In Courtroom 208 at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on 26th Street, things run a little differently. Presided over by Judge John Lyke, it is a courtroom where cop killers and other violent crime defendants can embrace their families while victims’ grieving relatives, some of whom will never touch their deceased loved ones again, look on.
The practice is not new.
In April 2023, Steven Montano appeared in Lyke’s courtroom to plead not guilty to the on-duty murder of Chicago Police Officer Andres Vazquez Lasso, whom Montano shot dead near a schoolyard as children took shelter under playground equipment…