A mixture of crimes, accidents and fire calls kept La Grange and La Grange Park police and firefighters busy this past week or so.
A resident in the 500 block of South Madison Avenue awoke shortly after 8 a.m. Aug. 26 to discover someone broke into their locked car overnight and stole a purse. The resident said she heard the car alarm go off sometime during the night and turned it off with her electronic key ring from inside the house.
Someone rifled through a La Grange woman's Honda in the 200 block of North Catherine Avenue in the overnight hours of Aug. 22 and 23, it was reported at 11:18 a.m. Aug. 23. Nothing was reported missing.
A brick was thrown at a vehicle belonging to a 60-year-old woman in the 900 block of South 7th Avenue shortly before 3 p.m. Aug. 22.
Someone attempted to break into a house in the first block of Dover Avenue, it was reported at 11:15 a.m. Aug. 23. No entry was gained.
A man from unincorporated La Grange Highlands came to the La Grange Police Department at 2:45 p.m. Aug. 25 to report his 16-year-old son is a runaway and often frequents the village's downtown business district. Police took his information in case the boy is found.
Sarah Welge, 21, of 938 S. Spring Ave., told police she struck her wheelchair-bound brother, Jason Welge, 24, while backing up a vehicle at home at about 6 p.m. Aug. 25. The brother, who told police he could not feel anything, was transported to Adventist Hinsdale Hospital for observation. No tickets were issued.
Graffiti was discovered by the main entrance to the Cossitt Elementary School playground, 115 W. Cossitt Ave., shortly before 8 a.m. Aug. 24.
A substance believed to be pizza was found smeared all over an elevator control panel and the back wall of the elevator inside the downtown parking garage, 80 S. 6th Ave. The vandalism, which caused no permanent damage, was discovered shortly before 3:15 a.m. Aug. 23.
Something fishy
A 42-year-old resident of the 5000 block of South Brainard Avenue told police someone stuck a dead fish wrapped in a brown paper bag between his front and screen doors sometime between 7 a.m. Aug. 23 and 10:30 a.m, Aug. 24. The man said he suspected his ex-wife's husband, although no arrests were made.
Flower fire?
Yes, indeed. A fire was discovered in a flower box on the southwest corner of a building at Brewster Avenue and La Grange Road in neighboring La Grange Park shortly after 8 a.m. Aug. 23. aGrange firefighters who responded to the call said papers were on fire in the planter and were quickly extinguished.
La Grange Park
A 2003 Buick Century belonging to an 80-year-old woman in the 1000 block of Barnsdale Road was stolen from her apartment parking lot, it was reported at 12:30 p.m. Aug. 14. Police said the woman's occasional live-in 20-year-old nephew was suspected of taking the car without permission using an extra set of keys. The vehicle was located in Maywood at 12:50 a.m. Aug. 15.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
NEW SPEED LIMIT FOR 47TH STREET
Pedestrians crossing 47th Street between East Avenue at La Grange's border with Brookfield and McCook and Willow Springs Road at its border with Western Springs now have a greater safety measure on their side.
In addition to newly improved crosswalks and handicapped curb cuts in some sections of the state thoroughfare, the four-lane roadway is now posted -- as of Aug. 24 -- with new 30 mph speed limit signs, replacing the former 35 mph signs.
The new speed limit and appropriate signage was recently approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation at the request of the village, following the fatal accident just three months ago that claimed the life of a Countryside mother.
Cari Cook, 30, had been crossing the street at 8th Avenue, with her daughter in a baby stroller in front of her and her son and family dog in tow when she was struck by a passing motorist. That driver received traffic citations as a result, pleaded guilty in court and received probation.
The speed limit change was approved thanks to the bipartisan lobbying efforts of state Representatives Michael Zalewski and James Durkin, said Village President Liz Asperger at the Aug. 24 Village Board meeting.
"This has been a long effort ... by our staff," she said. "This is something we're very pleased to be able to enact as school comes back in session."
At the same meeting, trustees authorized a consultant group, KLOA, to study the appropriateness of speed adjustments along 47th Street -- where staff is suggesting a possible rollback to as low as 25 mph.
A resident of the 600 block of La Grange Road, who previously warned the board of federal studies which show a reduction of speed actually results in more accidents, cautioned village officials not to ask the consultant to study the impact of certain speeds. Asperger said she would take his request under consideration.
