Downers Grove Woman Gets 8 Years for Shooting Boyfriend

Vickie Podruzek, 44, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to shooting her live-in boyfriend through their bedroom door in February 2012.

Downers Grove Woman Gets 8 Years for Shooting Boyfriend Through Bedroom Door

Vickie Podruzek, 44, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to shooting her live-in boyfriend in February 2012.

A Downers Grove woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting her boyfriend during an argument in February 2012. Vickie Podruzek, 44, of the 6300 block of Carpenter Street, was sentenced Wednesday in DuPage County Court after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, according to DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin. The incident occurred around noon Feb. 12, when Podruzek and her boyfriend, Kraig McCauley, got into an argument at their home. After the argument, McCauley went to the bedroom and shut the door. Podruzek retrieved a shotgun from the other bedroom and fired through the door, striking McCauley in the neck and shoulders, Berlin said. McCauley was taken to a local hospital and has…

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In Hindsight: Tony Cesare

Downers Grove Patch columnist Tony Cesare offers a parent's perspective on the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary.

A few years ago, I volunteered to teach my daughter’s kindergarten class all about Seurat and pointillism during Art Awareness Month, one of the most rewarding mornings I’ve ever spent. I put more time and effort into that presentation than I ever have any creative pitch I’ve ever been involved in professionally. Marketing wonks are easy to impress, just pepper your narrative with a lot of jargon (“So the ROI on this activation ideation will be both integrated and experiential…”) and they’ll believe you’re the smartest guy in the room. Trust me, it works. But jargon has no hold on a room full of hyperactive 5-year-olds; they can see right through that crap. You better be on your game with this crowd because I promise you, these kids have a…

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18-Year-Old Shot and Killed in Unincorporated Willowbrook

Joshua Holmes, 18, was shot near the intersection of Honeysuckle Rose Lane and Lilac Lane at approximately 6:35 p.m. Monday night.

An 18-year-old man was shot and killed Monday night near the intersection of Honeysuckle Rose and Lilac lanes in unincorporated Willowbrook, according to a release from the DuPage County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff's officers responded at approximately 6:35 p.m. to a report of gun shots being fired in the area, the release reads. The sheriff's office cites witnesses who said they saw a handgun fire several shots from a white four-door vehicle that had approached the intersection. The victim was Joshua Holmes, who lived nearby on Honeysuckle Rose. He was transported to Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, where he died from his injuries. Holmes was scheduled for several court appearances next month. According to the DuPage County Clerk website, he …

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Cook County Police Still Searching for Road Rage Shooter

Police are searching for a white male, between 20 and 30 years of age, who they said shot a 58-year-old Downers Grove man Feb. 13 near Lemont and Palos Park.

Cook County police are still searching for a man believed to have shot and injured a motorist during an alleged road rage incident near Palos Park and Lemont. The Cook County Sheriff's Police Department issued an electronic alert Saturday detailing the incident, which occurred Feb. 13 at 107th Street and 104th Avenue between two forest preserves. Frank Bilecki, spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff's Office, said the victim—a 58-year-old Downers Grove man—told police he was heading east on 107th Street in a black Buick LaCrosse when he accidentally cut off a gray or silver pickup truck. The victim pulled over to apologize, and the drivers exchanged words, police said. Within seconds, however, the situation turned violent. Bilecki said …

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Jeff Ward: How to Scare Your Boyfriend Without Using a Shotgun

I may be a gender traitor, but I don't want to get shot, either!

Every now and then, the magnitude of an event in one of our 22 happy Friday Patch suburbs makes me sit up and take notice. And let me tell you, when the fine folks in Downers Grove set out to pique my interest, they go all in. Let’s just say, were I an inhabitant of that fine municipality and my wife, girlfriend, or maybe even my sister, asked me to do the dishes, people would say they’d never seen an old guy move that fast. I’d be practicing my best “yes dears” 24/7. Vickie D. Podruzek, 43, currently faces charges of aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery with a firearm and may ultimately be charged with attempted murder. DuPage County Judge Elizabeth Sexton set her bail at $1 million. If she does manage to post bond, Podruzek…

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Report: OnStar Helped Police Locate Victim in Lemont Road Rage Shooting

Cook County police are still searching for a white man between 20 and 30 who allegedly shot a 58-year-old motorist on 107th Street near 104th Avenue.

The satellite navigation and information system OnStar may have helped police located a Downers Grove man who was shot in an alleged road rage incident in Lemont on Monday, according to a report. The Daily Herald reported Wednesday that the 58-year-old motorist pressed his vehicle's OnStar button and was connected to police just seconds after he was shot by another driver on 107th Street near 104th Avenue in unincorporated Lemont. According to the report, the man—who CBS 2 Chicago reported is from Downers Grove—passed out while speaking to a dispatcher, but the vehicle's OnStar system helped authorities identify his exact location. Sheriff's police said paramedics from the Lemont Fire Protection District rushed the man to Advocate Christ …

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