In a ruling that could set a legal precedent in child-abduction cases, a judge agreed Wednesday to use $20,000 belonging to a Park Ridge woman as a reward for finding her 3-year-old daughter, whom she allegedly kidnapped.
The woman’s estranged husband, John Izykowski, 37, of Niles, said he would add $30,000 of his own money to the amount in hopes that someone will come forward with knowledge about his wife, Eva Sloboda, 36, or their daughter, Emily. Izykowski was granted custody of the girl after she and her mother disappeared in August from their Park Ridge home. The couple had been in the process of divorcing.
Cook County Circuit Judge Carole K. Bellows ruled Wednesday that the reward could be established under a state law that allows courts to seize funds belonging to either party in a divorce for the support and general welfare of a child. Traditionally, the law is used to collect unpaid child support.
But Izykowski’s lawyer, Scott C. Colky, argued that setting up a reward fund from Sloboda’s savings would be reasonable extension of the law. Bellows agreed, writing in her ruling, “The court finds it necessary to set aside funds in order to protect Emily’s safety and promote her return to this jurisdiction.”
Bellows’ decision sets a legal precedent, at least in Illinois, that could help other families find abducted children, Colky said.
“We’re happy that we’re setting a precedent and that now courts will begin using money from kidnappers and abductors to bring about information leading to the safe return of the children they’ve kidnapped,” Colky said.
“We won’t be happy until Emily is found safe and reunited with her family and her father.”
Bellows’ ruling prevents Izykowski from using the money as a reward for 30 days to give his wife a chance to return with the child.
The money, which has been ordered frozen in a bank account, comes from Sloboda’s retirement fund from her job at Pace, the suburban bus agency. Originally, Colky wanted to take part of $45,000 that the woman left to various family members just before she disappeared. But her lawyers argued that the $45,000 was given as loans to relatives.
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In an emotional news conference Wednesday afternoon in front of Bellows’ courtroom at the Richard J. Daley Center in the Loop, Izykowski urged anyone with information on the whereabouts of his daughter to come forward.
“I will not rest until Emily is brought back to safety,” said Izykowski, who has hired a private investigator and passed out hundreds of fliers in an effort to find his child. “The last words she said to me were, `Daddy, I love you.’ “
Working with the FBI, Park Ridge police have been searching since August for Sloboda and her child. They fear Sloboda, who is wanted on an unlawful flight warrant, may have fled to her native Czech Republic. Park Ridge Police Cmdr. Bob Lowen said Sloboda and the girl had valid passports when they disappeared.
Lowen said Wednesday he hopes the reward “will loosen some lips. We’re optimistic that this will bring in some leads.” Anyone with information about the case can contact the Park Ridge Police Department at 847-318-5252 or the FBI’s Chicago office at 312-431-1333.
But Lowen also said police are working under the belief that Sloboda’s parents, who live in Park Ridge, know the whereabouts of their daughter and are the ones who would most likely lead investigators to Sloboda. The couple, however, are not cooperating with police, Lowen said.
“I don’t see the reward affecting (their silence),” Lowen said. “We’re not going to have grandma come out and want the money and tell where her daughter is. They have never come to the police to ask what kind of leads we have or what we’re doing to find their daughter.”
Through their attorney, Sloboda’s parents have denied having contact with their daughter. In early August, Sloboda told her sister that she and Emily were going on a vacation. Weeks later, she slipped a note in her parents’ mailbox saying she’d never return.