Encounter with the Chicago Bears... and their wives

With the news of Tank Johnson marring a memorable season for Chicago Bear fans, including a Super Bowl run, the wives of Bear players pitched in to help special needs children with support from their husbands.

Days after talking with Johnson outside his doorstep in the midst of a season in turmoil, it was an opportunity for me to report on the positives the team is doing within a community.

There was one rule they conveyed to media members covering the event, no discussing the Johnson case.

Face-to-face with their favorite players

Bears, wives reach out to SEDOL students

December 20, 2006

By Jason Arndt

The News-Sun

GAGES LAKE - It isn't every day a child gets to meet his dream athlete, but for special needs students at the Special Education District of Lake County, it became a reality Tuesday as they met three Chicago Bears. John Tait and his wife Jeneva are honorary board members of SEDOL and helped organize the holiday party for the students along with other Bears' wives.

"We are giving out gift cards this year, thanks to Target, and we have goodies for the kids this year to give to their parents as gifts," said Jeneva Tait. "The kids don't have much of an opportunity to give gifts to their parents, and with this they can. On top of that, the kids will be getting autographs from the players."

"It is always fun to interact with the kids and answer any questions they may have," said her husband, offensive lineman John Tait.

The Taits were introduced to SEDOL through the Bears organization when they arrived in Chicago from the Kansas City Chiefs. John Tait was looking for an organization to assist in the Chicago metro region.

"This organization helps a lot of kids in the Lake County region, which is where I live now," he said.

The Bears' Charles Tillman and Rasheid Davis also attended the event with their wives to show support for the children.

In addition to spending time with the children, the players also read them holiday books with Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa themes.

Tillman and his wife Jackie sat next to one of his fans during lunch and talked to the child.

"I was kind of scared because I had never met an NFL player before," said 11-year-old Nate, wearing a No. 87 Muhsin Muhammed Bears' jersey. "It feels good to have them with me today. Charles is my guy on defense."

Tillman read a Hanukkah-themed book to the children in rotations with his two participating teammates.

"I am really looking forward to doing this with the kids and be there for questions," he said.

The defensive back does plenty of community service opportunities in the Chicago area.

"I usually do these community service things in Chicago schools, so this is the first time I have been at SEDOL," Tillman said. "The wives deserve all the credit in putting this together."

The wives helped the children arrange arts and crafts for their families.

"I just want to wish the wives well in this because they are doing this out of the kindness of their hearts," Charles Tillman said.

Jackie Tillman was impressed with the turnout of children with around 100 in attendance.

"They are all excited and this is what it is all about," she said.

Injured defensive back Mike Brown was going to attend, but had a doctor's appointment, according to his wife, Erin.

"All three guys have huge hearts and they are always giving back to the community," said Erin Brown. "They give as much as they can in the amount of time they have during the season. Every child deserves attention, and it does take time but it's worth it."

Wide receiver Rashied Davis supports children and the value of education.

"I will do anything for the kids, you know. I am a big fan of education, especially for the kids who need a little extra help," said Davis, who has done projects with children prior to joining the Bears when he was a member of an Arena Football League team.

Marcus, a 15-year-old with SEDOL, was working an arts activity with Davis' wife, Diana.

"It's shocking (to be face to face with a player)," said Marcus. "It feels good to have them reach out to us."

Outrage in Lindenhurst - Suspect with Violent Past

There was a substantial amount of emotion as I arrived in the Town of Trevor in November as part of team coverage in the Lindenhurst Burger King slaying.

As I made the trip alongside a photographer to gather information about who the victim of the slaying was, I knew it was going to be a tough task, as I had the unfortunate task of approaching the husband at their Kenosha County home.

In the ensuing investigation of the murder case it was confirmed the suspect had a violent past dating back to the year I was born in 1982.

James Ealy went off the hook for a murder offense committed in Chicago 24 years earlier and was able to obtain employment and fly under the radar undetected - all due to a technicality.

