Cameron Rayford had less than a month to go before he walked across the stage at Perspectives Charter School. The 18-year-old had already completed internships at an accounting firm and a real estate company, building toward a career in investment banking. On the afternoon of April 27, 2023, those dreams were taken from him.
Rayford was behind the wheel of a Jeep on South State Street in the South Loop just after 3:30 p.m. when a stolen Kia pulled alongside him. According to prosecutors, someone fired shots from the Kia’s passenger windows, and within moments Rayford was dead, his vehicle rolling driverless through an intersection before finally coming to a stop. Three passengers scattered from the Jeep. Another 18-year-old man was hit but survived.
On Friday, more than three years later, one of the men prosecutors say was responsible for the shooting was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Antoine Blakes, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of murder, according to court records. Judge Stanley Sacks handed down the sentence, and Blakes must serve 100% of it under state law…