Top Stories Of 2023: Alleged Highland Park parade shooter, father work through court system while community continues to recover

It’s been almost 18 months since a mass shooting in Highland Park claimed seven lives during the annual Fourth of July parade. In that time, the community -- including the dozens injured in the attack -- has continued to heal and remember those who were lost.

This year, the alleged shooter and his father have both made several court appearances, one guilty plea was entered and a trial was set for early next year in the case, which was one of the Lake County News-Sun’s top stories of 2023.

The Lake County’s state’s attorney office set a precedent of parental accountability after Robert Crimo Jr., father of the alleged shooter, pled guilty to seven misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct in November. Prosecutors argued the father acted recklessly when sponsoring his then-underage son’s application for a firearm license.

“Parents bear forceful responsibility for their decisions to allow children access to firearms, especially when they are acutely aware of the potential consequences,” said Lake County State Attorney Eric Rinehart after the plea deal was reached.

Crimo Jr. was sentenced to two months in jail and two years of probation. He was released early for good behavior on Dec. 13, after serving just under a month of his sentence.

A trial date was set for his son, Robert Crimo III, for Feb. 26, 2024, after he requested an expedited proceeding at a case management conference on Dec. 11.

The alleged shooter also dismissed his attorneys at the conference, and said he planned to represent himself at trial.

The younger Crimo is accused of more than 100 felonies, including numerous counts of first-degree murder, for opening fire on a rooftop in downtown Highland Park during the Independence Day parade on July 4, 2022. Seven people were killed and dozens more were wounded.

Criminal defense attorneys said the defendant’s decision to represent himself is not uncommon in cases where a defendant faces serious charges and life in prison. However, the attorneys wouldn’t advise such a move to a client.

“It’s just that the stakes are so high, but in the defendant’s mind, often the stakes appear impossible so they may as well get involved and do what they can for themselves,” said Tony Thedford, criminal defense attorney and partner at Thedford Garber Law.

As the trial approaches, the city of Highland Park continues to provide support services for victims and the community at large, most recently formalizing a partnership with other service organizations and government agencies to share grant resources.

Some prosecutors may approach cases where there has been mass harm with trauma-informed practices, which generally means to have an awareness and understanding of the trauma that has occurred, said Rena Paul, former federal prosecutor and co-founder of Alcalaw.

In practice, trauma-informed approaches for a prosecutor are transparency, predictability and mindfulness of the impact trauma can have on everyone involved in the trial process, said Paul, who has co-authored a trauma-informed curriculum for the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution at John Jay College in New York City.

Rinehart has said he maintains close communication with many victims and their families. In anticipation of the elder Crimo’s guilty plea deal, Rinehart said in November he had conversations with the families ahead of the plea announcement.

In the Crimo case, pro se litigation adds another potential harm to the victims that requires significant time and attention from a trauma-informed prosecutor to prepare a witness for the situation, Paul added.

“The most significant piece is having a potential assailant cross-examine a victim during this, which is a very fraught situation, with the possibility of causing significant additional harm to the person on the stand, as well as their family and friends in the audience,” Paul said.

“A trauma-informed prosecutor can really empower a witness in that situation with tools to make the prospects of this additional confrontation more bearable, or at least prepare them for that situation, which can be preparation before, during and after the trial,” Paul continued.

A professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine professor, Lori Ann Post, who has studied decades of mass shootings and the shooters, said Crimo’s decision to represent himself is, “very consistent with psychopathy and narcissism.”

High profile violent cases can be very stressful for prosecutors, Paul added, which is why it’s important for prosecutors to be equipped with self-care strategies.

This year, the city of Highland Park also begun planning a remembrance place for the massacre. The memorial will honor the lives lost, those who were present and injured and all other impacted victims.

chilles@chicagotribune.com