"I'm all for effective speed (adjustments) ... but the request for studies should be left very generic," the resident said. "You've asked KLOA to consider 30 or 25 mph, but we should ask them to evaluate appropriate speeds. I think the best way is not to say what we want speed limits to be."
Another resident, from the 600 block of South Edgewood Avenue, implored trustees to not just focus on 47th, but on the village's border with Western Springs where students cross Willow Springs Road to access Lyons Township High School's South campus.
See the big story regarding school and traffic safety in La Grange in The News this Wednesday.
In addition to newly improved crosswalks and handicapped curb cuts in some sections of the state thoroughfare, the four-lane roadway is now posted -- as of Aug. 24 -- with new 30 mph speed limit signs, replacing the former 35 mph signs.
The new speed limit and appropriate signage was recently approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation at the request of the village, following the fatal accident just three months ago that claimed the life of a Countryside mother.
Cari Cook, 30, had been crossing the street at 8th Avenue, with her daughter in a baby stroller in front of her and her son and family dog in tow when she was struck by a passing motorist. That driver received traffic citations as a result, pleaded guilty in court and received probation.
The speed limit change was approved thanks to the bipartisan lobbying efforts of state Representatives Michael Zalewski and James Durkin, said Village President Liz Asperger at the Aug. 24 Village Board meeting.
"This has been a long effort ... by our staff," she said. "This is something we're very pleased to be able to enact as school comes back in session."
At the same meeting, trustees authorized a consultant group, KLOA, to study the appropriateness of speed adjustments along 47th Street -- where staff is suggesting a possible rollback to as low as 25 mph.
A resident of the 600 block of La Grange Road, who previously warned the board of federal studies which show a reduction of speed actually results in more accidents, cautioned village officials not to ask the consultant to study the impact of certain speeds. Asperger said she would take his request under consideration.
"I'm all for effective speed (adjustments) ... but the request for studies should be left very generic," the resident said. "You've asked KLOA to consider 30 or 25 mph, but we should ask them to evaluate appropriate speeds. I think the best way is not to say what we want speed limits to be."
Another resident, from the 600 block of South Edgewood Avenue, implored trustees to not just focus on 47th, but on the village's border with Western Springs where students cross Willow Springs Road to access Lyons Township High School's South campus.
See the big story regarding school and traffic safety in La Grange in The News this Wednesday.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
THIS WEEK'S COP STORIES
For this week's biggest crime story, see The News.
Police are reporting no new developments in the string of thefts and burglaries that have occurred in recent weeks to resident's homes, cars and garages, but some thefts and general mayhem has been reported of late.
A male black with a light mustache, about 35 years of age, got away after stealing a carton of cigarettes from the 7-Eleven at 201 W. Hillgrove Ave. at about 1:30 a.m. Aug. 19. The suspect, whom police could not locate, was wearing a Chicago Bears jersey and blue jeans at the time.
A Public Works Department employee on his morning rounds Aug. 18 discovered graffiti on planter boxes near the downtown fountain at 53 S. La Grange Road. The marker or carton etching was simply the word "zero." The vandalism was found just before 9 a.m. Non-gang graffiti, written with a black marker, was also discovered on the back exit door of a store in the first block of Burlington Avenue, it was reported just before 1 p.m. Aug. 17. And at 9:41 p.m. Aug. 15, a resident of the 300 block of East Lincoln Avenue reported one of their landscaping lights was vandalized and found in a lawn about three houses away. It was believed kids on their way to the downtown business district may be responsible for the damage.
Although not as destructive as graffiti or vandalism, a vehicle was egged on 41st Street just west of Dover Avenue at about 3:40 a.m. Aug. 20. But just as bad three days earlier, a resident in the 900 block of South 8th Avenue reported their 2009 Nissan Versa was keyed sometime between Aug. 7 and 15. The same vehicle was keyed in two previous incidents.
Someone's storage unit was also broken into for the third time in the past two weeks, it was reported just before 6:30 p.m. Aug. 13. The break-in occurred in the first block of South Spring Avenue. And over in La Grange Park, an alarm was activated at a residence in the 600 block of North Kensington Avenue at 2:26 a.m. Aug. 15. When police arrived, they found a rear door ajar.
Bricks were reported stolen from a construction site in the Avenue, it was reported shortly before 10 a.m. Aug. 19. Two days earlier, someone went outfirst block of West Cossitt Avenue to their car at about 10:30 a.m. to find it had been burglarized overnight. Several items were reported missing.
