Police said two people were being questioned after Jerry Lewis was shot on West Madison Street on Tuesday afternoon.
CHICAGO, Ill. — A 67-year-old Chicago businessman and contractor was shot to death near the United Center shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday after two armed men approached him on West Madison Street and opened fire, police said, setting off a large response in the middle of a busy workday.
The killing quickly drew attention because it happened in broad daylight in a fast-changing stretch of the Near West Side, close to homes, a firehouse, a library and schools. By Wednesday, family members had identified the victim as Jerry Lewis, a longtime contractor and community mentor tied to the area’s massive 1901 redevelopment effort. Police said detectives were questioning two people of interest, but investigators had not publicly described a motive, possible relationship between the suspects and Lewis, or whether charges were imminent.
Police said the shooting happened near West Madison and South Leavitt streets, in front of a residential building in the 2100 block of West Madison, just before 1 p.m. Investigators said Lewis was outside when two armed suspects approached and pulled out handguns. Witnesses described hearing a burst of gunfire that cut through the street noise of midday traffic. Nearby resident Julie Losch said she heard “four or five gunshots” before stepping onto her balcony and seeing police move in almost at once. Witnesses said first responders worked on Lewis at the scene, where he had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The initial emergency also triggered a call to assist responding officers, though police later said no officers were injured in the incident.
For hours, officers sealed off a long section of Madison Street between Leavitt Street and Hoyne Avenue as detectives and evidence technicians worked the scene. Yellow tape stretched across sidewalks and road lanes while people on foot stopped to look toward the building entrance. Police said two people of interest were being questioned by investigators, but officials did not immediately release their names, ages or any formal allegations against them. It also was not clear by late Wednesday whether officers had witnessed any part of the attack or arrived only moments later. Family members said Lewis had been walking between offices or checking the mail when he was confronted. Those details suggested the attack may have been targeted, but police had not publicly confirmed that conclusion. Officials also did not say whether surveillance video, shell casings or witness accounts had clarified how the suspects arrived or how they tried to leave.
Lewis’ death landed hard on the Near West Side because he was known in construction and community circles beyond a single company title. Family members and colleagues said he had spent years helping connect neighborhood residents, small businesses and aspiring subcontractors to opportunities in large development projects. He was associated with JLL Construction Services and served as executive director of the 1901 Community Implementation Committee, a nonprofit linked to the planned $7 billion Project 1901 development around the United Center. That project, backed by the arena’s ownership families, has been promoted as a long-term effort to reshape roughly 55 acres around the stadium into an entertainment and mixed-use district. In that setting, Lewis was seen not simply as a businessman but as a connector between large-scale investment and long-promised community participation. His killing, therefore, carried a deeper local weight than a single street crime.
Friends, elected officials and family members described Lewis as a West Side native who kept his focus on opening doors for others. His wife said he believed in helping people grow and wanted others to have a better path. A longtime friend said Lewis regularly showed up for neighborhood events, from youth activities to back-to-school gatherings, and had a habit of encouraging people whose records or past mistakes might have closed other doors. Ald. Walter Burnett said Lewis had committed his life to helping people “find their place in our society,” describing him as someone who extended grace to people trying to rebuild their lives. Students and workers connected to his training efforts said he held weekly classes from his office and brought in industry professionals to explain how people could learn the trade and compete for work on major projects. Those remembrances widened the impact of the case beyond the crime scene itself.
As of Wednesday night, police had not announced charges or released a fuller account of what detectives believe happened in the moments before the shooting. The Cook County medical examiner had not immediately resolved every public detail at the same pace as family statements, but relatives and multiple news outlets identified the victim as Lewis. The central unanswered questions remained basic and important: why he was targeted, whether the attackers knew his routine, and whether the shooting was connected to business, personal, or other unresolved matters. Investigators were expected to continue interviewing witnesses, reviewing camera footage from the block and nearby intersections, and processing physical evidence collected Tuesday afternoon. Any decision on criminal charges would likely depend on the outcome of those interviews and the case file assembled by area detectives and prosecutors.
By Wednesday, the block had shifted from an active crime scene to a place of mourning and uneasy reflection. Neighbors said the shooting rattled them because it happened at an hour when people were heading to work, walking children, and moving through one of the busiest corridors near the arena. Resident Mike Ramirez said the timing made the violence especially disturbing because “anything can happen” even in daylight. That sense of shock blended with grief among people who knew Lewis as a builder, mentor and steady presence on the West Side. The contrast was hard to miss: a man tied to one of Chicago’s most ambitious redevelopment efforts was killed on an open street only blocks from the project’s centerpiece, leaving a neighborhood to absorb both the violence and the loss of someone many said had spent years trying to improve it.
Police said Wednesday that two people of interest remained under questioning, and no public motive had been announced. The next major step in the case is whether detectives and prosecutors file charges after reviewing witness interviews, video and physical evidence from the West Madison Street scene.
Author note: Last updated March 25, 2026.