Mass murderer was relocated away from an Illinois school. Now he lives near another

Residents in a Chicago suburb pushed back when a convicted mass murderer was said to be living across from an elementary school late last month. But now, records show he's relocating to a new address — and it's close to another school.

Carl Reimann, an Illinois man convicted of shooting and killing five people at a restaurant in 1972, was released from prison on April 26, records show.

Reimann killed a 16-year-old female employee, two customers, a cook and a bartender in what's known as the "Pine Village massacre," according to The Beacon-News.

After he served more than 45 years behind bars, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board voted 8-4 to grant Reimann, 77, parole.

Parents told NBC 5 they were upset about the idea of a paroled killer living across from Seventh Avenue Elementary School, which is in La Grange, Illinois. The school district had notified the community that Reimann was living in the neighborhood. He was supposed to be living with a host family, according to the television station.

Then the community got the news in May — Reimann would be moving away. Some expressed relief on the La Grange Police Department's Facebook statement on the matter.

"The Village of La Grange has been informed that the Illinois Prison Review Board is relocating Mr. Carl Reimann out of La Grange effective immediately," police said in the statement May 4. "The Village appreciates the Illinois Prison Review Board’s attention to our residents' concerns."

Now, a state registry shows, Reimann will be living in a Calumet City, Illinois, halfway home, but as multiple media outlets pointed out this week, his new address is down the street from another elementary school.

The school district there has not commented publicly on Reimann's relocation, though WGN 9 said residents are worried.

In an interview, a WGN 9 reporter described the 45-year-old murder and Reimann's new address to a woman living nearby.

"I don't care if it was yesterday. Murder is murder," said the woman, who was not named in the news report. "There's a school across the street. Why are you here? Why don't they put him next to a penitentiary?"

Others say they're surprised a convicted murderer would be allowed to live near a school, and as some media outlets noted, state law only bans sex offenders from living within 500 feet of a school, playground or facilities for people under 18.

This story was originally published May 15, 2018 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Mass murderer was relocated away from an Illinois school. Now he lives near another."