News of the weird
Someone threw a wet telephone book at a patio window in the 800 block of South La Grange Road just before 8 p.m. Aug. 17. Go figure.
A Riverside woman was driving underneath the Ogden Avenue bridge at Tilden and Shawmut avenues at about 9 p.m. Aug. 13 when she reported "some type of substance" was dropped on her car from up above. Turns out it was an egg and, of course, there was no permanent damage.
Oddly enough, a 16-year-old Countryside boy was cited with two disorderly conduct ordinance tickets after someone witnessed him running from the same intersection (as above) just as their car got hit with an egg. David Holloway, of 5700 S. Madison Ave., was located by police at Calendar and Washington avenues, ticketed and turned over to his mother.
Poor kitty
An obviously distraught Elm Avenue resident learned the whereabouts of her reported missing cat on the afternoon of Aug. 19, when the pet's leather collar was returned to her. Seems a Public Works Department employee brought in to the Police Department the collar with a heart tag attached to it, informing them the cat was found to have been disposed of in a Dumpster behind their facility on East Avenue that day. The owner was told the cat was involved in an accident.
A 16-year-old boy and his friend told police they were riding their bicycles in the parking lot of McDonald's, 100 N. La Grange Road, shortly before 10 p.m. Aug. 18 when a woman in a silver Mitsubishi tried to hit them with her vehicle before she took off west on Ogden Avenue. One of the boys said she struck his foot. The woman, about 30, was wearing a red shirt, but police called to the scene were unable to locate any such person.
Peeping Tom?
A resident of the 200 block of South 7th Avenue told police a neighbor called to tell him they saw a tall white man in his 20s or 30s looking into the porch windows of his house at about 10:55 p.m. Aug. 17. The man was wearing a t-shirt with red lettering or a design on it and a large star on the back.
Don't leave the kids in the car
Two ordinance violation tickets were issued to mother Sheila Hoffman of 301 Bluff Ave., Apt. 2E in La Grange, after a 911 caller reported seeing a black Ford with an unattended infant in the passenger seat while it was parked near La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue at about 10:10 p.m. Aug. 14. Oops?
Police are reporting no new developments in the string of thefts and burglaries that have occurred in recent weeks to resident's homes, cars and garages, but some thefts and general mayhem has been reported of late.
A male black with a light mustache, about 35 years of age, got away after stealing a carton of cigarettes from the 7-Eleven at 201 W. Hillgrove Ave. at about 1:30 a.m. Aug. 19. The suspect, whom police could not locate, was wearing a Chicago Bears jersey and blue jeans at the time.
A Public Works Department employee on his morning rounds Aug. 18 discovered graffiti on planter boxes near the downtown fountain at 53 S. La Grange Road. The marker or carton etching was simply the word "zero." The vandalism was found just before 9 a.m. Non-gang graffiti, written with a black marker, was also discovered on the back exit door of a store in the first block of Burlington Avenue, it was reported just before 1 p.m. Aug. 17. And at 9:41 p.m. Aug. 15, a resident of the 300 block of East Lincoln Avenue reported one of their landscaping lights was vandalized and found in a lawn about three houses away. It was believed kids on their way to the downtown business district may be responsible for the damage.
Although not as destructive as graffiti or vandalism, a vehicle was egged on 41st Street just west of Dover Avenue at about 3:40 a.m. Aug. 20. But just as bad three days earlier, a resident in the 900 block of South 8th Avenue reported their 2009 Nissan Versa was keyed sometime between Aug. 7 and 15. The same vehicle was keyed in two previous incidents.
Someone's storage unit was also broken into for the third time in the past two weeks, it was reported just before 6:30 p.m. Aug. 13. The break-in occurred in the first block of South Spring Avenue. And over in La Grange Park, an alarm was activated at a residence in the 600 block of North Kensington Avenue at 2:26 a.m. Aug. 15. When police arrived, they found a rear door ajar.
Bricks were reported stolen from a construction site in the Avenue, it was reported shortly before 10 a.m. Aug. 19. Two days earlier, someone went outfirst block of West Cossitt Avenue to their car at about 10:30 a.m. to find it had been burglarized overnight. Several items were reported missing.
News of the weird
Someone threw a wet telephone book at a patio window in the 800 block of South La Grange Road just before 8 p.m. Aug. 17. Go figure.
