Courthouse staff raises $3,800 for Kuhl family
By selling homemade treats and collecting donations in cans, the employees at the Cook County Circuit Court in Rolling Meadows raised more than $3,800 for the family of Joshua Kuhl, a man they didn't know but whose story touched their hearts.
Kuhl, 33, a volunteer firefighter, Iraq war veteran and the father of 15-month-old triplets, died Aug 2 after he lost control of his motorcycle on the ramp from Route 53 to I-290. He was on his way home to Machesney Park after providing fingerprints to the Wheeling Fire Department, which was about to hire him as a full-time firefighter. Kuhl was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
Kuhl's wife, Kalie, 29, brought the couple's three boys - Travin, Gavin and Broden - to the courthouse Tuesday to meet some of the people who spearheaded the fundraiser. Cook County Sheriff Chief Ralph DeBartolo presented her with an envelope of money and offered to help with anything she needed.
Kalie Kuhl thanked everyone and said the outpouring of support has sustained her these past few weeks. Tuesday would have been their second wedding anniversary.
"It's been so nice to know there are so many good people out there," she said. "We're taking it day by day. The boys have been the main driving factor. It's been hard every day to wake up. But I have three little reminders of (Josh). They look just like him."
It was an emotional gathering for Cook County Sheriff's Deputy Ruben Archilla, one of four people who pulled over to help Kuhl after the accident and administered CPR until paramedics arrived. A flight attendant, a rookie Illinois state trooper and an aquatics supervisor from the Bloomingdale Park District also were among the Good Samaritans who pulled over and tried to save Kuhl.
"It's our job to do this. It's what we're trained to do," said Archilla, a 30-year veteran of the force.
Since then, Archilla spent days standing in the courthouse, holding a can and asking for donations for the Kuhl family.
"There was a 5-year-old boy who came up and gave a nickel. He said, 'I know it's not much,' ... and I just busted up into tears," Archilla said.
Other donors included people in trouble with the law and people who obviously had very little money.
"You can't judge people," Archilla said. "There's a heart in everyone and it just takes something to bring it out."
Kalie Kuhl showed the sheriff's deputies one of the four plaster casts the Lutheran General Hospital staff made of her husband's hand while he was in a coma. There's one for her and each of her boys. Archilla asked to touch the hand, and after he did, he excused himself from the pizza party and cried.
"The last time I touched his hand was when I took his pulse," Archilla said afterward.
Sheriff's deputies Jeanne Raines and Kathy Perry, who are sisters, fawned over the Kuhl triplets, who inspired them to spend three nights baking so there would be items for the fundraising bake sale. It's one of four bake sales they've done recently to help children facing a crisis.
"You realize how lucky you are. You have your health, you have a job ... and it's so horrible when a kid loses a parent," Raines said.
Archilla said some people questioned why they went to all of this trouble for people they don't know.
"Because that's what American people are made out of," Archilla said. "It's our duty as Americans to take care of each other. He served for us, and now we have to serve for him."
Donations are still being accepted for the fund created for the family. Checks can be mailed to the The Kuhl Triplets, c/o Sycamore National Bank and Trust, 230 W. State St., Sycamore, IL 60178.
Assistant City Editor James Kane contributed to this report.