Hutchison's neighbors decry violence

November, 2006

By Jason Arndt

The News-Sun

TREVOR, Wis. - A small rural community is beginning to react to the news of a local woman who was killed at a Lindenhurst Burger King Nov. 27. Mary Hutchison, 45, was a Trevor, Wis. resident who worked at two Lake County Burger Kings marred by robbery attempts involving herself. Hutchison was a mother of three children and had a husband, Ken, who was too distraught to speak to The News-Sun late Tuesday morning.

The news of the murder is starting to trickle into the western Kenosha county region as more citizens are hearing the news from others or from news sources.

Hutchison was robbed nine months earlier at the Antioch Burger King, making the woman seek a transfer to another Burger King with less violence.

"People are bringing the big city crime to us," said Antioch resident Ed Simpson, 72, who said he has noticed crime rates going up around his home in the last five years. "They (the community) seem to be taking it very well, but it is disconcerting to them," Simpson said.

Simpson was a former part-time police officer for the police department in far south suburban Hazelcrest and has a theory on how the attack may have occurred.

"Somebody must have waited until they were closed to do the job," Simpson said. "They hung around until everyone was gone and ambushed her. You don't have to be a criminal or rocket scientist to figure out when a place closes."

Simpson has been familiar with western Kenosha County and northwest Lake County region for more than 40 years and owns a nearby airport.

Simpson's friend, Robert Kussmann, was eating lunch with him at the CowMark Cafe and said criminals are left with too many opportunities to commit crimes.

"Anytime you give someone and opportunity to break a law, they will," said Kussman, 81.

Salem resident Terri Miller said more needs to be done to arm managers with protection during late night hours or better train employees to minimize the damage done in violent situations.

"I think all owners and managers should get protection to prevent them from being killed," Miller said. "There is just too much violence nowadays, people want things they can't have."

The 55-year-old Miller suggests adding more employees during late night hours to discourage violence.

Simpson agrees with Miller about staffing situations during closing times.

"One person should not be left alone, man or woman to close a restaurant (or any other establishment)," Simpson said.

Simpson added law enforcement agencies have been more restricted in this era than what he experienced 30 years prior.

"Nowadays police have to handle criminals with soft cuffs" and prosecutors are more limited.

Simpson mentioned many criminals tend to undergo rounds of appeals to prevent them from seeing the death penalty and the extent of their punishments.

"They just die of old age with the time they spend on appeals," Simpson said.

As the community grieves, "time will tell" on how residents of the Trevor and surrounding areas will respond, according to Kussmann.

In addition, both Kussmann and Simpson remember when they were able to keep the doors of their houses unlocked, but in this era they can't.

TEAM COVERAGE REPORTS...

Man held in murder of fast-food manager

December 2, 2006

Lisa Donovan

Chicago Sun-Times

Authorities announced an arrest Friday in the case of a Burger King manager found slain earlier this week inside the fast-food franchise in far north suburban Lindenhurst.

James "Jim" Ealy, 42, of Lake Villa, was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree homicide in the slaying of restaurant manager Mary Hutchison, 45, of Trevor, Wis.

Police said the suspect is a "service worker" for area fast-food and department stores and that he is married.

Reached by phone late Friday, a Lake Villa man who identified himself as Ealy's brother said only: "This is going through his lawyers, but he's totally innocent."

The arrest comes five days after Hutchison was found dead by a fellow employee.

Apparently Hutchison had arrived at work early Monday; by the time a co-worker arrived, she was dead -- apparently the victim of blunt trauma -- lying next to an open, empty safe in an office area, police said.

Lindenhurst Police Chief Jack McKeever said Friday night he was "very, very happy to know the case was resolved in less than five days."

'Told me the guy confessed'

About 25 investigators on the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force have been working on the case, examining restaurant security video and other leads in the case.

Authorities weren't talking Friday night about what led them to Ealy but said the motive was robbery. Ealy was in the Lake County Jail.

Hutchison worked 14 years for Burger King, family said. She started in Lindenhurst in June.

Hutchison had been the victim of a robbery and pistol-whipping at another Burger King where she had worked.

