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Chicago Tribune
30-04-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Crimo the latest murderer sent to Stateville
Authorities quickly hustled convicted mass murderer Robert Crimo III out of the Lake County jail last week and to his new home at Stateville Correctional Center. Surely, Lake County corrections officers weren't sad to see him pack up and go. While the county jail has never been known for posh surroundings, it will seem like a country club compared to the aging state prison in Crest Hill in Will County, which is what the 24-year-old deserves since Illinois unfortunately doesn't have the death penalty. 'Due to the hard work of the Circuit Clerk's Office quickly processing all of the post-conviction paperwork, our Corrections Team was able to transfer the defendant to an Illinois prison,' Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg told one news outlet. 'Our correctional officers did a terrific job getting the defendant transferred quickly, to the place he will spend the rest of his life.' After unexpectedly pleading guilty last month to the first-degree murders of seven spectators at the July 4, 2022, parade in Highland Park and the attempted murder of 48 people wounded in the attack, he will spend the rest of his life in an Illinois Department of Corrections facility given that Stateville is scheduled to be closed. He has no chance of parole. Lake County Circuit Court Judge Victoria Rossetti sentenced the gunman to seven consecutive natural life sentences for each victim he killed, plus 50 years for the other parade-goers he was convicted of shooting. 'The court finds that the defendant is irretrievably depraved, permanently incorrigible, irreparably corrupt and beyond any rehabilitation,' the judge said at sentencing. Nineteen victims of the shootings and their loved ones testified with emotional victim-impact statements of grief, trauma and loss from the attack, which killed or injured people ranging in age from 8 to 88. The killings devastated the Highland Park community. Murdered along the parade route were Katherine Goldstein, 64; Irina McCarthy, 35, and her husband, Kevin McCarthy, 37; Stephen Straus, 88; Jacki Sundheim, 63; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69. They were there on a sunny summer day to celebrate the nation's birthday. Crimo remained absent during the two-day sentencing hearing last week as he continued to play with authorities, and the families and friends of his victims killed when he unleashed 83 high-powered bullets from a rooftop along the Independence Day parade route. Changing his pleas since the horrific parade shootings and even one time blaming the FBI for the murders, Crimo has failed to acknowledge the evil he accomplished at the parade by using an assault-style rifle his father enabled him to purchase, despite numerous indications that the young man should not have gotten anywhere near any firearm. Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son's state Firearm Owner's Identification card, which allowed him to buy the AR-style weapon he used in the massacre. The father pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct and was sentenced to 60 days in county jail in 2023. A lawsuit against Smith & Wesson, the manufacturer of the weapon used, gun shops, and Crimo III and his father is winding its way through the judicial system. This, while survivors of those murdered will be reminded of their losses daily. Crimo may be placed in solitary confinement for his initial stop at Stateville, a maximum-security state prison which holds some 3,500 inmates. Illinois taxpayers will pay for his stay at an estimated $32,000 a year. The worst mass-murderer gunman in Illinois, Crimo will follow other monsters who have called Stateville home over the decades. Like John Wayne Gacy, the Norwood Park Township serial killer who murdered at least 33 young men and boys during the 1970s. Gacy, convicted of his crimes in 1980, was executed by lethal injection at Stateville on May 10, 1994, when Illinois still had a Death Row. Richard Speck, who stabbed and strangled eight student nurses in Chicago in 1966, died of a heart attack in Stateville in 1991, just before his 50th birthday. Other members of the Stateville rogues' gallery include William Heirens, convicted of three murders in 1946; and Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, the infamous 'thrill killers' of 1924 who were spared the death penalty. Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart, whose prosecution team had insurmountable evidence that Crimo was the only suspect in the parade shootings, said the murderer laughed and made jokes during his initial police interrogation, and has never shown remorse for his actions. Maybe that contrition will come as Crimo ages in the cage in which he will reside for the coming decades. That is, if he lives that long. Notorious killers have a way of losing their lives at the hands of fellow inmates, like Loeb, who was killed by another Stateville prisoner; the 'Boston Strangler' Albert DeSalvo, who was found stabbed to death while in a Massachusetts prison infirmary; and Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who was beaten to death while in a Wisconsin prison.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
Highland Park convicted killer now in Stateville Prison
Robert Crimo III, the man who admitted to fatally shooting seven people and wounding dozens of others during a 2022 Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, has reported to prison. The Lake County Sheriff's Office issued a statement that said the 24-year-old was transferred to an Illinois prison Friday morning. 'Due to the hard work of the Circuit Clerk's Office quickly processing all of the post-conviction paperwork, our Corrections Team was able to transfer the defendant to an Illinois Prison this morning,' Lake County Sheriff's Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said in the statement. WGN News is told Crimo is in Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill. More: 'Complete disregard for human life': Robert Crimo III gets life sentences for deadly Highland Park parade shooting Earlier this week, Crimo was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti handed down seven consecutive sentences of life in prison to Crimo. She also sentenced him to 50 years on each of the 48 counts of attempted murder to be served consecutively to the seven life sentences. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
