DuPage leaders team up to address deadly cases of domestic violence

The good news is that after years of staggering increases in the wake of the COVID pandemic, the number of domestic violence-related killings in the state plummeted 26% in 2025, according to the latest homicide report from the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The bad news is that the 101 deaths reported in 2025 are still way too many.

It was with that in mind that criminal justice system leaders in DuPage County, led by State’s Attorney Bob Berlin, this week announced the launch of a Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team.

The team brings together prosecutors, police, advocates and representatives of the coroner’s, public defender’s and probation offices. They’ll meet at least four times a year to examine how the system addressed fatal or near-fatal incidents of domestic violence from the recent past.

The idea, Berlin told us Wednesday, is to look for ways they could have done better.

“We’ve made a lot of progress on domestic violence, but it still remains a huge issue in the community,” he said. “Anything we can do to improve our response, we should be taking advantage of.”

The review will include an examination of the history between the people involved in a domestic killing, and whether warning signs were missed that could have prevented a tragic outcome. The team will then draft a report of its findings, including recommendations for policy and prevention improvements.

The team will include officers from the West Chicago, Wheaton and Willowbrook police departments, as well as advocates from Family Shelter Service of Metropolitan Family Services DuPage, the Center for Advancing Domestic Peace, the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services, Document the Abuse and the DuPage Family Center.

Berlin noted that everyone involved is volunteering to take on the added work.

“Does the community feel safer? That’s the goal,” Berlin said. “If we can achieve that, then we’ve really accomplished something.”

The numbers

According to the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s annual homicide report, there were 72 deadly cases of domestic violence in 2025 that led to 101 deaths — 83 homicides and 18 perpetrator suicides. There were 137 deaths in 2024, which was the high point of a three-year surge that saw a 140% increase.

Three of the reported 2025 deaths occurred in DuPage. The most occurred in Cook County (39), followed by Kane (6), Lake (4) and McHenry (3).

Despite the May 2025 enactment of Karina’s Law, which makes it easier to remove firearms from a suspected abuser, gunshot wounds remained by far the most common cause of death, responsible for 68% of the killings.

About 69% of the homicide victims were female, and 95% of the perpetrators were male, the report states. And about 41% of the victims were current or former intimate partners, with other family members and friends of the perpetrator making up the rest.

It’s becoming a habit

A Downers Grove man awaiting trial on charges that he threatened to kill a police officer following a 2023 driving under the influence arrest is back behind bars facing new allegations of doing the same last weekend.

Ron McClain, 47, of the 400 block of Austin Street, is charged with threatening a public official, DUI and other crimes stemming from his arrest Saturday in Darien, DuPage County prosecutors said this week.

According to prosecutors, McClain was pulled over at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, after a police officer saw him driving on Cass Avenue while not wearing a seat belt, accelerating for no apparent reason and then slowing down, and swerving within his lane.

Following a preliminary breath test, on which McClain registered a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit, he was arrested, authorities said. McClain then told an officer, “I wish I catch you out on the street. I’m going to shoot you,” prosecutors allege.

At the time, McClain had been on pretrial release awaiting trial on charges stemming from a 2023 DUI arrest in Westmont, during which authorities allege he repeatedly threatened to shoot an officer in the head.

In that case, McClain faces four counts of threatening a public official, a Class 3 Felony.

DuPage County Judge Anthony Coco on Sunday ordered McClain to be held in the county jail while awaiting trial in the new case. On Wednesday, Judge Jeffrey MacKay revoked his pretrial release in the 2023 case.

McClain’s next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 4.

copsandcrime@dailyherald.com