Plainfield Township

Attorneys for a former Plainfield Township landlord convicted of the hate crime murder of a Muslim child want a judge to overturn the jury’s verdict by claiming he did not receive a fair trial and prosecutors made prejudicial statements against him. 

Voters this week in Will County determined who will make the important decisions regarding their communities, schools, townships, fire departments, parks and libraries. See the results here.

This spring, Will County voters will get to decide who will represent them on their town, school, park and township boards, as well as weigh in on local referendum questions.

A Plainfield man is facing an aggravated battery charge of the 2-year-old child that is punishable by 6 to 30 years in prison.

When a Plainfield man became angry his girlfriend’s 2-year-old child had thrown a cellphone at him, he allegedly struck the child, which caused her to suffer a fractured skull and brain bleed, police said.

A Will County jury found a former landlord guilty of the 2023 Plainfield Township hate crime murder of a 6-year-old Muslim child and the attempted murder of the child’s mother. A sentencing hearing is slated for May 2.

Advocates of the family of a Muslim child who was killed in 2023 in Plainfield Township say the convicted killer was radicalized by unfounded and dehumanizing claims about Palestinians in media coverage of the Gaza war.

A former Plainfield Township landlord charged with killing a child by stabbing him 26 times and attempting to kill his mother based on their Islamic faith decided not testify at his trial on Thursday.

The ex-wife of a former Plainfield Township landlord on trial for the hate crimes murder of a Muslim child said he was withdrawn, quiet and fearful that his tenant’s friends would harm him in the wake of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

A Muslim woman from Jerusalem testified in Will County court Tuesday about how her landlord attacked her and killed her 6-year-old son in what prosecutors called an anti-Muslim hate crime.

The mother of a child killed in what Will County prosecutors called an anti-Muslim hate crime spoke with FBI agents about the incident but federal officials are still not saying much about the investigation. 

Opening statements are expected to begin Tuesday for the trial of a former Plainfield Township landlord who stands charged with the 2023 killing of a 6-year-old boy based on his Islamic beliefs.

Jury selection is expected to take place on Monday for the hate crime murder trial of a former Plainfield Township landlord after a judge allowed the admission of his statements to a sheriff’s deputy.

A sensory playground in Plainfield has been dedicated to the memory of a Muslim child who was stabbed to death in 2023 in Plainfield Township.

Several murder trials are expected to take place in Joliet in 2025, including one that attracted international attention and a U.S. congressional hearing.

A Will County judge granted the pretrial release of a Plainfield Township man accused of pistol whipping a woman and barricading himself in an incident that drew a major police response.

A man is in custody after keeping himself barricaded inside his Plainfield Township home for about two hours on Friday. Joliet, Plainfield and Will County police responded after getting a 911 call from a woman inside the home.

The U.S. Senate has passed a resolution honoring a Muslim child who was stabbed to death in Plainfield Township in October 2023.

A jury trial is set for next February for a former Plainfield Township landlord charged with killing a Muslim child and attempting to kill his mother based on their Islamic faith.

The U.S. Attorney's Office sent a "large quantity of discovery" to Will County prosecutors who are handling the Plainfield Township hate crime murder case against a landlord, court records show.

A new lawsuit claims a real estate business owner negligently recommended a woman stay with a Plainfield Township landlord while knowing he had violent tendencies and prejudices against Muslims.

The cause of the fire in Plainfield Township appears accidental, fire officials said. An occupant of the residence heard a popping sound and saw smoke coming from the wall of a kitchen.

A Will County case where a Plainfield Township landlord is charged with killing a Muslim child was delayed once again because federal authorities have yet to complete their investigation.

A mother of a Muslim child who was killed in Plainfield Township last year has been appointed to his estate in a wrongful death lawsuit. A hate crime murder case against the landlord remains ongoing.

U.S. President Joe Biden said the mass shooting in Joliet underscores the need to take "guns off our streets and out of the hands of those who seek to harm themselves or others."

Federal authorities have yet to disclose their report into the Plainfield Township hate crime murder case of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi. Wadee's father was among members of the Chicago-area Muslim community gathered outside the Will County Courthouse Wednesday.

Odai Alfayoumi, father of the 6-year-old Muslim boy killed in Plainfield Township, is seeking to be special administrator of the child's estate in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Defense attorneys for a Plainfield Township landlord charged with murder and hate crime said in court on Thursday that they have hired a forensic psychiatrist to evaluate the man.

The defense for Joseph Czuba are seeking all recordings – including from someone who is claiming they are a jail inmate – that may be used against him in the case where he’s accused of stabbing a child to death and attempting to kill his mother in Plainfield Township.

Joseph Czuba, 71, is due back in court on Jan. 8 for a pretrial hearing in front of Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak. He faces charges accusing him of killing a child and attempting to kill his mother on the basis of their Islamic faith.

On Monday, Joseph Czuba, 71, was arraigned on charges of first-degree murder of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume and on attempting to kill the boy's mother, Hanaan Shahin, 32, on Oct. 14 at a Plainfield Township residence.

A Will County judge will only allow still photography in the courtroom in a Plainfield Township murder and hate crime but that may change if the case is assigned to another judge.

Joseph Czuba, 71, is accused of killing 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume and trying to kill his mother, Hanaan Shahin, on Oct. 14 at a Plainfield Township residence.

A Palestinian American woman whose 6-year-old son was killed in what police are calling a hate crime in Plainfield Township has asked the public to “pray for peace” as she recuperates from her injuries.

The FBI is encouraging anyone with information regarding the Plainfield Township attack on a Muslim family – or other potential hate crimes – to contact the law enforcement agency at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

A Plainfield Township man charged with attacking a Muslim family — including stabbing to death a 6-year-old boy — was a regular listener of conservative talk radio who had been concerned about the “National Day of Jihad” in the time leading up to the attack, prosecutors said.

Joseph Czuba, 71, was charged Sunday with first-degree murder and two hate crimes in the Saturday stabbing of a Muslim woman and her 6-year-old son in Plainfield Township, authorities said.

One of the organizers of the Plainfield Hometown Irish Parade estimated there were 8,000 people were in attendance on Sunday.

Illinois State Police reported 11 weather-related crashes that occurred on Interstates 80 and 55 in Will County, during the overnight period, where freezing rain and drizzle created icy conditions on many roadways.

Fremarek also resigned as chair of Plainfield Township GOP Organization, precinct committeeman

The Plainfield Township Board of Trustees approved an external review of its finances in the wake of its supervisor being charged with stealing from his former employer.

A Plainfield Township official said the arrest of Supervisor Anthony Fremarek for allegedly stealing from a former employer does not involve township government

The Plainfield Township supervisor is facing federal charges for allegedly stealing from his former employer.

Plainfield Township officials are in the process of reviewing policies and procedures in the aftermath of the resignation of the longtime township administrator, after she reportedly stored her private boat and jet skis in a public storage facility.