‘We needed to support one of our own’: How Huntley police are rallying around officer’s daughter
We first met Huntley Police Officer Brock Larkin back in 2018 while reporting about how police officers and police dogs deal with excessive heat during the summer. Larkin caught our eye after making a video in which he sat in a closed car for 30 minutes on an 88-degree day. The temperature inside rose to 135 degrees.
This week we’re sending positive vibes Larkin’s way, as his colleagues and the entire Huntley community rally around him and his daughter, Ky. The 13-year-old has been diagnosed with germinoma, a brain cancer that also affects the central nervous system and adrenal functions.
Ky visited the police station last week and received a care package with a backpack, her favorite snacks, activities, a new iPhone and AirPods to help her through upcoming treatments at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.
Officers and other employees also gave gift cards to Larkin and his wife, Megan, to help cover the costs of meals, gasoline and parking.
Department officials tell us the effort is being led by their Peer Support Team, which was formed three years ago and consists of five officers and the department’s social worker. Over the last three years, the team has organized various fundraisers when a member of the department is in need, Chief Robert Porter said.
“When we heard about Officer Larkin’s daughter’s diagnosis, the team knew we needed to support one of our own,” he said. “The entire department came through extraordinarily and was able to give Ky special gifts and some of her favorite snacks that made her smile. I am very proud of how our agency always pulls together in a time of need. Ky is such a positive little girl and has a great attitude as she fights this battle.”
Join the fight
If you’re out in the Huntley area, you may spot someone in a #KyStrong T-shirt or hoodie. They come in four colors and feature a yellow ribbon and images of Ky partaking in two of her favorite activities: soccer and wrestling.
To get one of your own, visit bonfire.com/kystrong. All proceeds benefit Ky and her family. As of Thursday afternoon, nearly 500 items had been sold, raising almost $3,500 for the Larkins.
Verdict stands
A Glen Ellyn man convicted in the 2011 slaying of his ex-wife has failed to convince a state appeals court that a host of legal errors kept him from receiving a fair trial.
A unanimous panel of judges from the Illinois Third District Appellate Court last week denied Juan M. Granados' bid for a second trial, rejecting his claims that the judge who presided over his 2020 trial permitted improper evidence and made other mistakes.
Granados, now 45, was found guilty of first-degree murder and criminal sexual assault in connection with the October 2011 killing of Nancy Bustos, 36, at the apartment they shared with their two children.
Authorities said Granados, angry after learning his ex-wife was seeing another man, assaulted and strangled Bustos, leaving her body in a bathtub. He then took their children to his mother's house in Hanover Park, borrowed his brother's car and drove to Mexico, authorities testified. He was captured there in 2017 — after remarrying and having two more children — and was extradited back to DuPage County to face trial.
Central to his appeal were arguments that testimony from Bustos' sister and boyfriend that she told them Granados had abused her in the past should have been barred as hearsay. The appellate court disagreed, saying the testimony is allowed under hearsay exceptions concerning cases of domestic violence and when a victim is deceased.
The court also rejected Granados' claims that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of sexual assault; that jurors should have been allowed to consider a second-degree murder verdict; and that his lawyer was ineffective.
Granados was sentenced to 50 years in prison, time he's serving at the maximum-security Menard Correctional Center downstate. He won't be eligible for parole until December 2064.
In good company
Cook County jail detainees weren’t exactly rubbing elbows with Taylor Swift, Matt Damon and Elton John this week, but you could say they shared a stage.
The jail’s acclaimed Chess for Freedom Program joined the three world-famous celebrities Tuesday as recipients of 2024 Anthem Awards. The awards recognize people and organizations around the world that have a positive social impact.
The chess program actually won two Anthems: a bronze award in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion category, and the Anthem Community Voice Award, which was chosen by online voters.
“I’m pleased to receive this honor and extremely proud of everyone who has helped make this program what it is today — a worldwide model to promote the game of chess in jails and prisons,” Sheriff Thomas Dart said in an announcement of the awards.
Since its launch in 2012, the Chess for Freedom Program has taught the game to more than 2,000 county jail inmates. The jail also has played host to several virtual international tournaments pitting its detainees against other incarcerated players around the globe.