How Schaumburg cops are rallying around stricken colleague

As far as some of his colleagues at the Schaumburg Police Department are concerned, Officer Ross Urso is the best cop on the force.

“He's one of those people who seems to do everything right,” Lt. Patrick Quane told us this week. “He's the perfect role model.”

A 19-year veteran of the department, Urso's a senior patrol officer and a field training officer. That makes him a mentor to many of the younger officers, among them Officer Elliot Rose, who trained under Urso.

“He's a phenomenal guy,” Rose says. “The kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back.”

He's also legendary around the department for his devotion to physical fitness.

“The guy is literally the picture of health,” Rose told us. “He runs marathons. He won't eat out at restaurants because he's wouldn't know what was in his food. He works out every day of the year except Christmas, and that's because his wife would divorce him.”

And so it was that shock waves rippled across the department two months ago when the 47-year-old Urso announced he'd been diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, it had spread to his liver and he was fighting for his life.

“It was just devastating,” Quane said. “But everybody's first thought was about how we could support him.”

Reluctant, but grateful

Urso's already been through six rounds of chemotherapy since his diagnosis in March. A Bartlett resident and married father of three, he's also in line to travel to the Mayo Clinic to undergo clinical medical trials.

Those, along with plenty of other costs he and his family are incurring, aren't covered by insurance.

To help, supporters last month launched a GoFundMe page, www.gofundme.com/officerneedingassistance, that so far has raised more than $51,000 of a $100,000 goal.

And on June 2, they'll host “Raise it for Rossi,” a huge fundraising event featuring food, music, raffles and more, at Joe's Live in Rosemont. Tickets for the 2 to 8 p.m. event are $30 and can be bought at Joe's Live website or at the door.

Reluctant about all the attention, Urso didn't want to discuss his situation with us, but Quane said his friend uses the word “overwhelmed” to describe the outpouring of support.

“He's greatly appreciative,” Quane said.

In fact, he was hesitant to accept any support at all. Rose told us Urso acquiesced to the fundraising efforts only after organizers agreed to one condition - every dollar raised that he doesn't need would fund an endowment to help others.

“He made it very clear that he doesn't really want the money, and he made sure that anything that isn't used for his treatment will be passed on” Rose said.

State Supreme Court rules against church

A West Dundee church and its pastor can be sued for hiring a youth leader who later sexually abused a teenage congregant, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision Thursday.

The finding stems from a 2015 lawsuit filed by the parents of a Sleepy Hollow girl who authorities say was sexually abused in the basement of First Congregational Church of Dundee by youth group leader Chad A. Coe.

Coe, 37, is serving a seven-year prison sentence after pleading guilty last year to abusing the girl in 2013, when she was 15 years old.

The suit alleges church leaders didn't do enough to examine Coe's background before hiring him and then failed to supervise his interactions with young girls at the church, even after others raised red flags, including complaints he had physical contact with underage girls at youth group activities and was found alone with underage girls on several occasions, in violation of church policy.

The Supreme Court decision reverses lower court decisions dismissing portions of the lawsuit, sending the case back to Kane County court for further proceedings and a potential trial.

In the meantime, Coe is serving his sentence in the Taylorville Correctional Center downstate. He's eligible for parole in September 2021.

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