A Lake County judge Wednesday set a February 2025 trial for Robert Crimo III on first-degree murder and dozens of other charges stemming from the July 4, 2022, Highland Park parade shooting.
Crimo is scheduled to stand trial on Feb. 24, 2025, Judge Victoria Rossetti said, rebuffing a request from prosecutors who asked for a September or October trial date.
In late 2023, prosecutors and Crimo’s public defenders originally agreed to the 2025 trial, but that was upended in December when Crimo dismissed his attorneys and said he wanted to represent himself. He then asked for, and was granted, a February 2024 trial.
However, a month later Crimo said he had reconsidered and asked to have his attorneys reinstated. Prosecutors said they had done a lot of work in expectation of a trial this month, and said they wanted the fall trial date.
However, the judge said at Wednesday’s case management conference that Crimo’s brief period of representing himself was not significant enough to derail the trial date to which the sides had originally agreed.
Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon told the judge that prosecutors are continuing to work through the voluminous amount of police reports and other potential evidence to make sure the discovery record is complete.
“Our office would have been ready for trial this month,” State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement released to the media. “As Chief Ben Dillon said, we will be ready for trial on Feb. 24, 2025. Our team of prosecutors and victim specialists have been meeting with and talking with the victims since this horrible crime. We will continue to do so.
“The most important thing is that we secure certain justice as best as we can for the victims, families, survivors, and the entire Lake County community,” he said.
Crimo is accused of seven counts of first-degree murder and dozens of other charges for opening fire on the crowd gathered for the Highland Park Independence Day parade in 2022, according to prosecutors.
Authorities say he opened fire with an assault rifle from a downtown store’s rooftop before escaping in the ensuing chaos. He was arrested later that day and has been held in lieu of bond since then.
