Schaumburg mom who killed disabled daughter ordered back to prison
A Cook County judge on Tuesday ordered the Schaumburg mother who killed her disabled daughter with drugs to report back to prison next week, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
Bonnie Liltz was sentenced to four years in prison after she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the 2015 case in which she was initially charged with murder. She and her lawyer have said the Illinois Department of Corrections is unable to provide Liltz with proper treatment, as she battles cancer and other health issues, and incarceration is tantamount to a death sentence.
"I have a very real concern she's not going to survive," said Thomas Glasgow, Liltz's attorney.
Liltz suffers from short bowel syndrome, ABC 7 reported, making it difficult for her to maintain a healthy weight. Even prosecutors suggested she should receive probation, but the Illinois Supreme Court disagreed.
On Tuesday, Judge Joel Greenblat denied Liltz's motion asking that the Department of Corrections provide special medical attention.
"I'm not directing IDOC to do anything of the sort," Greenblat said. He ordered her to report back to prison at 1 p.m. Monday.
Liltz served 73 days of her sentence before being freed on bail during her appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Glasgow said then he will appeal to Gov. Bruce Rauner for a commutation. Liltz is scheduled for a hearing in front of the Prisoner Review Board in early January.
For more than two decades, the single mom from Schaumburg cared for Courtney, who had cerebral palsy, could not walk or talk, and required 24-hour care.
On May 27, 2015, Liltz fed her 28-year-old daughter a combination of prescription and over-the-counter drugs and then tried to kill herself. Liltz said she thought she was dying and had no other choice.
"We're not asking for a free ride or a pardon," Liltz told the Daily Herald last month. "To me putting me back into the Department of Corrections would be a death sentence. And I wasn't given that."