Reward for Murdered Officer's Killer Upped to $100K

Mayor demands community stop distrusting police

A reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of slain police Officer Michael Bailey’s killer has risen to $100,000, thanks to a $25,000 donation from the FBI.

The reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Bailey’s killer, according to the release.

Bailey, 62, was just off an overnight shift guarding the mayor's home when he was shot in an apparent robbery attempt last Sunday morning.

Three South Side teenagers were taken into custody and questioned about Bailey’s murder, but were released without charges.

The three males — ages 16, 17 and 18 — were all taken into custody at Calumet Area headquarters, 727 E. 111th St., police sources said. One teen said he was picked up by police Thursday and questioned about Bailey’s murder. He said he was released Friday afternoon.

The other two teens were no longer in custody as of Saturday afternoon, police sources said.

The 20-year veteran officer was assigned to the Central District, which encompasses the Loop and he had just finished an overnight shift guarding the mayor’s home, officials said. Bailey returned to his South Manor home where he was polishing his new Buick Regal, which he had bought himself as a retirement gift, when he was killed.

During Bailey’s funeral Friday, angry and frustrated voices thundered from the pulpit, filling up St. Sabina Church’s cavernous sanctuary, as one speaker after another implored the public to help root out the cowardly violence that killed Bailey -- the third officer to be murdered in as many months.

A red-faced Daley demanded an end to the “distrust” that some feel for the city’s police. His words drew sustained applause inside the majestic South Side church, where Bailey’s body lay in a flag-draped, slate-blue casket. “Michael Bailey served and protected us,” said Daley, his words coming like hammer strokes. “He came from our community. He grew up here. So no more distrust of police officers.”

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