Lake County Board Member Describes News of 3 Children Killed by Their Father in Round Lake Beach, Starts Fundraiser

Monday night, June 13, 2022, Lake County Board Member Dick Barr confirmed that three children were murdered by their father earlier Monday in the block of 200 Camden Lane in Round Lake Beach.

UPDATE TO THIS CASE …

After I-57, I-80 Chase, Jason Karels in His Crashed Car Tells Police He Killed His 3 Children in Round Lake Beach

None of the family members were named, but Barr mentioned that the father was still alive, and that the three children left behind a grieving mother. The father was injured in a crash off of Interstate 80 in Joliet about 4:45 p.m. Monday that ended a police pursuit that began about 4:21 p.m. when his vehicle was spotted by police on southbound Interstate 57.

Barr announced late last night on Facebook that he set up a gofundme fundraiser to try to help his community heal while removing the extra financial stress of their grieving mother.

Dick Barr Statement Tuesday

My heart continues to break about yesterday’s tragic news.

It breaks not just for those blessed children, but for the families on all sides who have to endure what has to be the most traumatic and painful event in their lives.

Yesterday I was angry and emotional.

Today, I want our community to start the long process of healing and supporting the family in any way we know how.

There are families out there looking at this terrible situation who are now even more fearful that something like this could happen to them.

They need our support too.

Mental wellness issues lie as the common denominator in all of these tragedies.

The system in place to help in these matters is difficult, cumbersome, expensive and sometimes downright impossible to navigate.
We are living through an era where tragedies caused by mental health issues are climbing at a hard to fathom rate. The WHO reports an increase in mental health and substance abuse disorders of 13% over just the past decade.

Us politicians, I believe, make it worse with our angry rhetoric and name calling. Moral outrage is encouraged as an effective tool in campaigns. Each side demonizes the other while claiming their own superiority.

Politicians make their way by destroying people in their own communities and making them villains.

These concepts permeate the psyche of our residents, and our kids see these attacks on TV.

I am guilty of what I complain about, as well.

Today I ask for the entire community and all politicians to come together to find a way to address mental health in a meaningful way that lessens the stigma and provides reasonable and affordable access to professional care. Additionally, that we begin to lead by example by eliminating the concept of using phony moral outrage to win campaigns.

I don’t have all the answers, but I do have many questions.

God bless every family member who now has to live with this tragedy and God bless those little kids and guide them home to eternal peace.
Thank you to the family for allowing me to post this picture of those little angels. Their mom wants you to remember them and their beautiful faces.

Lake County Board Member Dick Barr (Facebook post)

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