WB_062118

30 | June 21, 2018 | The wilmette beacon NEWS
wilmettebeacon.com
A Word From the (Former) President
A case of premeditated craziness
John Jacoby
Contributing Columnist
Juries sometimes return
verdicts that surprise
everyone in the
courtroom — the judge,
the parties’ attorneys, and
spectators. A shocking
example is the verdict in
the 1947 trial of Wilmette
resident George Rapp.
George was one of
several brothers who
owned and operated Rapp
Bros., a chain of North
Shore grocery stores.
The Evanston store was
founded in 1915, followed
by stores in Lake Forest
(1920), Winnetka and
Highland Park (1922), and
Wilmette (1930). The Wilmette
store was located
at 621-625 Main Street
(renamed Green Bay
Road), currently occupied
by the Wilmette Glass and
Wilmette Pet stores.
In 1937, George married
Esther Ryan, operator
of Esther’s Beauty Shoppe
at 1213 Wilmette Ave.,
and the newlyweds moved
into the house at 801 Park
Ave., Wilmette. Their ages
at that time were 45 and
34, respectively. Both had
been married previously.
Joining the Rapps as residents
of their new home
were Esther’s adolescent
son from a previous marriage
and her sister and
brother-in-law.
In the early 1940s,
George sold his interest
in Rapp Bros. and retired.
He invested much of
the proceeds in Esther’s
beauty shop business.
Meanwhile, the couple
continued to host a crowd
of relatives. By 1947,
the occupants of their
Park Ave. house included
Esther’s by-then-married
son, his wife, and two
young children, along
with George’s brother
Edward, his wife, and
one adult child — a total
of seven adults and two
youngsters. This wasn’t an
arrangement that promoted
marital harmony
in the four-bedroom, 1.5
bathroom house. George
and Esther discussed
separation, and hostility
grew over the financial
settlement. Esther wanted
the house and $75,000.
George offered much less.
On May 25, 1947, the
marital discord turned
ugly. When the couple
went to bed, Esther quickly
fell asleep, but George
remained awake, consumed
by anxiety. He got
up, went downstairs, and
gathered a claw hammer
and a butcher knife. He returned
to the bedroom and
contemplated the situation
for awhile. He then repeatedly
struck Esther in the
forehead with the hammer
and plunged the knife into
her throat. Afterwards,
he changed into his day
clothes and beckoned his
brother Edward, sleeping
in a nearby bedroom.
“Esther’s dying”, he said,
and “there’s no need for a
doctor”. He asked Edward
to call the police. When
they arrived, George was
forthcoming. He admitted
what he had done and
described the couple’s
marital woes. Asked why
he attacked Esther, he
responded, “I don’t know.
I guess I lost my head.”
Esther was still alive
when police arrived. She
was rushed to Evanston
Hospital. Her injuries
included a fractured skull
and severed vocal cords
and windpipe. Although
given only a fifty percent
chance of surviving, she
did survive and (understandably)
promptly filed
for divorce. George was
indicted on charges of
assault with intent to kill.
His attorney claimed
“temporary insanity,” and
the case went to trial in
late November 1947.
At the time, the legal
standard for a successful
insanity defense was
this: A person isn’t guilty
if, as the result of mental
disease or defect, he or
she lacked the substantial
capacity to appreciate
the criminality of his or
her conduct or to conform
that conduct to the
requirements of the law.
After hearing George’s
testimony that he “must
have been crazy” and the
dueling testimony of three
psychiatrists, the jury of
seven women and five
men deliberated for only
Esther Rapp survived
her husband’s vicious
assault. Photo submitted
one hour and fifty minutes
before returning their
verdict: Not guilty. The
judge “could only shake
his head in amazement”,
and the defense counsel
“looked thunderstruck
as he shook his dazed
client’s hand.” Observers
suggested that the jury
was magnanimous and/
or eager to get home — it
was Thanksgiving Eve.
Less than two months
later, Esther was granted
an uncontested divorce
and title to the beauty
shop business.
THE GLENVIEW LANTERN
Real-estate broker
performs Heimlich, saves
life, during open house
Ellen Stern has hosted
countless open houses
over the years. They’ve
never, until recently, involved
saving a life.
Stern, a broker with
Berkshire Hathaway
HomeServices KoenigRubloff
Realty Group,
was speaking with a man
during an open house
in Glenview on June 10
when a woman walked
into the condominium,
passed through a couple
rooms and suddenly began
to choke.
“She started grabbing
at her throat saying, ‘Call
9-1-1,’ roughly gasping
it,” Stern said.
Reporting by Chris Pullam,
Contributing Editor. Full
story at GlenviewLantern.
com.
THE NORTHBROOK TOWER
Village seeks enforcement
of existing Cook County
assault weapons ban
The Cook County Sheriff’s
Office has said its officers
will take “primary
responsibility” within the
village with respect to enforcement
of Cook County’s
existing ban on assault
weapons, Village President
Sandy Frum said during
the Northbrook Village
Board’s Tuesday, June 12
meeting.
“Our Village Attorney
has advised us that the
Cook County ordinance
is fully applicable within
the corporate limits of the
Village of Northbrook,”
Frum said. “The primary
question remaining relates
to how the ordinance could
be enforced, and most particularly,
by whom: The
Northbrook Police Department
or the Cook County
Sheriff’s police.”
The answer to that question,
Frum added, after
meetings with the village
attorney, staff and the
Cook County’s Sheriff’s
Office, is that the Sheriff’s
Office “will take primary
responsibility for enforcement
of the ordinance
within Northbrook” and
the Cook County State’s
Attorney will be responsible
for prosecution of any
violations of the County’s
Blair Holt Act.
Reporting by Fouad Egbaria,
Freelance Reporter. Full
story at NorthbrookTower.
com.
THE LAKE FOREST LEADER
Tentative budget plans
for new air conditioners,
school safety
The Lake Bluff School
District 65 Board of Education
unanimously approved
both the 2018-19
tentative budget and the final
strategic plan for 2018-
23 at its regular meeting
Tuesday, June 12.
The District expects revenues
of $18,870,800 for
the 2018-19 fiscal year.
This includes expenditures
of 19,156,961 and
a net deficit of $286,161.
Despite the net deficit,
the operating fund is expected
to have a surplus of
$861,724.
The deficit is caused by
the need to replace five air
conditioning units at Lake
Bluff Elementary School.
Jay Kahn, the director of
finance and operations/
CSBO, said that in addition
to using the surplus
in the 2018-19 budget for
the air conditioners, he
also expects to use anywhere
from $500,000 to
$700,000 left over in the
2017-18 budget.
Reporting by Christa Rooks,
Freelance Reporter. Full
story LakeForestLeader.com.