A Riverside woman was driving underneath the Ogden Avenue bridge at Tilden and Shawmut avenues at about 9 p.m. Aug. 13 when she reported "some type of substance" was dropped on her car from up above. Turns out it was an egg and, of course, there was no permanent damage.
Oddly enough, a 16-year-old Countryside boy was cited with two disorderly conduct ordinance tickets after someone witnessed him running from the same intersection (as above) just as their car got hit with an egg. David Holloway, of 5700 S. Madison Ave., was located by police at Calendar and Washington avenues, ticketed and turned over to his mother.
Poor kitty
An obviously distraught Elm Avenue resident learned the whereabouts of her reported missing cat on the afternoon of Aug. 19, when the pet's leather collar was returned to her. Seems a Public Works Department employee brought in to the Police Department the collar with a heart tag attached to it, informing them the cat was found to have been disposed of in a Dumpster behind their facility on East Avenue that day. The owner was told the cat was involved in an accident.
A 16-year-old boy and his friend told police they were riding their bicycles in the parking lot of McDonald's, 100 N. La Grange Road, shortly before 10 p.m. Aug. 18 when a woman in a silver Mitsubishi tried to hit them with her vehicle before she took off west on Ogden Avenue. One of the boys said she struck his foot. The woman, about 30, was wearing a red shirt, but police called to the scene were unable to locate any such person.
Peeping Tom?
A resident of the 200 block of South 7th Avenue told police a neighbor called to tell him they saw a tall white man in his 20s or 30s looking into the porch windows of his house at about 10:55 p.m. Aug. 17. The man was wearing a t-shirt with red lettering or a design on it and a large star on the back.
A woman visiting Thipi Thai, 50 S. La Grange Road, told police she believes she left her black and brown purse, with a silver heart on it, on the floor of the restaurant during lunch that day and returned to find it missing. The handbag contained three credit cards, house and office keys, a drivers license and miscellaneous business cards and papers. The report was made to police at about 10 p.m. that night.
Don't leave the kids in the car
Two ordinance violation tickets were issued to mother Sheila Hoffman of 301 Bluff Ave., Apt. 2E in La Grange, after a 911 caller reported seeing a black Ford with an unattended infant in the passenger seat while it was parked near La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue at about 10:10 p.m. Aug. 14. Oops?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
BURGLARIES, THEFTS CONTINUE
As La Grange police continue to investigate possible links among a series of garage and home and yard burglaries predominantly in the neighborhood south of the downtown business district, reports of similar crimes continued to be made this past weekend.
Although no arrests have been made, residents are certainly being vigilant by alerting police whenever they see a suspicious car or person in a neighborhood when such sightings just seem out of place.
Such is the case of a suspicious unoccupied vehicle in the Sedgwick Park parking lot at 47th Street and Bluff Avenue shortly before midnight Aug. 11. Police looked for, but did not find the owner of the vehicle. Or such things as someone noticing open garage doors in the 700 block of South Spring, the 11oo block of Arlington Street and the 400 block of South Peck avenues on the morning of Aug. 9 or in the 800 block of Ashland Avenue shortly after midnight that day. Keep it up, folks. The cops might catch someone yet.
A possible Cubs fan with a bad attitude may also be on the prowl. Seems someone stole a Chicago White Sox flag and flagpole which had been attached to a house in the 600 block of South 10th Avenue. The theft was discovered just before 10 a.m. Aug. 11.
Three and a half hours later, over at the Masonic Home, 441 S. 9th Ave., three bicycles were reported stolen from a bike rack. One of the bikes was locked, said police. A purple Schwinn, also unlocked, was reported stolen at 7:30 p.m. the previous day from the 300 block of South 6th Avenue. And on the morning of Aug. 7, a boy's silver Schwinn Dyno bicycle with yellow, red and blue writing on it was reported stolen from the first block of South Spring Avenue.
But -- police also report -- an unidentified bicycle was found in a front yard at 821 S. Madison Ave., at 7: 40 a.m. Aug. 10.
Three wooden pallets worth a total of $150 were reported stolen from behind Trader Joe's, 25 N. La Grange Road, after the theft was discovered at about 4:45 p.m. Aug. 7. A witness provided a possible license of a driver in a dark-colored minivan who was seen loading the pallets into his vehicle.
A front window was shattered at Urban Sole, 72 S. La Grange Road, at about 5 p.m. Aug. 10. However, vandalism it may not have been. A nearby store owner claims it was likely from rumbling trucks and an ongoing restaurant renovation next door.
