Koschman death case judge won't unseal report

A Cook County judge on Wednesday declined to unseal a special prosecutor's report on how investigators handled the case of a Mount Prospect man who died following an altercation with former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's nephew.

Judge Michael P. Toomin on Wednesday rejected the motion by the Chicago Sun-Times and WMAQ-Channel 5 to make the report public. Special Prosecutor Dan K. Webb's 162-page report detailed his probe into the 2004 death of David Koschman, 21, and the actions of police and prosecutors investigating the case.

Webb announced in September that no police or prosecutors will face charges for their roles in the investigation.

Locke Bowman, the Koschmans' attorney, said the family expects the report eventually will be made public. The judge noted Wednesday that sealing the documents may be a “temporary measure.”

“While we are disappointed the special prosecutor's report won't be released today our disappointment is tempered because we understand that the report will be released immediately following the completion of the Vanecko trial,” Bowman said.

Toomin appointed Webb as special prosecutor in April 2012 to investigate whether criminal charges should be brought in connection with Koschman's death and “whether, from 2004 to the present, employees of the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County state's attorney's office acted intentionally to suppress and conceal evidence, furnish false evidence, and generally impede the investigation into Mr. Koschman's death.” Webb's appointment came after allegations surfaced that political influence had played a part in the initial decision not to charge anyone. In December, eight months after Webb's probe began, Daley nephew Richard J. Vanecko, 39, was indicted on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Vanecko has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

According to a statement Webb made in December, Vanecko punched Koschman during a confrontation outside a Rush Street bar, causing the Mount Prospect man to fall and hit his head on the pavement. Koschman died of his injuries 11 days later.