ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (STMW) — A southwest suburban cargo thief has become a cereal criminal.

Between July 26 and the afternoon of July 30, a semi-trailer was stolen from National Trailer Repair at 110 Anton Dr. in Romeoville, the Herald-News is reporting.

“The trailer, which is valued at about $14,000, contained a $24,000 load of Frosted Flakes,” Assistant Police Chief Steve Lucchesi said.

Lucchesi said police had no information on the suspect, or whereabouts of the trailer or its contents as of late Thursday afternoon.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (AP) – The southwest suburb of Romeoville could get the nickname “Mongoville,” if an ex-Bear’s political aspirations come to pass.

Steve McMichael, who was a fan favorite as a member of Super Bowl-winning Chicago Bears, wants to add the word “mayor” to his resume.

McMichael tells the Chicago Sun-Times he plans to run for mayor in Romeoville, where he’s co-owner of Mongo McMichael’s sports bar.

McMichael moved to the village in April. He says was prompted to run by his desire to help the district where his 4-year-old daughter will attend school and conversations he’s had with customers at his sports bar. It will be his first time running for office.

McMichael discounts his lack of political experience, saying he didn’t have any experience at professional football before he played or wrestling before he tried that and he was successful at both.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

(CBS) Steve “Mongo” McMichael already has a Super Bow ring, so why not run for mayor?

McMichael, who played on the Bears Super Bowl team in 1985, announced Thursday his intentions to run for mayor of Romeoville.

“I am dead serious about this,” said McMichael. “I am not a politician. I am someone who will not delegate over the people. I will listen to them and act on what they want to see in the community.”

McMichael owns Mongo McMichael’s restaurant and sports bar in Romeoville, and said his customers actually encouraged him to run.

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (CBS) — One of the nation’s biggest unions is battling the nation’s biggest cable operator at a southwest suburban work site.

The cable installer who comes to your home is usually non-union. As CBS 2’s Derrick Blakley reports, the Teamsters want to change that.

Comcast employs 90,000 cable workers nationwide, and only 2 per cent are unionized. But in Romeoville, some workers at the giant Comcast supply warehouse want to break that pattern.

“If we were unionized, it would allow us at least a seat at the table that we don’t have right now,” one employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told Blakley.

“They told us consistently, we don’t want a third party to tell us how to treat you and what to pay you guys,” the employee said.

Brian Rainville of Teamsters Council 25 say workers approached his union.

“Anytime somebody spoke up about safety issue, a training issue or something on the job, just honestly brought it up with management … they would find themselves being retaliated against,” he said.

The retaliation would come in the form of schedule changess or denial of pay hikes, Rainville said.

But organizing Comcast isn’t easy. The IBEW tried unionizing a site in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood last year and lost.

“The company has a game plan to organize them, and it’s not to be organized,” DePaul University labor-relations expert Emily Rosenberg says.

In a written statement, Comcast said: “We respect our employees’ right to choose whether or not they work in a union environment … The overwhelming majority of our employees choose to represent themselves and work directly with the company.”

The Comcast Romeoville unit includes about 150 workers. The Teamsters union vote is set for Oct. 11.

ROMEOVILLE (CBS) — The man they call “Mongo,” former Bears linebacker Steve McMichael, has filed papers to run for mayor of Romeoville. He spoke with WBBM’s John Waelti.

McMichael has owned a sports bar in Romeoville for more than two years and the native Texan now calls the city home.

He wouldn’t give WBBM what he calls his game plan, but hinted at a lot of referendums if he wins the mayor seat.

“Everything that comes across the desk at the mayor’s office is going to be up for public perusal and the majority of the votes in the town if that is what they want,” said McMichael. “What a novel concept in government?”

McMichael calls himself an independent, but says he did vote for the President Obama.

“The first president to call my ’85 team to the White House for the honor just like they do for other Super Bowl champions,” said McMichael. “If a man is going to show me respect like that then I’m going to show him respect.”

One of the major goals of McMichael, get Bears training camp moved from Bourbonnais to Lewis University.

