Homeless man remanded to facility in Arlington Heights stabbing
A Cook County judge this week committed Michael Todd, a homeless man who stabbed another homeless man outside the Arlington Heights Memorial Library in December 2008, to the Illinois Department of Human Services for 21 years.
Authorities say Todd stabbed the other man because he believed the man used a racial slur against him.
In February, Judge Kay Hanlon found Todd, 55, not guilty by reason of insanity of attempted murder after forensic psychiatrist Dr. Peter Lourgos and forensic psychologist Eric Neu testified that Todd was legally insane at the time of the stabbing. On Tuesday, she found him in need of inpatient treatment at a state mental health facility to be determined by DHS. He has been housed at the Chester Mental Health Center since psychiatrists found him unfit to stand trial in May 2009.
Todd’s background includes half a dozen hospitalizations for mental health issues dating back to 1971.
Lourgos diagnosed Todd with schizoaffective disorder, characterized by delusions, bipolar condition, paranoia and feelings of persecution, among other symptoms. Lourgos, assistant director of forensic clinical services for the Cook County circuit court, testified that records show Todd has refused to take his medication and that Chester officials had to obtain a court order to medicate him. Lourgos also testified that Todd has shown no improvement despite changes in his medication.
At an earlier hearing, Lourgos cited Todd’s history of violence and homicidal ideations as reasons for an involuntary commission to DHS.