Normal expected to OK $5.4M settlement in Beaman case 30 years after homicide [The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.]

Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL)

Mar. 29—×

NORMAL — The Normal Town Council is expected to approve a settlement Monday in a lawsuit tied to how police investigated the 1993 homicide of an Illinois State University student.

Alan Beaman, then of Rockford, was convicted of murder in 1995 in the death of his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lockmiller of Decatur. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison, serving 13 of those before the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the conviction and exonerated him in 2008.

The state issued Beaman a certificate of innocence in 2013, and former Gov. Pat Quinn pardoned him two years later.

Beaman first filed the civil suit in 2014, seeking monetary damages against the town and former Normal police detectives Tim Freesmeyer, Dave Warner and Frank Zayas, who led the police investigation into Lockmiller's death.

His attorneys argued the officers conducted a "bad faith" investigation.

After years of legal wrangling and appeals, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that the lawsuit could proceed to a trial, a reversal of a defense motion for summary judgment that likely would have ended the case before trial.

The civil trial had been set to begin April 15 at the McLean County Law and Justice Center before the town announced Friday it had reached a "tentative settlement" of $5.4 million with Beaman.

"The Town admits no wrongdoing and fully stands behind the investigation and actions of its officers," according to council documents prepared by Brian Day, interim assistant city manager who previously served as corporation counsel for Normal.

"The proposed settlement mitigates any risk of an excess verdict and protects the municipality from any excess verdict where damages could far exceed insurance coverage. Thus, protecting the Town's long-term financial position and budgetary strategies."

According to council documents, the town will pay a minimum of $4 million through its liability insurance pool as a component of liability insurance coverage, and the town is seeking to secure additional coverage from the Municipal Insurance Cooperative Association for the remaining $1.4 million.

"In the event the Town is required to fund the remaining $1.4 million beyond the initial $4 million insurance amount, staff is seeking Council authorization for an associated budget adjustment," the documents say.

Additional details of the settlement were unavailable Friday.

If approved, City Manager Pam Reece will be authorized to execute the settlement agreement with town funding as necessary.

Citing the terms of the agreement, town staff said it will not issue comment or answer questions about this matter until after the council approves it.

Beaman's attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Friday.

This story may be updated.

Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.

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