CHICAGO (CBS) – Former Chicago Bear Steve McMichael, a candidate for mayor of Romeoville, has been hit with a complaint alleging campaign disclosure violations.

The complaint, filed by Romeoville Trustee Ken Griffin – an ally of the current mayor, John Noak – accuses McMichael’s campaign of violating a number of rules, including missing deadlines and failing to identify who paid for campaign mailings.

Asked if politics was behind the complaint, McMichael said, “Oh, definitely. Why wouldn’t it be?”

But Griffin denied politics played a role in the filing of the complaint. He said every candidate has to follow the rules in an election.

“He needs to understand what the rules are, and play by the rules. I mean, he’s a professional sports guy. The NFL has rules. The state has rules with how you run an election and I want to make sure that he follows the rules,” Griffin said.

There are typically civil penalties for candidates who have been found to violate campaign disclosure rules.

McMichael said the complaint won’t deter him, saying, “I’m an American, not an American’t.”

Late last month, McMichael was pulled off the air at ESPN Radio after Romeoville mayor John Noak sent the station a letter demanding equal time.

Adam Johnson (Family Photo)

Updated 03/11/13 – 11:37 a.m.

CHICAGO (CBS) – A Bolingbrook man was killed early Monday when a car plunged into a retention pond in southwest suburban Romeoville early Monday.

CBS 2’s Susanna Song reports, around 12:30 a.m., a Pontiac Grand Prix crashed into a retention pond as it was driving around a curve in the road along the edge of the pond near the intersection of Lakeview Drive and Remington Boulevard.

The driver, 28-year-old Adam Johnson, was pronounced dead after he was pulled from the water and taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital.

Johnson’s parents were too heartbroken to speak on camera. They said he had just moved back home from Oklahoma last week. He worked as a welder.

The Plainfield High School graduate and three of his friends had left a bowling alley in Romeoville late Sunday night, and the owner of the car was unable to drive, so Johnson got behind the wheel.

Police said fog, speed, or alcohol might have been factors in the crash. Johnson drove up to the T-intersection of Lakeview Drive and Remington Boulevard and, instead of turning or stopping at the end of Lakeview, he kept going, and ended up in the pond, and being submerged in 14 feet of murky water.

One man was killed, but three others swam to safety, after this car crashed into a retention pond in Romeoville on March 11, 2013. (Credit: CBS)

His three friends managed to escape the car and swim to safety, but the muddy water made it difficult for divers to find Johnson.

Police said his friends also could not call for help right away.

“There was a response delay,” Romeoville Police Cmdr. Ken Kroll said. “They were finding the people that escaped the car, finding some way to make a phone call. Whether or not they had cell phones at this point, the cell phones were likely submerged, ineffective. So the driver and the vehicle were under water for quite a while.”

Johnson’s parents said, what’s eerie about the accident, is that he nearly drowned when he was 3 years old, while playing in a neighbor’s pool. He was in a coma with brain damage after that, but recovered.

An autopsy was set for Monday afternoon.

It was the second time since Saturday that a car has sunk into an area pond, and both times the driver died in the crash.

On Saturday, 20-year-old Emory Diaz Sepulveda died when her car went off the Interstate 88 ramp at Eola Road in Aurora, and veered into a retention pond. Three of her passengers, including two children, were rescued, but it took nearly seven hours for divers to find her body in the city water.

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (CBS) — Romeoville Mayor John Noak wants to debate his opponent in the April 9 election, but his challenger, Super Bowl Bear Steve McMichael, is saying no.

“You know if I choose to debate this guy, every media outlet is going to be there. Why am I going to give him that exposure,” said McMichael.

For instance, McMichael says residents who live along Illinois 53 want a supermarket before they get an athletic complex. Noak asks how McMichael would know, because he’s never attended a planning meeting.

The fund-raiser, at Harry Caray’s restaurant in the north Loop, raised more than $50,000 for the ex-player’s campaign effort. it was the second major fundraiser.

Noak said he questions why McMichael is running. He said the economy is recovering, more than 4,000 new jobs and “hundreds” of businesses have relocated to the southwest suburb.

