CHICAGO — Doctors say the condition of Chicago’s Walking Man is improving after a 27-year-old from Melrose Park allegedly set him on fire while he slept downtown last month.
Joseph Kromelis, the 75-year-old homeless man, known to locals for walking miles daily through the Loop and beyond, was critically injured, suffering burns to more than half of his body after being doused with a flammable liquid.
Kromelis was not expected to survive.
Prior to Tuesday’s update, paramedics last reported Kromelis to be in critical condition at Northwestern Hospital.
Authorities arrested and charged 27-year-old Joseph Guardia with arson and attempted murder after setting Kromelis on fire while he slept on Lower Wabash.
Prosecutors called the act ‘intentional’ and scolded Guardia, calling his action the worst crime they’ve ever witnessed on video.
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“It takes a special kind of evil to do what the defendant did in this case,” said Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak. “This defendant decided to target the most vulnerable person possible — a 75-year-old homeless man sleeping on the street.”