Fitness hearing slated in Lombard murder

A fitness restoration hearing will be held next month for a one-time NFL hopeful with a history of mental illness who is accused of killing his Lombard neighbor.

DuPage Circuit Judge Peter J. Dockery on Tuesday set a June 30 hearing for Hubert D. Thompson, who is charged with hurling his 66-year-old neighbor to his death on March 30, 2007.

Authorities said Thompson, 30, confessed in a videotaped police interview to killing James A. Malone on the village's southwest side after accusing his neighbor of trying to poison him.

Last year, Dockery sent Thompson to the Elgin Mental Health Center for treatment after a court-appointed expert found him temporarily unfit because the defendant had trouble understanding the legal proceedings.

Thompson has a history of mental illness, including prior hospital stays, and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia with delusional thinking. He also has a learning disability.

But, the Elgin center's forensic program director told court officials in a recent report that Thompson's fitness has been restored through psychotropic medications and his participation in various treatment groups.

Thompson no longer suffers delusions, hallucinations or suicidal thoughts, according to the expert. He said the defendant has a good understanding of the legal process and is oriented, alert and doing well at the center. His psychiatrist and a social worker agreed.

It is Dockery, though, who has the final say.

The fatal encounter unfolded more than two years ago on the 100 block of South Finley Road. Neighbors alerted police after hearing a commotion. Officers found Malone severely injured and sprawled on the pavement. He was pronounced dead that night. Thompson peacefully surrendered seven hours later.

Malone sang in the choir at Christ the King Catholic Church in Lombard and was active with the Knights of Columbus. He was retired.

At Proviso West High School in Hillside, the 6-foot, 5-inch Thompson was ranked the nation's top-rated defensive end prospect his senior year in 1996-1997. He also played at Michigan State and left college early to declare for the NFL draft, but he wasn't selected.