Judge to rule Nov. 13 on unsealing report

Published Nov. 8, 2013

By MICHAEL LANSU
Staff Reporter

A Cook County judge said Friday he’ll rule next week whether to unseal a special prosecutor’s report in the David Koschman case.

Judge Michael P. Toomin scheduled a hearing Wednesday to rule on the motion by the Chicago Sun-Times and WMAQ-Channel 5 to make the report public.

Toomin had sealed the report at the request of Dan K. Webb, the special prosecutor he appointed last year to reinvestigate the 21-year-old Mount Prospect man’s 2004 death and also to determine whether police and prosecutors should be charged over their handling of the case.

Webb’s investigation led to the indictment last December of Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley, for involuntary manslaughter. Vanecko, now living in southern California, is accused of throwing the punch on April 25, 2004, that led to the death of Koschman after a drunken confrontation on Division Street near Dearborn Street.

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________In September, Webb decided no one from the Chicago Police Department or the Cook County state’s attorney’s office should be charged and filed his 162-page report with Toomin.

Lawyers for Daley’s nephew don’t want the report made public before Vanecko stands trial in February, saying that could prejudice potential jurors.

Adding its objections Friday was the Fraternal Order of Police, which said the report could harm the reputation of police officers.

Webb’s appointment came after a series of reports in the Sun-Times that questioned the handling of the case by police and prosecutors.

Email: mlansu@suntimes.com

Twitter: @mikelansu