8A | CHICAGO SUN-TIMES | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2012

MARK BROWN
markbrown@suntimes.com

Its too bad well probably never get to the truth

Are the days of courtroom artists Alvarezs mind made drawing to a close? up on Koschman case With TV cameras
testimony, somebody who can reach into high places. Alvarez has all those powers, but her attitude from the start has been that its a waste of everyones time to reopen this old can of worms. Nothing to see here. Move along. I can see how the states attorneys office could have made a good faith judgment in 2004 that the available evidence did not support the filing of charges against Vanecko and I can also see that subsequent re-investigations, including ours, dont make it any easier. There are the messy circumstances surrounding the identification of Vanecko as the individual who hit Koschman, the ambiguities involving Koschmans role as an aggressor in the altercation and even the conflicting accounts of whether Vanecko punched or pushed the smaller Koschman. (After reviewing the case last year, Chicago police concluded it was a punch that caused Koschman to fall and hit his head.) The sad truth is we dont know exactly what happened on that Division Street sidewalk that night and probably never will. What I cant understand, however, is how the states attorneys office then or now could look at the totality of the circumstances without alarm bells going off as to how the case had been handled. Shouldnt the states attorney have been pressing at the time for someone to explain why police had waited so long to actually conduct an investigation? Shouldnt the states attorney have been questioning the veracity of information provided by Vaneckos friends, who initially lied to police about their involvement and withheld Vaneckos name, later adopting the position they hadnt seen the actual blow? Are we really to believe Chicago police were unaware of the involvement of the mayors nephew until weeks later, after Koschman died? What about the too perfect lineup in which police went to extraordinary lengths to produce a panel of Vanecko look-alikes, a lineup so fair to the suspect that the eyewitnesses couldnt pick him out from the beefy, Irish police officers used as stand-ins? Heres what I think. I think somebody placed a call in 2004, and afterward the investigation was very subtly undermined. I have no proof of that, but I know many Chicagoans share that suspicion. Its going to take someone aggressively tackling those questions head-on if this matter is ever to be put to rest.

ust finished a second reading of Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarezs court filing in which she explains all the reasons theres no need for a special prosecutor to investigate the death of David Koschman. As all Sun-Times readers know, Koschman is the young man who was killed in 2004 in what police say was a drunken confrontation on Division Street with Richard R.J. Vanecko, a nephew of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley. Its always good practice to try to see an issue from the other guys point of view. Thats one of the reasons I didnt join earlier demands for the special prosecutor. As Alvarez points out, appointing a special prosecutor is truly an extraordinary legal remedy, a last resort, and I was never sure it was the best approach. What I was sure about is that this case deserves an unbiased, thorough investigation by someone willing and able to search out the truth wherever the facts may lead. Unfortunately, after reading the states attorneys arguments against appointing a special prosecutor, Im more persuaded than ever that her office is not the proper authority to lead such an investigation. The court filing authored by Alvarezs lieutenants goes so far out of its way to knock down any potential case against Vanecko, while exhibiting so little curiosity about oddities in the preceding investigation, that youre left asking yourself why shes bothering with the re-review she says she is conducting with city Inspector General Joseph Ferguson. Her mind is made up. I do not mean to impugn her motives. I dont know her motives. All I know is that from the time this newspaper started poking around into this long forgotten matter, she has shown no interest in it. In her court filing, Alvarez says the request for a special prosecutor is legally deficient, because the allegations made by lawyers representing Koschmans family are grounded on suspicions and innuendo rather than facts. Theres some truth in that, I admit. The petition for a special prosecutor does rely heavily on conjecture weaving together issues raised by the Sun-Times reporting. Unfortunately, theres a wall here that neither investigative reporters nor hard-charging public interest lawyers can penetrate. It takes somebody with subpoena power, somebody who can compel

looming, Were an anachronism now, like blacksmiths

BY MICHAEL TARM

With cameras banned from courtrooms, sketch artists have been the publics eyes at high-profile trials for decades. Today, their ranks are thinning swiftly as states move to lift long- Andy Austin poses with some of standing bans. As of a year ago, 14 her sketches in May 2008. | BRIAN states still had them but at least JACKSON~SUN-TIMES three, including Illinois, have taken steps since then to end the prohibi- asked for an image of Gacy smiling, so she sought to catch the eye of the tions. When people say to me, Wow, man accused of killing 33 people. you are a courtroom artist I When she finally did, she beamed. always say, One day, you can tell He beamed back. The two of us smiled at each your grandchildren you met a Stegosaurus, Lou Chukman, 56, other like the two happiest people explained outside the federal trial in the world until the sketch was of a Chicago area mobster. Were finished, Austin recalled in her an anachronism now, like black- memoir, titled Rule 55, after the directive that bars cameras in U.S. smiths. Artists like Chukman say some- courts. Working for a TV station or a thing significant is lost when courtroom drawings, typically used in newspaper can bring in about $300 TV news broadcasts and in news- a day. A trial lasting a month can papers, are replaced with still mean a $6,000 paycheck. Under a recent Illinois Supreme photos or video. Artists can compress hours of court action onto a Court decision, the states 23 cirsingle drawing that crystallizes the cuits could petition the justices to allow cameras to record proceedevents, they say. Subjects often complain as they ings. Once a circuit is approved, see the drawings during court re- individual trial judges would leave cesses, said Chicago artist Carol the final call with a trial judge. Cook and the collar counties are considRenaud. Theyll say, Hey! My nose is too ering the matter. Chukman, a courtroom artist for big. And sometimes theyre right, she conceded. We do the drawings around 30 years, jokes that if asked for his opinion, hed have told stateso fast. The job involves long stretches court authorities to keep the ban of tedium punctuated by bursts of in place a few more years until he action as a witness sobs or a defen- retires. I recognize my profession exists dant faints. It can also get downsimply because of gaps in the law right creepy. Andy Austin, who has drawn and Ive been grateful for them, he Chicagos biggest trials more than said wistfully. This line of work has 40 years, recalls the trial of serial been good to me. AP killer John Wayne Gacy. A client