‘AN HONOR TO SERVE’
The Webb net . . .
The selection of former U.S. Attorney Dan K. Webb as a special prosecutor in the David Koschman case is a thumbs up to justice.
To wit: “Mike, I consider it an honor to serve,” said Webb, a close friend for 35 years.
It will be a new challenge for Webb, who has now been appointed four times as a special prosecutor since leaving the U.S. attorney’s office 20 years ago.
What Webb isn’t saying is what his friends know: The Koschman case will break the boredom of handling a big chunk of the nation’s largest and most complicated cases.
Backstory: Koschman died in 2004 after being punched in the face by former Mayor Richard Daley’s nephew, Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, during a confrontation in the Rush Street nightlife district.
“This case will have its challenges because it is seven years old, but I like that type of challenge.”
Webb, an avid jogger, has literally “run” all over the country in his legal career representing major companies like Microsoft, General Electric, Cisco, Verizon, Monsanto . . . and clients such as Gov. George Ryan, U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and William Cellini.
“I take a pair of running shoes with me no matter where I go,” said Webb. “It’s my salvation. It helps me stay focused.”
So don’t be surprised if you see Webb, who once had to cross-ex- amine President Ronald Reagan, jogging the streets of Chicago while focusing on the Koschman case.
He’s got a lot of ground to cover. on hundreds of trees in the city and suburbs bearing signs touting the benefit of urban trees by the Morton Arboretum in celebration of Arbor Day. Plastic?
The dippy flip side: “The plastic will be recycled,” said an Arboretum spokesman. “We just needed something durable to keep the signs in place.”
Pat Quinn