True crime cases in Illinois span decades of criminal history, from unsolved disappearances in rural communities to high-profile investigations in the state's largest cities. Illinois law enforcement agencies, from local police departments to the state bureau of investigation, have tackled cases ranging from cold-case homicides and serial offenders to fraud schemes and domestic violence tragedies. CaseSleuth tracks each Illinois case with comprehensive timelines, profiles of victims and persons of interest, evidence summaries, and links to media coverage and court documents. Browse the cases below to explore the full scope of criminal investigations in Illinois.
3 cases found
Former Bolingbrook, Illinois police sergeant Drew Peterson became a national figure after his fourth wife Stacy Peterson disappeared in October 2007. He was subsequently charged and convicted of murdering his third wife Kathleen Savio, whose death had been ruled accidental in 2004.
R&B singer R. Kelly was convicted in 2021 of federal racketeering and sex trafficking in New York, and in 2022 of child pornography production in Chicago, after decades of sexual abuse allegations involving minors. He was sentenced to 30 years in the New York case and 20 years in the Chicago case, with most time running concurrently for a combined 31-year sentence. Kelly is incarcerated at FCC Butner in North Carolina with a projected release date of December 21, 2045.
John Wayne Gacy, known as the "Killer Clown," murdered at least 33 young men and boys in the Chicago suburbs between 1972 and 1978, burying most of them in the crawl space beneath his house. He was convicted in 1980 and executed by lethal injection in 1994.