McMichael said his preschool-age daughter is the impetus for running.

McMichael received the endorsement of his former Bears coach, Mike Ditka, and of legendary NFL coach Marv Levy. In addition, ex-Bears Dan Hampton, Gary Fencik and Matt Suhey were on hand, along with “Mr. Cub” Ernie Banks and Jim Cornelison, who sings the National Anthem before Blackhawks games at the United Center.

(CBS) — While the most watched race is in the 2nd Congressional District, where voters picked Robin kelly to replace former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. who resigned in November amid scandal, it isn’t the only high-profile race on the ballot.

In far north suburban Mettawa, Casey Urlacher – the brother of former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher – is facing off against Jeff Clark in that town’s mayoral race.

Casey Urlacher has a 70 vote to 60 vote lead over Jeff Clark with all three precincts reporting.

In the race for President of Dixmoor, Dorothy Armstrong leads with 45.56 percent, with Grimmett getting 39.25 percent, Randall Casey with 9.58 percent and her mother, Wendy, with 5.51 percent with all three precincts reporting.

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (STMW) – A 17-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in a fight with another man outside a southwest suburban Jewel grocery Thursday night.

Romeoville police say that about 8:40 p.m., the two got into a fight in the parking lot outside the Jewel-Osco at 20 S. Weber Rd. in Romeoville. According to police, one of the men, a 22-year-old, allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed the 17-year-old in the chest.

Officers found the 22-year-old Romeoville man in a bathroom inside the store. He was taken to Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet for treatment of injuries from the fight.

The other combatant, a 17-year-old from Joliet, was found unconscious in the parking lot suffering from an apparent stab wound to the chest, police said. He was taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:37 p.m., according to the Will County Coroner’s office.

The 22-year-old was later released from Saint Joseph Medical Center, then transported to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, police said.

The case remains under investigation and will be reviewed by the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, according to police.

An autopsy will be conducted later Friday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (STMW) – A 61-year-old Plainfield man died after he was struck by a car in southwest suburban Romeoville Thursday night.

About 9:35 p.m., Samuel Bursey was crossing Weber Road eastbound approximately 1/8th mile north of 135th Street (Romeo Road), a release from Romeoville police said.

He was struck by a 2000 Honda Civic traveling northbound, according to the release. Bursey was taken by the Lockport Township Fire Department to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:15 p.m., according to the Will County Coroner’s office.

The Honda was driven by 23-year-old Jorge Olarte of Aurora, police said. Olarte refused medical treatment at the scene and was taken into custody. He was cited for driving without a valid driver’s license and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

The accident is still under investigation by the Romeoville Police Department’s Traffic Division.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (STMW) – A former public school teacher who allegedly disappeared after violating the terms of his probation in a burglary is back in Will County Jail in Joliet, after Naperville police found him at the Metra Railway commuter train depot north of the city’s downtown.

Jeremiah T. Komon taught sixth-grade language arts, science and social studies at Plainfield School District 202’s Aux Sable Middle School. The 34-year-old Komon lives on the 4000 block of Colton Circle, in Naperville’s River Run neighborhood.

Prosecutors from the Will County state’s attorney’s office are seeking to revoke the probation Komon received following the Jan. 29 theft of a 2005 Jaguar that had been left parked and idling outside a Romeoville service station.

A felony count of possession of a stolen motor vehicle was dismissed in that case, and Komon instead pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary. A judge on June 5 sentenced him to 75 days in jail and placed him on two years of probation, according to Will County Circuit Court records.

Two days after the Romeoville crime, Komon was arrested while driving near Sanctuary Lane and Rickert Drive in Naperville. Police charged him in that matter with possession of a controlled substance, possession of stolen property and retail theft.

DuPage County Circuit Court records indicated Komon pleaded guilty in that case. He was sentenced Feb. 28 to 58 days in DuPage County Jail and placed on two years of probation, records showed.

Charles B. Pelkie, spokesman for Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, said prosecutors are working to revoke the probation Komon was granted in the burglary case. Komon, after being sentenced and receiving probation, “deliberately sabotaged his intake interview” with representatives of Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, or TASC, Pelkie said in June.

