In 2015, the facility gained worldwide notoriety when the American journalist Spencer Ackerman wrote a series of articles in The Guardian comparing it to a CIA black site.

"[2] In February 2015, Ackerman published a series of articles in The Guardian describing the Homan Square facility as "an off-the-books interrogation compound, rendering Americans unable to be found by family or attorneys while locked inside what lawyers say is the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site.

"[3][4][5][6][7][8] Ackerman asserted that the Homan Square facility was the "scene of secretive work by special police units," where the "basic constitutional rights" of "poor, black and brown" Chicago city residents were violated.

[9] Lawyers for the NATO 3 challenged the handling of their clients at Homan Square and filed a motion for statements made at the facility to be withdrawn as trial evidence.

"[13] Richard Dvorak, a longtime criminal defense attorney also said he was unaware of any issues unique to Homan Square; he stated, "Everything that was described (in the Guardian story) was something that happens every day.

"[15] Some Chicago defense attorneys, however, called this response "laughable,"[9] with one stating, "The denial that the police spokesman made was way over the top and unjustified because we do know from those terrorism cases that there were abuses.