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Over a decennary ago, David Jones began to marque a documentary astir the “Walking Man,” the stateless fig with striking agelong hair, celebrated for strolling done downtown Chicago successful a blazer, rainfall oregon shine.
But the Walking Man — known for being an enigma — never spoke openly with him. “He wasn’t precise forthcoming. He was precise present, but the answers to our questions were each benignant of fibs,” said Jones, who called him the “Walking Dude.”
Jones published a trailer, “The Walking Dude, A Dudementary,” in 2006 but ne'er completed the project. But the trailer was enough, helium said.
“It was a amusive task to observe him,” Jones said. “He an implicit Chicago quality — 1 of the things that makes Chicago unsocial and exciting.”
The Walking Man, whose sanction was Joseph Kromelis, died Sunday afternoon.
He was severely burned successful May, erstwhile idiosyncratic acceptable him connected occurrence arsenic helium slept connected Lower Wabash Avenue. He was 75.
His information improved implicit respective months, but helium died weeks aft being discharged from Stroger Hospital to a Far North Side rehab facility.
An autopsy Monday recovered helium died of complications from his burns. His decease was ruled a homicide.
Jones became fascinated with Kromelis aft seeing him walking adjacent the advertizing bureau helium worked astatine adjacent Michigan Avenue.
“Every clip you’re connected the thoroughfare going to oregon from work, you would occasionally spot him. And it would beryllium a thing. People would travel backmost to the bureau and say, ‘I saw him!’” Jones said.
When Jones gathered footage for the documentary, helium staked retired Walking Man arsenic if hunting a tornado.
“It was genuinely exciting. It had that feeling of nothing, nothing, thing and then, ‘Oh my gosh!’” Jones said.
Kromelis walked the streets successful a “wild fashion,” Jones said.
“Nothing linear, astir similar a moth fly. Up this street, across, diagonal, and backmost and down. There didn’t look to beryllium a batch of rhyme oregon reason, to us. But to him I deliberation it made cleanable sense,” Jones said.
“The Walking Man” successful downtown Chicago successful 2005.
File photo
Kromelis’ entreaty besides laic successful his bully nature.
“The streets of Chicago are afloat of characters, and immoderate are much occupation than others. But the Walking Dude, arsenic we called him, ne'er meant harm to anyone. He conscionable walked the streets,” Jones said.
Jones’ speech with Kromelis ne'er got beyond tiny talk. “When we got to bigger speech he’d clam up and person to go,” helium said.
They would chat astir the city’s architecture and operation projects. “He was astir an amateur architectural circuit guide,” Jones said.
Days aft Kromelis was attacked successful May, a antheral was charged with attempted murder. Prosecutors said Joseph Guardia, 27, stood silently implicit Kromelis and poured flammable liquid connected him. Kromelis was burned live for 3 minutes earlier assistance came.
The suspect provided nary different motive than “being an aggravated person” and claimed helium wanted to pain trash but did not recognize determination was a idiosyncratic there, according to prosecutors. He remains held without bail astatine Cook County Jail pending his case.
Prosecutors expect to upgrade the complaint against him to first-degree murder, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s bureau said.
Six years earlier — connected May 24, 2016 — Kromelis was attacked successful a abstracted incident. Someone with a shot bat bushed him successful the 400 artifact of East Lower Wacker Drive. The 2 were struggling implicit the bat erstwhile constabulary arrived.
Scott Marvel, who heads up Daily Planet Productions, a River North video accumulation company, raised $5,000 for Kromelis by printing and selling T-shirts aft helium was beaten successful 2016. He sold different circular of shirts aft Kromelis was acceptable ablaze that raised $8,000. He planned to springiness the wealth to Kromelis’ household to assistance money his recovery.
Joseph Kromelis, amended known arsenic “The Walking Man,” successful 2011.
Rich Hein/Sun-Times record photo
Now Marvel wonders if the wealth volition spell toward covering ceremonial and burial expenses.
“People would spot him and it would marque their day,” said Marvel. “He had a tone astir him. I deliberation helium represented radical who unrecorded extracurricular the mean way of society. And however they merit respect and dignity and compassion. And immoderate helps bring america to that could beryllium a lasting representation that turns a antagonistic into a positive.”
Perhaps immoderate benignant of memorial oregon monument would assistance convey the sentiment, contempt the information that Kromelis eschewed attention, Marvel said.
Authorities person not said who Kromelis’ assemblage volition beryllium released to — whether it is simply a household subordinate oregon if helium volition beryllium cremated successful the county’s indigent burial program.
He moved to Chicago with his household from Lithuania oregon Germany erstwhile helium was a kid and grew up supra the barroom his parents ran connected Halsted, the Sun-Times reported successful 2016.
His parents sold the tavern and moved to southwest Michigan erstwhile Kromelis was astir 19. But helium stuck astir successful Chicago. He tried a mill occupation but didn’t similar it. So helium got a peddlers licence and sold jewelry connected the thoroughfare and began wandering the streets of the Loop.
“There’s thing incorrect with him. He’s not mentally ill. He conscionable likes walking. It’s that simple,” his sister-in-law, Linda Kromelis, told the Sun-Times successful 2016.
Jones, who made the documentary trailer, said helium erstwhile snuck a homemade “Walking Man” Lego portion into a Chicago grounds astatine the company’s Michigan Avenue storefront.
He said helium did it “because I thought helium was an iconic portion of Chicago.”
“Him connected the streets made the streets that overmuch cooler and that overmuch much interesting,” Jones said.
A “Walking Man” Lego portion altered by David Jones that was snuck into the Chicago Lego store’s Chicago exhibit.
Photo provided by David Jones
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