Komon failed to appear last month as expected for a court hearing. A judge on July 31 issued a bond forfeiture warrant and ordered he be jailed without bail should he be found.

Written Naperville police records indicated Komon was located about 8 a.m. Sunday at the Metra station at 105 E. Fourth Ave.

At the time, he allegedly “was selling used but still valid weekend Metra tickets to people on the platform,” a police bulletin read in part. Police arrested him on the bond forfeiture warrant and took him to Will County Jail.

Komon left District 202 in 2010. He was one of a number of teachers honored during the 32nd annual CAPE Awards ceremony, sponsored by the district’s committee for the Coordination of Administration and Parent Groups for Educational Efficiency.

He has past convictions for shoplifting in Naperville, trespassing in Aurora and theft in Bolingbrook, according to court records. His next court date is pending.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Robert Russell (left) charged with attempted murder, shoplifting, and obstructing a police officer. Gerald Chamberlain (right) is charged with felony theft. Both were arrested after a shoplifting incident that ended with police shooting a third suspect in Romeoville. (Credit: Will County Sheriff)

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (CBS) – Two men face felony charges, and charges were pending against a third, after a shoplifting incident in Romeoville ended with police firing shots at one of the suspects as he tried to drive away, dragging an officer from the getaway car.

Robert Russell, 51, of Joliet; and Gerald Chamberlain, 28, were arrested late Thursday night outside the Kohl’s in Romeoville, along with the getaway driver, who remained hospitalized on Friday. Russell has been charged with with attempted murder, shoplifting, and obstructing a police officer. Chamberlain has been charged with felony theft.

Russell Jr. being held in lieu of $400,000 bond. Chamberlain is being held in lieu of $100,000.

CBS 2’s Mike Puccinelli reports bullet casings and shattered glass littered the parking lot outside the Kohl’s in Romeoville early Friday morning. A Pontiac Sunfire – its wipers still on, and its driver’s side window shot out – sat surrounded by police cars, in the aftermath of a shoplifting attempt that turned violent.

Phil Koster, who saw it go down, said “I was within 5 feet of everything happening, so was very surreal.”

Koster said he saw a shoplifting suspect being chased by police around 11 p.m. Thursday.

“He ran right past me. The other cops are coming from the north entrance of the store, running and telling him to stop,” Koster said.

The suspect, later identified by police as Russell, made it out of the Kohl’s, and into a Pontiac Sunfire, where a getaway driver was waiting.

One of the officers ran up to the car and tried to stop Russell from getting away, but got his arm caught in the door. The getaway driver kept on going, dragging that officer from the passenger’s side door.

“The second cop had come with a gun, was telling him to stop the car, because he was dragging the cop around the parking lot,” Koster said.

When the driver failed to brake, the other officer drew his weapon and shot at the car. Koster said the officer fired four or five shots.

One bullet hit the driver in the shoulder, which promptly stopped the getaway attempt. The driver and the other suspect were arrested outside the store. A third shoplifting suspect was busted inside.

The injured suspect and police officer were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but the officer was released Friday morning.

Charges were pending against the 52-year-old driver, who was still hospitalized Friday afternoon.

Russell and Chamberlain were due to appear for bond hearings on Saturday.

Celeste Hightower said it worries here that something like that happened in her hometown.

“Romeoville’s kind of quiet,” she said.

Moises Diaz said he thought it was “kind of weird, because nothing usually happens around here, and Romeoville’s a kind of quiet place. You know, you hear about some fights in some streets sometime, but that’s about it. It feels kind of shocking to see people get shot around here.”

In an email, a spokesperson for Kohl’s said they are cooperating with the police investigation.

Updated 12/10/13 – 2:28 p.m.

JOLIET, Ill. (STMW) – The Will County trial for a woman accused of a 2007 murder has been moved to January after the judge granted a mistrial over potential jury issues.

The jury chosen to hear the case against Gabriela Escutia, 24, of Joliet, was dismissed Tuesday morning after Judge Carla Alessio-Policandriotes granted defense attorney Charles Bretz’s motion for a mistrial.

