A man who randomly and violently attacked a 4-year-old boy at the Belmont Brown Line station in Lakeview in 2021 is now going to prison for 24 years for another random attack: the horrific beating of two workers and a 77-year-old patron at a Chicago Public Library branch.
Calvin Williams, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated battery in a public place in exchange for the sentence from Judge Timothy Joyce, court records show.
In February 2021, Williams was arrested after he randomly kicked a 4-year-old boy in the face aboard a Brown Line train at Belmont. The boy’s mother struck Williams on his shoulder and continued hitting him until police arrived to break them up and take Williams into custody. He ultimately pleaded guilty to aggravated battery of a child and received a four-year sentence.
Then, on May 6, 2024, Williams randomly attacked two Chicago Public Library workers and a 77-year-old library patron with a metal bookend at the Martin Luther King Branch, 3436 South King Drive. Prosecutors said two of the victims suffered skull fractures.
Williams first attacked a 52-year-old woman, striking her in the face, head, and body with the metal bookend, causing a deep laceration on the top of her head. The woman, listed as a library clerk in a city personnel database, suffered a skull fracture, a broken hand, and a broken jaw, according to prosecutors.
Williams then turned his attention to a 77-year-old man visiting the library, prosecutors said. He struck the man with the bookend and punched him in the face, knocking out a tooth. Prosecutors said the man received a deep cut on his head and a laceration on his hand.
Finally, Williams attacked a 51-year-old woman identified as a librarian in city payroll records. He punched her repeatedly in the face, causing a bruised jaw and chipping two of her teeth, then fled the scene, prosecutors said.
The first Chicago police officers to arrive reported finding three “severely injured” victims in the library, all of whom were taken to hospitals. They radioed a description of the suspect, and other officers arrested Williams in the 3600 block of South Indiana after witnesses confirmed that he was the attacker, according to a CPD report.
Judge Joyce sentenced Williams to consecutive 12-year terms on the attempted murder charges with a finding of severe bodily injury inflicted. He included three concurrent years for the aggravated battery count. Williams must serve 85% of his sentence, with a projected parole date in September 2044.
His other felony convictions include obstruction of justice, two burglaries, robbery, and a 2015 hate crime.
