A federal judge loosened the home incarceration terms for Ron Haddad Jr., the former River Forest resident serving supervised release after a 12½-year federal prison sentence for mailing threatening communications to politicians and executives.
U.S. District Judge Edmund Chang ruled Tuesday, July 7, 2026, that Haddad, 50, may leave his mother's Forest Park apartment for limited errands. Until the ruling, Haddad was confined 24 hours a day, wearing two ankle monitors, and permitted outside only for pre-approved medical and court appointments.
The restriction followed Haddad's release from Winnebago County Jail on Thursday, May 28, after he violated supervised release by sending threatening emails to River Forest Library staff.
What the judge ordered
At a status hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago, Chang authorized the federal probation office to let Haddad leave "for defined periods of time and for defined purposes as appropriate," including getting a haircut. One condition remains firm: Haddad is barred from any location with computers.
Federal probation officer Regina King told the court she supported the change. "I don't have a problem with Haddad stepping out. My only concern is that he (not) go to a library where there are computers," King said.
Defense attorney Susan Pavlow, Haddad's court-appointed counsel, had requested permission for Haddad to run errands once or twice a week.
Background
Haddad was first arrested Tuesday, February 10, 2009, after federal agents executed a search warrant at his parents' Park Avenue home in River Forest. He was charged in a 30-count indictment for sending anonymous threatening packages containing letters, unidentified powders, and in one case, live shotgun shells wired to a firecracker. Recipients included Chicago-area politicians and oil company executives.
A jury convicted him in April 2014 on 28 counts of mailing threatening communications and two counts of transmitting threats via interstate commerce. He received 150 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, which began in January 2022.
Between April and July 2024, the probation office reported six violations in quick succession, according to a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruling issued June 27, 2025. Those included a state criminal trespass conviction for entering a library from which he had been banned and an arrest for aggravated battery on a peace officer after he scratched an officer trying to take him into custody.
Haddad's release terms also require cooperation with mental health professionals treating him for previously diagnosed psychiatric conditions. He has repeatedly denied having any mental health problems.
What comes next
Tuesday's hearing was intended to prepare for a "show cause" proceeding in which Chang would decide whether to re-incarcerate Haddad for a second probation violation. Chang set a status hearing for Thursday, September 10, 2026, but noted his judicial calendar presents a problem: a nine-week trial starting in September makes any evidentiary hearing on the probation violation unlikely before November 2026.
Separately, Haddad faces a Cook County trial for alleged battery to a police officer scheduled for Monday, August 31, 2026, according to Pavlow.
Prior to Tuesday's hearing, Haddad filed a six-page handwritten letter to the Executive Committee of the Northern District of Illinois, accusing Chang of being "biased, hostile, prejudiced." The letter did not come up during the court proceeding.