"I'm just glad. . . . Leaving someone out there like that is just wrong," Hutchison's ex-husband, Grant Nothnagle of Milwaukee, said Friday night.

Their son Richard, 22, had told Nothnagle of the arrest and charges. "He told me the guy confessed," Nothnagle said.

Murder suspect had violent past

'He should not have been on the street': former Cook County prosecutor

December 5, 2006

By Eric Herman and Annie Sweeney

Chicago Sun-Times

Two decades before he allegedly murdered Mary Hutchison in a Lindenhurst Burger King, James Ealy was convicted of murdering a pregnant woman and three children on Chicago's West Side. But an appellate court threw out his conviction - and left prosecutors no evidence to try him again. 

"He should not have been on the street," said Brian Telander, who prosecuted Ealy as an assistant Cook County state's attorney. "He was an evil, evil person."

Telander, 54, said he felt "sick" when he heard Ealy had allegedly killed again.

"I'm a defense lawyer now, and obviously I recognize that the law has to be followed," he said. "But this was a person that there was just no doubt he was guilty."

Last week, a co-worker discovered Hutchison's body inside a Burger King in Lindenhurst. Hutchison, 45, was found next to an open, empty safe. She had been strangled with the bowtie from her uniform, prosecutors said.

On Saturday, a Lake County judge ordered Ealy held without bond after prosecutors charged him with murder. Prosecutors said Ealy, who had formerly worked at the Burger King as a maintenance man, killed Hutchison after robbing the restaurant.

Ealy "made incriminating statements" during videotaped questioning, Lake County State's Attorney Michael Waller said. And a search of his Lake Villa apartment yielded currency linked to the Burger King robbery, as well as clothes he purportedly wore during the murder.

For Telander, hearing how Hutchison had been strangled brought back memories - horrible memories - of the Parker case.

On Aug. 16, 1982, police discovered the bodies of Christine Parker and her three children - Mary Ann, Cora and Jontae -- in a seventh-floor apartment in the Rockwell Gardens housing project. The victims had been strangled, and Jontae, a 3-year-old boy, had been raped. Christine Parker was pregnant.

Ealy, then 17, had been dating 15-year-old Mary Ann Parker. Police questioned him and searched his bedroom, where they found evidence linking him to the crime, including a length of khaki material similar to what was found embedded in the neck of one victim.

During 18 hours of interrogation - during which Ealy claimed he was deprived of sleep and food - police say Ealy confessed to the murders. A jury found him guilty, but the Illinois appellate court reversed the verdict.

In an opinion written by Justice James C. Murray, and joined by fellow justices Francis Lorenz and R. Eugene Pincham, the court found Chicago Police lacked probable cause when they tookEaly into custody. 

Since the confession and searches of his bedroom stemmed from the faulty arrest, that evidence should have been excluded from trial, Murray wrote. Without that evidence, prosecutors decided not to retry the case.

Cook County Judge Thomas Maloney, who had presided over Ealy's trial, expressed horror when the decision came down, Telander said.

"Maloney said from the bench that the appellate court should take out billboards warning the people of Chicago that this monster had been let loose," he said.

Maloney was convicted in 1993 of taking bribes to fix cases.

Murray died in 1999. Lorenz and Pincham could not be reached for comment. Grant Nothnagle, Hutchison's ex-husband, said he was "stunned" to learn Ealy had gone free in the 1982 case. "I just hope at this point the system does not allow another loophole like that," he said.

At the time of his arrest in 1982, Ealy was on bond for a rape committed in the same Rockwell Gardens building, Telander said. Catholic Charities bailed him out. The prestigious law firm Jenner & Block represented Ealy on his appeal in the Parker case.

Ealy's mother, Katherine, who lives on the South Side, said her son is innocent of the homicide charges. But the shadow of the Parker case never left him, she said.

"It's been a struggle," said Katherine Ealy, adding that "society" failed to land him a good job, which is "what happens when people are wrongly convicted."