An unidentified male victim told police their cell phone was stolen after they were jumped by an unknown offender while walking near Sawyer Park at Lincoln and Washington avenues shortly before 1:30 p.m. Aug. 7.
On to more serious matters
Someone forced entry into a residence in the 900 block of South 6th Avenue, it was reported at about 12:15 p.m. Aug. 10. A day earlier, at 11:20 a.m. Aug. 9, someone discovered a cut screen and a cracked double-pane window in the rear of a home in the 300 block of South 8th Avenue. And shortly after 12:30 a.m. Aug. 8, someone in the 200 block of East Harris Avenue came home to find all of their house doors open.
Home invasion
Two days earlier, at 11:55 p.m. Aug. 7 (that's last Friday night), a resident of the 600 block of South 10th Avenue noticed a man trying to get into the front door of a home and then flee. The stocky, estimated 5-foot-8 suspect, last seen running westbound on 49th Street, was wearing a white or grey hat and blue jeans. He was believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s. However, police called to the scene were unable to locate him.
Other odds and ends
Bat heroes
Village employees helped free an injured bat which somehow got stuck in a residential window well in the 400 block of South Sixth Avenue at 5:15 a.m. Aug. 12.
Oops!
A resident of the first block of South Ashland Avenue was also freed, after locking himself outside of his home -- on the rear balcony -- shortly after midnight Aug. 9.
GET ready to rumm-ble!
An unidentified Lyons Township High School student and his friends were followed home by 18 fellow LT students after police said they were harassed in the central business district by some students from the rival Riverside-Brookfield High School.
Sudsy morning
Seems those no-good household cleaner-wielding pranksters are up to their tricks again. Soap was found in the downtown fountain -- creating, of course, lots of bubbles -- at about 1140 a.m. Aug. 6. The fountain is located halfway between Palmer Place and the parking deck.
Although no arrests have been made, residents are certainly being vigilant by alerting police whenever they see a suspicious car or person in a neighborhood when such sightings just seem out of place.
Such is the case of a suspicious unoccupied vehicle in the Sedgwick Park parking lot at 47th Street and Bluff Avenue shortly before midnight Aug. 11. Police looked for, but did not find the owner of the vehicle. Or such things as someone noticing open garage doors in the 700 block of South Spring, the 11oo block of Arlington Street and the 400 block of South Peck avenues on the morning of Aug. 9 or in the 800 block of Ashland Avenue shortly after midnight that day. Keep it up, folks. The cops might catch someone yet.
A possible Cubs fan with a bad attitude may also be on the prowl. Seems someone stole a Chicago White Sox flag and flagpole which had been attached to a house in the 600 block of South 10th Avenue. The theft was discovered just before 10 a.m. Aug. 11.
Three and a half hours later, over at the Masonic Home, 441 S. 9th Ave., three bicycles were reported stolen from a bike rack. One of the bikes was locked, said police. A purple Schwinn, also unlocked, was reported stolen at 7:30 p.m. the previous day from the 300 block of South 6th Avenue. And on the morning of Aug. 7, a boy's silver Schwinn Dyno bicycle with yellow, red and blue writing on it was reported stolen from the first block of South Spring Avenue.
But -- police also report -- an unidentified bicycle was found in a front yard at 821 S. Madison Ave., at 7: 40 a.m. Aug. 10.
Three wooden pallets worth a total of $150 were reported stolen from behind Trader Joe's, 25 N. La Grange Road, after the theft was discovered at about 4:45 p.m. Aug. 7. A witness provided a possible license of a driver in a dark-colored minivan who was seen loading the pallets into his vehicle.
A front window was shattered at Urban Sole, 72 S. La Grange Road, at about 5 p.m. Aug. 10. However, vandalism it may not have been. A nearby store owner claims it was likely from rumbling trucks and an ongoing restaurant renovation next door.
An unidentified male victim told police their cell phone was stolen after they were jumped by an unknown offender while walking near Sawyer Park at Lincoln and Washington avenues shortly before 1:30 p.m. Aug. 7.
On to more serious matters
Someone forced entry into a residence in the 900 block of South 6th Avenue, it was reported at about 12:15 p.m. Aug. 10. A day earlier, at 11:20 a.m. Aug. 9, someone discovered a cut screen and a cracked double-pane window in the rear of a home in the 300 block of South 8th Avenue. And shortly after 12:30 a.m. Aug. 8, someone in the 200 block of East Harris Avenue came home to find all of their house doors open.
