Erin Zilka Leaves Joliet Police 2 Years After Her Deadly Crash

JOLIET, IL — Almost two-and-a-half years after being involved in a deadly crash along Interstate 55 that killed her passenger, Joliet police officer Erin Zilka has resigned from her job, city manager Jim Capparelli confirmed for Joliet Patch on Thursday.

Capparelli said Zilka made the decision to resign from the city of Joliet. Zilka still faces three felony charges in connection with her Jan. 19, 2020, crash on I-55 in Plainfield Township that killed her passenger Charles Schauer, a Berwyn police officer.

Following an 11-month investigation by the Illinois State Police into the deadly crash, a special prosecutor charged Zilka in December 2020 with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and one count of aggravated driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs.

The criminal complaint states that Zilka "while under the influence of alcohol" was driving her Dodge Durango when she got into the I-55 wreck that resulted in another person's death. The crash happened as Zilka and her passenger were driving back to her home in Plainfield that Sunday morning around 6 a.m.

She crashed into a box truck that was involved in a crash several minutes earlier. Zilka's criminal complaint states that the "alcohol concentration in the defendant's blood ... was 0.08 or more based on the definition of blood and breath units" in Illinois state law.

In May 2021, Capparelli announced that he was bringing Zilka back to work in an administrative role at the city clerk's office after Zilka had spent the previous 16 months on paid leave from the Joliet Police Department, under the leadership of former Police Chief Al Roechner.

"I'm not going to have police officers collect paychecks for not working, so they're going to be doing business licenses," Capparelli told Joliet Patch's editor last May.

At that time, Capparelli also ended the paid leave for Joliet Police Department whistleblower, Sgt. Javier Esqueda, who was charged in October 2020 with multiple felony counts of official misconduct after Esqueda provided videotapes of the in-custody death of Black Joliet prisoner Eric Lurry to CBS Chicago Channel 2 reporter Dave Savini.

Capparelli told Joliet Patch last year that it was his understanding that Esqueda or Zilka would be following up on business licenses on the east side of Joliet while the other officer will be handling business license matters for places on the west side of Joliet.

"They'll check on businesses to make sure they're getting their licenses and paying their fees," Capparelli said at the time.

Zilka will have her next court date at the Will County Courthouse on July 6. The purpose of that hearing is to set a trial date for her. She is being represented by attorney Jeff Tomczak of the Tomczak Law Group.