Contributing: Lisa Donovan and Dan Rozek

Community under seige

City of Zion became a community in turmoil following the killing of a 16-year-old gang member attempting to burglarize a home.

Only the homeowners were Muslim and led to significant outcry within the small city near the Illinois/Wisconsin stateline and consequently the homeowners became a target of threats.

Zion Police opted to not file charges against the couple citing self-defense and protection of personal property.

Leaders within the city stepped up and became activists and eventually concluded with a citizen discussion to mend the fences at a town hall meeting.

My reports were picked up off the SunTimes NewsGroup wire service and published in the parent newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times.

Most bizarre in the case would be the father of the shooting victim returned to Zion following years of living in Baltimore, Md.

During the ensuing outcry of violent threats against the couple and investigation of gang members, the father sent me multiple items through the mail including his police report dating back 20 years.

One of the notes included in the bulk mailing asked me to contact him by phone to discuss any issues he had with the article. All he said was to report that "Shorty" is back in town.

Due to increased tension I handed over the developing stories to another reporter to minimize future contact. The reporter indicated to me later the father was not happy with what was written in my report.

Police, Muslim community address threats

December 5, 2006

Jason Arndt

SunTimes NewsGroup

jarndt@scn1.com

ZION--The City of Zion is working to quash the recent threats to a local Muslim family following a home invasion during which a 16-year-old alleged gang member was killed.

Zion police are reaching out to Muslim groups in the area to prevent any potential hate crimes arising out of the incident. A town hall meeting will be held next week where Zion officials and members of the Muslim community will work with the public to bring a better understanding of the Muslim faith.

"The Zion Police Department has been one of the most helpful on all levels," said Hasan Hakeem, President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. "The Police Department has assured us that the (Sharif and Saffiyya) Darr family would not be harmed."

In addition to working with the Muslim community, police are also utilizing its gang unit to determine
the source of the threats, said Police Chief Doug Malcolm.

Gerrell Davis was shot and killed Friday night as the 16-year-old was allegedly attempting to enter the
Jethro Avenue home to steal merchandise from the Darr's online eBay business.

The couple and their relatives have been subjected to online and telephone death threats since the incident.

Zion Police did not issue any charges against Saffiyya Darr because they say she was defending herself, her home and property.

For more details on the Darr's harrowing experience and the upcoming town hall meeting, pick up
Wednesday's edition of the News-Sun and check out our Web site.

Family threatened after killing young intruder

December 7, 2006

By Jason Arndt

SunTimes NewsGroup

  

Police have arrested a 16-year-old youth in connection with a fatal home invasion in far north suburban Zion last Friday.

The juvenile expected to be charged in the case is being held at the Depke Juvenile Detention Center in Vernon Hills, Police Chief Doug Malcolm said Wednesday.

He would not discuss if the teen was an alleged accomplice of Gerrell Davis, who was shot and killed as he entered the home of Sharif and Saffiyya Darr in an attempt to steal shoes from the couple's eBay business.

Davis, also 16, had his face covered with a ski mask and brandished a .22-caliber rifle when he entered the Darrs' home.

Malcolm said police are continuing to investigate the case after the couple and their relatives were subjected to death threats online and through the telephone.

Hasan Hakeem, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, believes the community has been brought together during this situation.

"The police have been very supportive of the Darr family, and the community has reached out to them," Malcolm said.

CeaseFire, a violence prevention program overseen by Waukegan Township, has also been working to stop any retaliation against the couple.

Masked juvenile forced way into couple's house with rifle

Homeowner fatally shoots armed teen

December 4, 2006

By Jason Arndt

jarndt@scn1.com

The News-Sun

ZION-Sixteen-year-old Gerrall N. Davis of Zion, wearing a ski mask and black knit gloves and carrying a .22-caliber rifle, was shot twice and killed after he broke into a house at 1721 Jethro Ave. 

Police Chief Douglas Malcolm said residents Saffiyya A. Darr and her husband heard knocking on their front door about 10 p.m. They yelled out, asking who it was. Several minutes later, they heard a loud sound at their back door.