22-04-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Kane County circuit clerk to offer HOPE Cards to help those with orders of protection
Starting Monday, Kane County residents can get cards with information about their orders of protection, in a move meant to simplify the process of reporting violations, a news release from the Kane County Circuit Clerk's Office said. A HOPE Card is a laminated card that can be presented to law enforcement when reporting a violation of an order of protection or a related crime, without having to present the related court documents, the release said. 'The concept is to have a card that fits in your wallet rather than carrying around a stack of court paperwork,' Kane County Circuit Clerk Theresa Barreiro said in Tuesday's release. 'The HOPE Card's purpose is to make it easier for victims and survivors of domestic violence to have an accessible card with the pertinent information for law enforcement readily at their fingertips.' Information on the card includes the case number, the names of the petitioner and others protected under the order of protection and the name of the respondent and whether they have specific firearm restrictions under the order, the release said. When presented with a card, law enforcement then must verify the information through the Illinois Law Enforcement Agencies Data System. Illinois is one of nine states with HOPE Card programs, the release said. DeKalb, DuPage, Jefferson, Grundy and Madison counties began issuing them in Illinois last year. Kane, McHenry, Winnebago, Marion and Coles counties are part of the latest expansion. Beginning April 28, Kane County residents with current orders of protection can obtain a HOPE Card for free in Room 007 of the Kane County Judicial Center at 37W777 Route 38 in St. Charles or at the Circuit Clerk's Office at 540 S. Randall Road in St. Charles, according to the news release.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Whistleblowers agree to dismiss lawsuit against Raleigh County Commission
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — A group of whistleblowers inside the Raleigh County Circuit Clerk's Office have agreed to dismiss a lawsuit against Raleigh County Commission without seeking monetary damages, according to Robert Dunlap, the attorney who represents them in the lawsuit. Workers in the Circuit Clerk's Office filed the lawsuit around a year ago, after former Raleigh County Circuit Clerk Robert McComas allegedly discriminated against them by using racial and sexual language and drawings and by violating the rights of a pregnant worker. Dunlap said on Monday, March 17, 2025, that they agreed to drop the lawsuit against Raleigh County Commission, their employer, once the Commission began providing Human Resources Services to county workers by two outside companies. The lawsuit alleged there was no available recourse for the workers when McComas, an elected official, began the alleged harassment and discrimination. Dunlap said on Monday that a local media outlet also identified the workers last year because county officials released their names under a Freedom of Information Act request. Lawsuit alleges elected official drew KKK figures on Raleigh County judge's docket printout and harassed a pregnant worker 'They shouldn't have had their information turned over, and they did,' Dunlap said. 'They've been vilified as gold diggers, as people who have been trying to get some monetary benefit against an employer, when all they wanted was a safe and conducive work environment.' Dunlap said dismissal of the lawsuit, once county officials had taken steps to protect workers' rights, shows the intention of the county employees. Raleigh County Circuit Court Clerk resigns, amidst allegations of racist statements 'It was never about the money,' said Dunlap. He added that dismissal of the lawsuit does not bar each worker from bringing an individual lawsuit in the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
Champaign Co. Circuit Clerk announces Amnesty Week
URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — The Champaign County Circuit Clerk's office is holding another Amnesty Week to help people save money. Amnesty Week is from March 31 to April 11. Anyone who owes money from the county due to an outstanding criminal, traffic, DUI, ordinance violation or conservation violation can pay without late fees or collection fees. Champaign man sentenced to 31 years in prison for Prospect Ave. shooting The offer is not applicable for to any fines and costs which have already been paid, or any tax refunds applied to the balance. To participate, individuals first need to email the circuit clerk's office for a quote. Included in that email needs to be the full name with middle initial, their address, their phone number, their email address, and their case number or numbers. The case information can be searched on the Circuit Clerk's website. To pay in person, one needs to visit the Circuit Clerk's Office in the Courthouse with a State ID or Driver's License and their Amnesty Week quotes. Payments can be made in cash, cashier's check, credit card or debit card. Online payments can also be made on the circuit clerk's website by selecting the 'Amnesty Week Payments' reference number or numbers from the Amnesty Week Quote or Quotes. Anyone with any questions about Amnesty Week should call 217-384-3725 or emailccircuitclerk@ for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
