Overview
- Neighbors have organized a public campaign that includes an online petition with more than 3,700 signatures and regular attendance at court dates to press officials to keep the two men in custody.
- Residents identify the men as Willie Wright and Leon Jackson and say both have repeatedly attacked random people on Lakeview streets, including victim Jenna Klotz.
- Court records show Jackson was charged with misdemeanor battery, served a 250-day Cook County sentence, was later seen back in the neighborhood, and was subsequently arrested for throwing a rock and for punching someone before being held again.
- Wright is described by neighbors as a convicted felon with a history of street assaults but currently does not have pending cases and continues to be seen in the area.
- Officials have been contacted about the campaign; the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said it seeks pretrial detention in violent felony cases and one alderman said his office is working with police, while victims say courts cannot provide the mental-health supports they requested, highlighting limits in the system and what neighbors plan to press next.