Saffiyya retrieved a 9 mm handgun from her bedroom and fired two shots, hitting Davis once in the shoulder and once in the abdomen.

Police arrived at the scene at 10:15 p.m. and found Davis lying on the kitchen floor with the rifle and wearing a black ski mask.

Zion Fire and Rescue took Davis to Vista Medical Center East, Waukegan, where he was pronounced dead at midnight by emergency room personnel.

"The gunshot to the abdomen was the fatal wound," Lake County Coroner Dr. Richard Keller said after an autopsy.

According to Malcolm, the Darrs had no connection with the intruder.

Evidence technicians found that the door had been forced open and the doorjamb shattered, Malcolm said.

"The investigation is still ongoing, but as far as we know, no charges have been filed against Darr," Malcolm said. "If you are sitting at home at night and someone kicks the door open, you have the right to defend yourself."

Malcolm said Davis was placed on juvenile probation in 2005 for aggravated battery.

Police expect to release information today or Tuesday regarding the licensing of both weapons involved in the incident.

Correspondent A.J. Goldsmith contributed to this report.

Taser use in Wauconda

Routine review leads to inquiring story

Researching common council agendas in a majority of jurisdictions led me to generate an original story with high approval from the News Editor.

When I sat at my desk paging through agendas in North Chicago, Lake Forest, Waukegan, Antioch, etc. - one city stood out to me - Wauconda.

At the top of the agenda was an approval to fund and eventually utilize tasers in the Wauconda Police force.

A story was born when I printed out the agenda and showed it to the news editor and he instantly said:

"We got a story, want to do a story on tasers, Arndt?"

Immediately conducted research by contacting all law enforcement agencies in Lake County and gauge opinions on taser use and if they utilize them.

City of Waukegan Police Chief stepped forward and was available for an interview and in the process learned about how Common Council meetings are conducted and items are approved.

Ouch! This could hurt!

By Jason Arndt
jarndt@scn1.com

The Wauconda Police Department could be the latest Lake County law enforcement group to add Tasers to its arsenal.

Including the Lake County Sheriff's Office, there are four law enforcement agencies in the county utilizing Tasers as part of an officer's defense. The other three agencies with Tasers are 

Waukegan, Libertyville and Mundelein.

Despite skepticism among several law enforcement officials, Waukegan is looking to expand its Taser program by purchasing an additional 10 to 15 Tasers to utilize on the streets.

Police Chief William Biang will propose the new additions to the force to the City Council.

"We did a large amount of research on Tasers and it is another tool in addition to pepper spray and rubber bullets," Biang said of the electronic stun guns.Tasers use compressed nitrogen to project two small probes connected to the weapon at subjects and when deployed the person is incapacitated by an electronic impulse which causes the immediate loss of neuromuscular control.

Biang said he has confidence in the plan for Wauconda's efforts in adding Tasers as a defense mechanism.

"Wauconda making the decision to utilize them is no different than Waukegan," Biang said. "Or any other community that decides to put less-lethal alternatives in their hands."In addition, the chief said the Wauconda community likely did extensive research and weighed the positive and negative aspects of Tasers before making a final decision.

"Usually (the board) will follow the chief's recommendations because they know that we are going to do our background and follow through on these things," Biang said. "And ultimately, we are responsible for what we do in our departments, just like the chief of Wauconda for what happens in his department."I think what they are going to do is make a good, educated decision and utilize it professionally," he added.According to Wauconda Village Administrator Dan Quick, the reception of the proposal by Police Chief Tony Jacobson was positive at a recent Village Board session and will be voted on during the board's Nov. 7 meeting. The village will be looking to purchase seven Tasers for a total of $7,500.

Jacobson and the Village Board's Police Committee had discussions regarding the addition of Tasers to assist in apprehending disorderly suspects.

"I think it is an additional tool for our officers to use on patrol when subjects are out of control," Quick said.Lindenhurst Police Chief Jack McKeever is one of several agencies not utilizing Tasers due to incomplete research of the defense weapon.

