After a jury found Joseph Czuba guilty of murdering 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, advocates, family members and elected officials said more needs to be done to protect against future hate crimes.
Odai Alfayoumi, left, is greeted by Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR-Chicago, after Joseph Czuba was found guilty Feb. 28, 2025, on all charges in the hate crime murder of Alfayoumi's 6-year-old son, Wadee Alfayoumi. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Family and supporters of Wadee Alfayoumi listen during a press conference after a jury found Joseph Czuba guilty on all charges in the hate crime murder of the Plainfield six-year-old at the Will County Courthouse on Feb. 28, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Joseph Czuba in 2023, who was formally indicted on eight felony charges in connection with the death of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoume and the stabbing of his mother, appears for his arraignment with his attorney George Lenard, before the judge at the Will County Courthouse, in Joliet. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)
Odai Alfayoumi arrives at a press conference after Joseph Czuba was found guilty on all charges in the hate crime murder of his six-year-old son, Wadee Alfayoumi, at the Will County Courthouse on Feb. 28, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Heena Musabji, right, legal director at CAIR-Chicago, reacts after Joseph Czuba was found guilty on all charges in the hate crime murder of Wadee Alfayoumi at the Will County Courthouse on Feb. 28, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Family and supporters of Wadee Alfayoumi hold Friday prayers outside the Will County Courthouse before a jury found Joseph Czuba guilty on all charges in the hate crime murder of the Plainfield six-year-old, Feb. 28, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Odai Alfayoumi discusses the verdict after Joseph Czuba was found guilty on all charges in the hate crime murder of his six-year-old son, Wadee Alfayoumi, at the Will County Courthouse on Feb. 28, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR Chicago, addresses the media after Joseph Czuba was found guilty on all charges in the hate crime murder of his six-year-old son, Wadee Alfayoumi, at the Will County Courthouse on Feb. 28, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Wadee Alfayoumi, 6, was stabbed to death at his Plainfield Township home on Oct. 14, 2023. (Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations)
The Plainfield Township home where police say landlord Joseph Czuba, 71, allegedly stabbed 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi to death and seriously injured his mother, Hanaan Shahin, on Oct. 14, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Odai Alfayoumi and others carry the casket of his son, Wadee Alfayoumi, to the burial site at Parkholm Cemetery on Oct. 16, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Items are displayed at the corner of South Lincoln Highway and Lily Cache Road in memorial of Wadee Alfayoumi near his Plainfield Township home on Oct. 16, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Mahmoud Yousef, second from left, comforts Odai Alfayoumi after the burial of Alfayoumi's son, Wadee Alfayoumi, at Parkholm Cemetery in La Grange Park on Oct. 16, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
People sprinkle flower petals on the gravesite of Wadee Alfayoumi after his burial at Parkholm Cemetery, Oct. 16, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune
People gather for the burial of Wadee Alfayoumi at the Parkholm Cemetery in La Grange Park on Oct. 16, 2023.
Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune
People pray during the burial of Wadee Alfayoumi at Parkholm Cemetery in La Grange Park on Oct. 16, 2023.
Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
A balloon is seen on Oct. 15, 2023, at a memorial outside the Plainfield Township home where police say landlord Joseph Czuba, 71, allegedly stabbed 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi to death and seriously injured his mother, Hanaan Shahin, a day earlier. Czuba allegedly attacked the boy and mother because they were Muslim and he was upset about the ongoing conflict involving Hamas and Israel, police said.
People attend a candlelight vigil for Wadee Alfayoumi in Oak Brook on Oct. 22, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune
Sahar Ahmad, left, lights a candle during a vigil for Wadee Alfayoumi in Oak Brook on Oct. 22, 2023.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Odai Alfayoumi, father of Wadee Alfayoumi, walks with wife Hadeel al-Hafi as others hold candles for a vigil in memory of Wadee, 6, outside the Will County Courthouse in Joliet before Joseph Czuba's pretrial proceedings, Jan. 3, 2024.
