whose 20th Ward includes the site, said the memorial represents an ongoing commitment to recognizing past harms.
"While the memorial cannot undo the harm, it symbolizes society's commitment to acknowledge wrongdoing and the continuing the pursuit of accountability and reform," Taylor said.
The project acknowledges survivors of police torture linked to disgraced former Chicago Police Department Cmdr. Jon Burge and other officers. Starting in the 1970s, survivors and advocates say Black and brown Chicagoans were subjected to brutal tactics that led to false confessions. Many of those cases later unraveled after charges were dropped and individuals once considered suspects were determined to be innocent.
"It will stand as a permanent reminder of the suffering survivors endured, the resilience we showed and the responsibility we all share to ensure these injustices never happen again," survivor Gregory Banks said.
Another survivor, Anthony Holmes, said the project validates years of efforts to have survivors' experiences recognized.
"The memorial means everything to me because it is about the truth. It is about the torture Burge and his men committed, and everything that we, the survivors, suffered. Building this memorial means that Chicago has finally heard what we had to say," Holmes said.
Organizers said the memorial's design is intended to symbolize the "vortex of injustice" that took years from the lives of people convicted of crimes they did not commit. Plans call for a community gathering space and gardens intended for meetings and healing.
The memorial is expected to be completed next year.
Joey Mogul of the Chicago Torture Justice Memorials Foundation said the project reflects years of community collaboration.
"It's a testament to how people can collectively work together to create positive, transformative social change, and we hope it's a source of inspiration for all those who are fighting ongoing law enforcement violence here in the city of Chicago today," Mogul said.
The memorial will be the first in the country to honor survivors of police torture.
The mayor's office says the memorial will fulfill a promise the city made to victims of torture in 2015.