"We don't use that particular item because we are looking for clear research on the safety of it," McKeever said.The chief mentioned the Taser companies have been the only company conducting research on the electromagnetic tool and is looking for an objective observation on the safety of it before deciding whether to go forward with the plan.

McKeever was in Boston for a National Convention of Police Chiefs and networked with other police chiefs about the use of Tasers in their jurisdictions.According to McKeever, he heard reports from colleagues on fatalities and will use a "wait-and-see" approach in adding the tool to the Lindenhurst force.

The potential for new Tasers in Waukegan will cost $1,200 for each, with new equipment added such as a camera to use as evidence.

Biang said the Taser is useful because it ensures the safety of officers and is a less-lethal force to use on offenders when attempting to apprehend them.

"We study the periodicals, we study what is going on in the industry in the field of law enforcement and we are aware of all the so-called negative information," Biang said.According to various sources, there have been more than 300 fatalities after the use of Tasers on suspects in the United States.

"We have heard of people dying after the use of the Taser, but we have not heard of anyone dying (as a direct cause) of the Taser," Biang said.Biang noted a past situation within the Waukegan Police Department in which a suspect died after being tased by officers, but the coroner's office confirmed it was due to an overdose of drugs.

"It shouldn't be identified as something we use to injure anybody," Biang said. "What we use it for is to protect our officers, community and ultimately the offender we are bringing into custody."

Sports-to-news in an instant

Prep basketball story to a late night call to the Coroner

It was a Friday evening and reported to my sports assignment in DuPage County near Joliet, Ill. After collecting statistical information from the game at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn, interviewed the coach and snagged an interview from the player of the game.

Upon leaving the school, had the daunting task of making the return trip to the Waukegan newsroom in the midst of Chicago traffic just days prior to the Christmas holiday. Promptly completed a game recap after arriving at the newsroom with a half hour remaining until final deadline.

As I double-checked my work, clarified details and reviewed my agenda for the following week received a news tip from a graphic designer putting the final pieces together of the newspaper before sending it to press.

"Are you a news reporter?" the designer asked me. 

"Sunday through Thursday, but Fridays I usually am on sports," I replied.

"There was a homicide in Buffalo Grove today," the designer added.

Jumped up from my desk and immediately ran to the fax machine where I found the press release from the Buffalo Grove Police Department time stamped two hours earlier.

It was then I made the self-initiated decision to make a late night phone call the Lake County Coroner's home to receive any information regarding the homicide.

The coroner referred me to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office stating the crime was committed just barely over the Lake-Cook County border.

With 15 minutes to gather as much data as I could, made a 10:45pm phone call to Cook County where I received final confirmation - it was a double homicide.

Responded and filed a story in ten minutes. And there it was, managed to successfully transition from covering a high school sporting event in DuPage County to placing phone calls with two other jurisdictions regarding a double homicide.

Continuing coverage

Made the decision to continue following the developments of the double homicide until a suspect was located, arrested and charged with the crime.

And within a week of filing the initial story, Buffalo Grove Police had a man in custody. 

Another game of chance

Capturing a story

A former Wisconsin machinist was killed by law enforcement authorities following a standoff at an Antioch bar the evening before.

The editor called upon me again and directed me to a press conference being held in Waukegan to discuss and receive details of all the events which unfolded.

As I arrived, came into contact with Chicago television reporters and news vans with persistent reporters asking all the tough questions, myself included.

After learning the Wisconsin man resided in the Town of Trevor in Western Kenosha County decided to embark on a trip to the farmhouse all alone.

Carefully knocked on the door to find numerous business cards from Chicago media members with no avail from them. As I turned toward my car, discovered a couple people near a barn in the backyard.

Ascended towards them and realized they were the landlords of the victim and collected all comments needed and immediately returned to Waukegan and filed two stories in a matter of an hour.

Prior to arriving, made a phone call to the News Editor by a pay phone along US-45 in Antioch to inform him of the new information to send along to others in the newsroom.