People attend a vigil in memory of Wadee Alfayoumi outside the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, before Joseph Czuba's court appearance Jan. 3, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Family members, friends and supporters attend a vigil for Wadee Alfayoumi, 6, outside the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, Jan. 3, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Wadee Alfayoumi's father, Odai Alfayoumi, looks at a photo of his son during a vigil at Prairie Activity and Recreation Center in Plainfield on Oct. 17, 2023. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
An estimated 1,000 people attend and hold candles for Wadee Alfayoumi during a vigil at Prairie Activity and Recreation Center in Plainfield on Oct. 17, 2023. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
A mourner holds a candle for Wadee Alfayoumi during a vigil at Prairie Activity and Recreation Center in Plainfield on Oct. 17, 2023. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
Wadee Alfayoumi's father, Odai Alfayoumi, left, hugs the mother of one of his son's friends during a vigil for Wadee at Prairie Activity and Recreation Center in Plainfield on Oct. 17, 2023. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Mourners attend a vigil for Wadee Alfayoumi at the Prairie Activity and Recreation Center in Plainfield on Oct. 17, 2023.
Two people hold a Palestinian flag scarf during a community vigil for 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi at the Prairie Activity and Recreation Center in Plainfield on Oct. 17, 2023. (Talia Sprague/Chicago Tribune)
Yousef Hannon, the uncle of Wadee Alfayoumi, receives a hug after speaking at the Muslim Community Center in Chicago, Oct. 15, 2023, about the stabbing death of the 6-year-old in what police say was an anti-Muslim hate crime. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
People attend a wake for 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi at the Universal School on Oct. 16, 2023, in Bridgeview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Odai Alfayoumi, center, shakes hands with attendees during a wake for his 6-year-old son, Wadee Alfayoumi, at the Universal School on Oct. 16, 2023, in Bridgeview. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
People pray at the Mosque Foundation, in Bridgeview, on Oct. 16, 2023, during the funeral service for 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, who was stabbed to death two days earlier at his Plainfield Township home. Charges against the alleged attacker, Joseph Czuba, 71, who was ordered detained, include first-degree murder and two counts of hate crimes. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
The hearse carrying the coffin of Wadee Alfayoumi leaves the Mosque Foundation, in Bridgeview, after his funeral service on Oct. 16, 2023. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Gov. JB Pritzker is seen at the Mosque Foundation, in Bridgeview, on Oct. 16, 2023, before the funeral for 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, who was stabbed to death two days earlier at his Plainfield Township home. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
People pray at the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview on Oct. 16, 2023, during the funeral service for 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, center, is seen at the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview on Oct. 16, 2023, before the funeral for 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Odai Alfayoumi, the father of Wadee Alfayoumi, 6, speaks outside the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview before his son's funeral on Oct. 16, 2023. (Eileen Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune
Odai Alfayoumi, right, the father of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, reacts while Wadee's uncle, Yousef Hannon, speaks at the Muslim Community Center in Chicago on Oct. 15, 2023, about the stabbing death of Alfayoumi's son in an alleged anti-Muslim hate crime, according to the Will County sheriff's office and the family's relatives.
Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
Iman Negrete places two teddy bears outside a Plainfield Township home the day after police say landlord Joseph Czuba, 71, allegedly stabbed 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi to death and seriously injured his mother, Hanaan Shahin, on Oct. 14, 2023, after targeting them because they were Muslim. According to the Will County sheriff's office, Czuba was upset about the ongoing conflict involving Hamas and Israel.
Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
Flowers are placed outside the Plainfield Township home where landlord Joseph Czuba, 71, allegedly stabbed 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi to death and seriously injured his mother, Hanaan Shahin, on Oct. 14, 2023, after targeting them because they were Muslim, police said.
Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
The Plainfield Township home where police say landlord Joseph Czuba, 71, allegedly stabbed 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi to death and seriously injured his mother, Hanaan Shahin, is seen on Oct. 14, 2023.
Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
A treehouse is seen in the backyard of the Plainfield Township home where police say landlord Joseph Czuba, 71, allegedly stabbed 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi to death and seriously injured his mother, Hanaan Shahin, on Oct. 14, 2023.
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Odai Alfayoumi, left, is greeted by Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR-Chicago, after Joseph Czuba was found guilty Feb. 28, 2025, on all charges in the hate crime murder of Alfayoumi's 6-year-old son, Wadee Alfayoumi. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
When the Chicago Bears view the strengths of this year's free-agent and draft classes, they match well with some of the top needs on the roster. Time will tell if it proves to be true.
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