CHICAGO (WGN) — Two years and 14 surgeries after a hit-and-run driver severely injured Mari Villar as she and friends walked to get food, the Bridgeport teen has still not fully recovered, and her family is facing financial hardship.
“The first few days I was unconscious,” Villar said. “My healing has definitely been like loops. Up and down because I’ll get better and then I’ll need another surgery.”
A hospital social worker told Villar and her mom about the Illinois Crime Victims Compensation Fund, which could help offset mounting medical bills not covered by insurance. The family applied in July 2023. Since then, Villar’s mother, Megan, has documented dozens of exchanges with the state analyst whose job it was to document the claims.
“The maddening part has been the silence,” Megan Bracamontes said. “When you’re not getting a response for weeks and months at a time, it comes across as you’re not really caring. I don’t believe that’s their intent; but it becomes the impact.”
Frustrated by the silence and circle of delays, the family turned to WGN Investigates.
“I take it very seriously when someone who has experienced the worst trauma of their lives, then somebody who reports up to me drops the ball,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul told WGN Investigates.
Raoul oversees the crime victims’ compensation fund and said his office has tried to make it easier—not harder—for eligible victims and their families to receive financial support.
Last year, the Illinois Crime Victims Compensation Fund approved 5,545 cases and awarded $9.9 million dollars. The average claimant received $6,963. Raoul’s office said they are approving more claims and paying out more money per year by widening eligibility and helping people complete the maze of paperwork required to verify claims.
“Sometimes a delay is caused by a victim not getting their appropriate documentation,” Raoul said.
His office also has to work with police to determine if the person was indeed the victim of a crime eligible for compensation, and confirm medical and other expenses before making a reimbursement decision.
“There’s no sugarcoating the fact that we have had instances where we have been responsible for the delay,” Raoul said. “That’s not something I tolerate and that’s not something I respond kindly to.”
Nationally, studies suggest those who could benefit most from a crime victims’ compensation fund are often the least able to navigate the mountain of paperwork and questions that states require to secure financial help.
“I do think these stories are pretty commonplace,” said John Maki, a Fellow in the Litmus Program of the NYU Marron Institute.
He has studied Illinois’ program and credits Attorney General Raoul with significant reforms, but he notes these programs are mazes that can be difficult for crime victims to navigate.
“If Illinois’ program can’t efficiently and effectively and compassionately deal with this kind of case, there’s a real question about dealing with other types of cases, which are always going to be more complicated,” Maki said.
Experts think the need for help for crime victims will only grow.
“As funding has decreased, victimization rates have increased, and new rule changes will also expand the number of claims,” a 2024 study by the NORC Urban Institute at the University of Chicago stated.
Villar and her mom said they provided the Illinois Attorney General’s office with receipts totaling more than $10,000 in out-of-pocket expenses related to the hit-and-run. In the end, the AG’s office approved reimbursement of just under $4,000, and only after WGN Investigates got involved.
“The award doesn’t come close to reflecting the depth of what we’ve been through,” Megan Bracamontes said. “It reflects a reality we know too well, that even clear harm doesn’t always lead to fair justice.”
The driver who hit Villar and took off hasn’t been caught.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
