McHenry sheriff responds to criticism over river patrols on day of fatal crash

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is pushing back on a TV news report last week that tied its marine unit’s scheduling to a deadly July 25 crash on the Fox River.

The report from CBS Channel 2 indicated the sheriff’s office had no boat patrols scheduled for the river on the Saturday afternoon when a pontoon boat traveling more than 70 mph collided with a smaller vessel near the McHenry Dam.

The collision killed 48-year-old Magdalena Jablonska of Des Plaines, a passenger in the smaller boat. The pontoon boat’s driver, Richard Stevenson, 45, of Lisle, faces charges including first-degree murder and aggravated driving under the influence.

According to the CBS report, July 25 was one of more than 20 Saturdays and Sundays this summer on which none of the sheriff’s four patrols boats were scheduled to be on the water.

In a statement issued after the report aired, the sheriff’s office said its marine unit operations “present unique staffing challenges.”

Those include finding enough qualified law enforcement officers willing to take on water patrols — in addition to their regular duties, and often at night and on weekends — for the $25 an hour the county pays.

The statement also cites “difficult budget decisions.” The county’s total budget for marine patrols is $63,000.

“Our regular full-time patrol deputies cannot simply be reassigned to fill these seasonal positions because employee classifications and collective bargaining agreements govern those assignments,” the sheriff’s statement reads. “As a result, the Marine Unit relies on a limited pool of qualified law enforcement personnel.”

That means the unit doesn’t always have enough deputies to fill every shift, according to the sheriff’s office.

“The size and geography of the waterway, required training, available personnel, and seasonal scheduling mean the Marine Unit cannot be everywhere on the river at every hour of every day,” the statement reads.

Memorial Saturday

Friends, family, boaters and other mourners are set to gather at the McHenry Dam at 2 p.m. Saturday to honor and say farewell to Jablonska with a memorial service.

The ceremony will include a performance of TAPS by students from McHenry High School and speakers from the Women Marine Association, of which Marine Corps veteran Jablonska was a member.

A wreath-laying in the river is also planned.

On Wednesday, Stevenson appeared in court briefly for a status hearing on his case. He’s due back in court for another pretrial status hearing Nov. 5.

Second trial, same result

A Central Illinois man was found guilty of murder — for a second time — in the January 2021 slaying of an Aurora man in front of his 6-year-old child.

Rodolfo Madrigal, 46, of Streator, faces a minimum of 45 years in prison after a Kane County jury last week convicted him in the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Andrew Contreras in Montgomery.

Authorities said Contreras was shot the morning of Jan. 12, 2021, when a vehicle pulled up next to his on a Route 30 ramp, and someone inside opened fire. Contreras’ child was in the vehicle, but fortunately not injured.

Madrigal was initially convicted in 2023 but was granted a second trial after a court ruled improper evidence had been admitted. That evidence was a gun presented before jurors, but without evidence linking it to the deadly shooting.

A second trial led to the same result Tuesday, when a jury convicted Madrigal of first-degree murder.

Closing the case

Kane County prosecutors and the lawyer for disgraced Batavia chiropractor David Hanson are asking a judge to bar the public from court when Hanson is sentenced Nov. 10 on allegations he secretly records patients nude or partially clothed.

Defense lawyer Matthew Haiduk said the unusual step is necessary to “maintain proper decorum, minimize unnecessary courtroom distractions, and safeguard all procedural rights.” Prosecutor Matt Rodgers said in a hearing Tuesday that it would also show sensitivity to the victims, many of whom are minors or were when they were recorded.

Haiduk is asking that only Hanson’s immediate relatives, immediate relatives of the victims, news reporters, and essential court personnel be allowed.

Authorities believe Hanson, 44, recorded at least 180 people at his Batavia office. He pleaded guilty Sept. 3 to felony charges of producing child sexual abuse material of someone under 13 and disseminating child sexual abuse material of someone under 13.

Hanson now faces 12 to 60 years in prison when sentenced. Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler will consider the motion to close his courtroom for the proceedings next week.

copsandcrime@dailyherald.com