Accused teen allowed to leave home to work

Last month, Cook County Judge John Scotillo modified the 24-hour curfew imposed on Kevin Schuh to allow the teenager to leave his residence to look for a job.

After learning from defense attorney Barry Sheppard during a hearing Thursday in Rolling Meadows that a family friend had offered Schuh a part-time job as a laborer on a construction project, Scotillo granted Sheppard's request that the 18-year-old be allowed to leave his home for work.

Prospect Heights police charged Schuh with reckless homicide and aggravated drunken driving in the December hit-and-run death of 15-year-old Arlington Heights resident Monika Skrzypkowski.

Another Rolling Meadows judge had set Schuh's bond at $500,000 and ordered him confined to his home in the 1700 block of Kensington in Mount Prospect.

Sheppard requested the modification of bond conditions so Schuh can earn money to pay for his legal defense. He will earn about $100 per day working construction two or three days per week to start, with the potential of going full-time once summer begins, Sheppard said. Schuh has complied with all his bond conditions, said Kay Smith, pretrial services officer for the Cook Count Adult Probation Department. The high school senior has been home schooled since voluntarily withdrawing from Hersey High School earlier this year after school officials expressed concern for his safety. He has kept up with his studies, Smith said and is currently receiving treatment for depression.

Assistant State's Attorney Karen Crothers called a modification of bond "inappropriate" and suggested that the false report to police Schuh made following the accident indicates he cannot conduct himself according to society's standards.

Citing the defendant's lack of criminal history, Scotillo granted Sheppard's request, adding that he must return home immediately after work.