- Richard "RJ" Vanecko entered a not-guilty plea Monday to an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the 2004 death of David Koschman.
The namesake of two mayors named Daley, Vanecko returned from his home in California to Chicago this weekend for his first courtroom appearance in the case. Police released his booking photo Saturday night.
The judge assigned to the case was Arthur Hill, Jr. also has a Daley connection. He's a former prosecutor and high-level supervisor under Richard M. Daley in the state's attorney's office.
Judge Hill went on record disclosing his numerous connections with the former mayor, who promoted Hill multiple times. Daley also appointed Hill to the CTA board, and Hill disclosed that while he was an attorney in private practice, he worked on municipal bond transactions for the city.
But don't worry, we're sure this can be handled 100% fairly and without bias.