Home invasion
Two days earlier, at 11:55 p.m. Aug. 7 (that's last Friday night), a resident of the 600 block of South 10th Avenue noticed a man trying to get into the front door of a home and then flee. The stocky, estimated 5-foot-8 suspect, last seen running westbound on 49th Street, was wearing a white or grey hat and blue jeans. He was believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s. However, police called to the scene were unable to locate him.
Other odds and ends
Bat heroes
Village employees helped free an injured bat which somehow got stuck in a residential window well in the 400 block of South Sixth Avenue at 5:15 a.m. Aug. 12.
Oops!
A resident of the first block of South Ashland Avenue was also freed, after locking himself outside of his home -- on the rear balcony -- shortly after midnight Aug. 9.
GET ready to rumm-ble!
An unidentified Lyons Township High School student and his friends were followed home by 18 fellow LT students after police said they were harassed in the central business district by some students from the rival Riverside-Brookfield High School.
Sudsy morning
Seems those no-good household cleaner-wielding pranksters are up to their tricks again. Soap was found in the downtown fountain -- creating, of course, lots of bubbles -- at about 1140 a.m. Aug. 6. The fountain is located halfway between Palmer Place and the parking deck.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
LG NABS GUNMAN AFTER BAR SCUFFLE
La Grange police arrested a Brookfield man on parole from a state prison who was later charged with numerous felonies for allegedly aiming a loaded handgun at three people outside a popular Ogden Avenue bar on the morning of Aug. 4.
Stanley P. Wisniowicz, 47, who has been staying with family members in Brookfield since being paroled six months ago after serving a two-year sentence for theft, allegedly got into an argument with two men and a woman in the parking lot outside Brixie's Saloon, 9526 Ogden, at about 2:20 a.m. that day after making a comment to the 27-year-old Hanover Park woman as she hopped on the back of a motorcycle.
Police said an argument then ensued, which led Wisniowicz to pull out a Smith & Wesson .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol and aim it at the woman and two men with her. He then ran west before police arrived and was found by La Grange officers a block away at the Citgo/7-Eleven at Ogden and East avenues a little more than a block away.
He was subsequently charged with three counts of aggravated assault, possession of a stolen firearm, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, possession of a firearm without a firearm owners identification card and possession of ammunition without a valid FOIA card.
A police dog from Wood Dale found the gun in some bushes near a vacant Moose Lodge behind the bar.
Police said the gun was reported stolen during the overnight hours of July 19 from a home in Brookfield, although the gunman has not been linked to that crime.
In 2001, Wisniowicz was convicted on three counts of residential burglary and received a 10-year sentence. He was also convicted of residential burglary in 1987 and 1997. His first conviction was at age 23 for attempted burglary in 1986. He also has convictions for theft and for possession of a controlled substance.
Wisniowicz is being held in Cook County Jail on a $500,000 bond. His next court date is Wednesday, Aug. 12.
Stanley P. Wisniowicz, 47, who has been staying with family members in Brookfield since being paroled six months ago after serving a two-year sentence for theft, allegedly got into an argument with two men and a woman in the parking lot outside Brixie's Saloon, 9526 Ogden, at about 2:20 a.m. that day after making a comment to the 27-year-old Hanover Park woman as she hopped on the back of a motorcycle.
Police said an argument then ensued, which led Wisniowicz to pull out a Smith & Wesson .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol and aim it at the woman and two men with her. He then ran west before police arrived and was found by La Grange officers a block away at the Citgo/7-Eleven at Ogden and East avenues a little more than a block away.
He was subsequently charged with three counts of aggravated assault, possession of a stolen firearm, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, possession of a firearm without a firearm owners identification card and possession of ammunition without a valid FOIA card.
A police dog from Wood Dale found the gun in some bushes near a vacant Moose Lodge behind the bar.
Police said the gun was reported stolen during the overnight hours of July 19 from a home in Brookfield, although the gunman has not been linked to that crime.
In 2001, Wisniowicz was convicted on three counts of residential burglary and received a 10-year sentence. He was also convicted of residential burglary in 1987 and 1997. His first conviction was at age 23 for attempted burglary in 1986. He also has convictions for theft and for possession of a controlled substance.
Wisniowicz is being held in Cook County Jail on a $500,000 bond. His next court date is Wednesday, Aug. 12.
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