Escutia faces two counts of murder in the death of Javier Barrios, 18.

Prosecutors say Escutia and co-defendant Ricardo Gutierrez shot and killed Barrios on the afternoon of Oct. 28, 2007, behind a gas station near Route 59 and 135th Street in Plainfield.

She has been held in the Will County Jail on a $5 million bond since her arrest two days after Barrios’ death.

Bretz made the mistrial motion because he was concerned the judge had unintentionally given the jurors a false impression that employers were required to pay them during jury duty.

Policandriotes said Tuesday morning that one juror told the court he likely would not be paid by his employer while he served on the jury. She told him that, in her experience, jurors often were paid by employers, even though it is not required by law.

Bretz said he has often seen jurors go without pay from their employers.

After the mistrial motion was granted, and as attorneys prepared to choose a new jury, Bretz asked Policandriotes to move the trial to January to avoid the distractions of the holidays. Prosecutors agreed.

People have shopping and parties on their minds at Christmas time, Bretz said, and many have travel plans. He said he believes Escutia’s case would have a more focused jury if the trial began after the holidays.

Policandriotes scheduled jury selection to begin Jan. 6.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

(STMW) — A Joliet man visiting a friend at Lewis University was found dead Thursday morning in a campus dormitory at the southwest suburban school.

Elvis Dominguez-Mejia, 22, was found dead in Fitzpatrick Hall in Romeoville about 10:30 a.m., according to police and a statement on the university website.

Dominguez-Mejia was visiting a friend who is a student at Lewis University, Romeoville Deputy Police Chief Steve Lucchesi said.

The cause of death appears to be excessive alcohol consumption, Lucchesi said. No foul play is suspected.

There was no threat to the campus and the university remains open, the school’s statement said.

“The Lewis University Community expresses its prayerful sympathy to all who are touched by this tragedy especially family and friends,” the statement said.

Romeoville police and the Will County Coroner’s office are investigating.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (STMW) – An Oak Forest man was killed and three other people were hurt in a head-on crash involving a Pace bus Wednesday morning in southwest suburban Romeoville, police said.

The three-vehicle crash involving two cars and a Pace bus happened about 9:10 a.m. at Renwick Road and Rankin Drive, police and fire officials said.

A Kia Rio traveling eastbound on Renwick Road crossed into the westbound lanes and hit the Pace Bus head-on, Romeoville police said in a release. The Kia then hit a Ford Fusion.

A 67-year-old man from Oak Forest had to be extricated from his vehicle, and was taken in serious condition to Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at 12:09 p.m., according to the Will County Coroner’s office.

The man’s name was withheld Wednesday pending notification of family.

Three other people — another driver, the driver of the Pace bus and a passenger from the Pace bus — were also hospitalized at Saint Joseph’s in good condition, Rossetto said. All were treated and released, police said.

Romeoville police are investigating the cause of the crash.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Updated 02/13/14 – 1:52 p.m.

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (CBS) – Romeoville police were questioning four “people of interest” about the shooting of a woman and her teenage daughter Thursday morning.

Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey said investigators haven’t yet determined a motive for the shooting of a 33-year-old woman and her 15-year-old daughter as they were getting ready to go to school.

The two were shot around 7 a.m. as they were getting into an SUV in their driveway in the 300 block of Emery Avenue.

“A male subject approached the car and shot the daughter, and then shot the mother,” the chief said. He said the gunman specifically targeted the women.

Turvey said the four people being questioned range in age from their late teens to their early 20s.

“We don’t know that any of these four are the offender, but we’re confident that the offender … either he’s no longer a threat, or he’s no longer in the area,” he said.

He also said shootings are very rare in Romeoville.

“If we get one a year, that’s a lot,” Turvey said.

The chief said the girl who was shot was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Her mother was taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital.

Romeoville schools were placed on a “soft lockdown” while police conducted a search immediately after the shooting. While the schools initially told parents to send their kids to school, they were later told to keep them home until the lockdown was lifted.

Those kids who did go to school while buildings were locked down were sent to the Romeoville Recreation Center until the lockdown was lifted around 9:30 a.m.

