Family can sue police for failure to prevent killing
The family of a murdered Glenview woman can move forward with a lawsuit against the Palatine and Glenview police, an Illinois appellate court has ruled this week.
Relatives of Mary Lacey -- who was found slain with her mother, Margaret Ballog, in Lacey's Glenview home in 2004 -- blame the two departments for failing to arrest her former boyfriend, Steven Zirko. The family alleges the agencies were tipped off earlier to a murder-for-hire plot and maintain the police had an obligation to protect her.
"They really had all the information in the world," the family's attorney, Tom Kelliher, said. "They made these affirmative promises (to protect her) and yet they just let her hang out there to dry. She literally had no protection."
Neither a representative of the Palatine police nor an attorney for the village could be reached for comment.
Lacey, 38, and Ballog, 60, were found dead Dec. 13, 2004. Zirko is awaiting trial, accused of asking a chiropractor and two others -- all of whom refused -- to take part in the killing. He's charged with solicitation to commit murder and the actual killing.
The family's lawsuit was filed in 2005, pursuant to a state domestic violence act that Kelliher said essentially obligates police officers who have been alerted of potential violence to take "reasonable measures" to protect victims.
The suit focused on three municipalities -- Glenview, Palatine and Chicago. A judge later dismissed it, sending the case to the appellate court.
The family only appealed the judge's ruling in regard to Palatine and Glenview police.
The appellate court's decision allows the family to proceed with the lawsuit relating to Lacey, but not her mother.
While no formal settlement demand has yet been made, Kelliher said Lacey's family is seeking compensation both for the suffering Lacey endured during the murder and for the benefit of her four children.
The police agencies still can opt to take the situation to the state's supreme court. They have 30 days in which to ask that court to hear it.
In the meantime, Zirko's criminal case continues to wind through the court system. His next appearance is set for Feb. 14 in Skokie.