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (CBS) – Police were questioning two people Friday morning in the shooting of a mother and her teenage daughter in southwest suburban Romeoville.

The 33-year-old woman and her 15-year-old daughter were getting ready to go to school Thursday morning, when a gunman approached as they were getting into an SUV in their driveway around 7 a.m. The suspect shot the daughter, then the mother, then fled the scene.

Police took four “persons of interest” into custody after the shooting, but two have been released without charges. Detectives were still talking to two others early Friday, but police have not said if either of them is the suspected gunman.

Investigators have said the suspect specifically targeted the two victims, but have not said what the apparent motive was.

Schools in Romeoville were placed on a “soft lockdown” for a couple hours while investigators searched the area, but police have said they do not believe the public was in danger, as the shooting was not random.

The mother and daughter were taken to a local hospital, but later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, due to the severity of their injuries.

ROMEOVILLE (STMW) — A teenage girl died Saturday, two days after she was shot — allegedly by a man she previously dated — along with her mother while sitting in a vehicle outside her southwest suburban Romeoville home.

Briana Valle, 15, died at Loyola University Medical Center at 2 p.m. Saturday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. Valle and her 33-year-old mother were getting into an SUV outside their home in the 300 block of Emery Avenue about 7 a.m. Thursday when a gunman walked up and shot the girl in the head, then her mother in the neck, Romeoville police Chief Mark Turvey said.

Erick M. Maya, 23, of the 5600 block of Park Avenue in Cicero, was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, according to Chuck Pelkie, spokesman for the Will County State’s Attorney’s office.

Maya and Valle previously dated, Turvey said in a release issued Friday.

Authorities have not yet recovered the gun used in the alleged crime, police said in a release. Romeoville police are asking neighbors not to touch any firearm or other potential piece of evidence they may find in the neighborhood, and report it to police immediately.

Maya had previously been convicted of aggravated domestic battery in Cook County, according to court documents.

Judge Corey Lund signed an arrest warrant Friday afternoon, which set bond at $5 million for Maya.

Both victims were initially taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital in serious condition, but later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, officials said.

The mother remained in good condition Friday night, police said.

Four persons of interest located nearby were initially taken into custody Thursday afternoon following the shooting, police said.

As of Friday morning, two of those had been released, while a third was being held in the Will County Adult Detention Facility on unrelated charges, police said.

Maya is now the lone suspect in the shooting, police said Friday night.

Turvey had previously said the shooting did not appear to be a random act, nor a robbery, and that either the woman or her daughter — or both — were likely targeted.

Romeoville police and the Will County Major Crimes Task Force continue to investigate.

The girl was a freshman at Romeoville High School, a school official said.

Valley View School District 365U Supt. James Mitchem issued a message to parents and students in light of the incident.

“As you are well aware, our community has been greatly affected as a result of the tragic event involving one of our Romeoville families,” Mitchem said in the message.

“We are saddened by this tragic situation and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those who are affected,” the message said. Counseling is available for students and staff members coping with the situation.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

JOLIET, Ill. (STMW) – A Cicero man accused of killing a 15-year-old girl in southwest suburban Romeoville last week has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.

Erick Maya, 23, entered his plea Tuesday before Will County Circuit Court Judge Roger Rickmon. Maya is being held at the county jail under $5 million bail.

Maya shot the girl in the head and neck, then shot her 33-year-old mother in the neck as they got into a sport utility vehicle outside their home about 7 a.m., Thursday, according to Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey.

The girl died from her wounds on Saturday.

“Based on her passing, we’ve now filed murder charges,” Assistant State’s Attorney Jim Long said in court Tuesday.

The mother remains hospitalized in good condition, police said.

Maya and Briana Valle, who was a freshman at Romeoville High School, previously had dated, but the relationship turned sour and an order of protection was filed against Maya in December for an alleged phone threat, according to court records.

State’s attorney’s office spokesman Charles Pelkie said Maya also was convicted of aggravated domestic battery in Cook County in 2011.

Rickmon set Maya’s next court hearing for March 11.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)