Rudd attorney says calls to his client in jail were recorded

January 22, 2016 – A Chicago attorney says prosecutors in the Donnie Rudd case have recorded his telephone conversations with his client.

Timothy Grace complained to Circuit Court Judge Bridget Hughes at a hearing Friday morning in Rolling Meadows that at least one of his calls to Dr. Rudd was recorded. He knows this because an assistant state’s attorney told him. Recording his calls to Rudd, says Grace, “violates the sanctity of attorney-client privilege.”

The assistant state’s attorney says when he started to listen to the recording, he realized the call was from an attorney, stopped listening, requested the recording be deleted, and notified Grace.

“I commend them for doing that,” said Grace after the hearing, “but still they should not be recording conversations between and attorney and client.”

Rudd is charged with murder in the 1973 death of his wife, Noreen. The 73-year-old is in custody, unable to pay a $4 million bond. Grace says he will ask the judge to reconsider bond at Rudd’s next hearing on February 11. He says “house arrest” is a better option.

“The state doesn’t have a case,” says Grace (right). “It’s all conjecture, insinuating, but there’s no solid case here.”

Rudd attended the hearing in a wheelchair, wearing brown prison clothes. Grace says Rudd is being treated for a skin infection at Cermak Health Services of Cook County, which provides health care to detainees at the Cook County Department of Corrections.

“The treatment he’s getting is not like the treatment you and I would get at Northwestern [Memorial Hospital]. But at least he’s being stabilized. He’s getting a little better.”

In 1983, with state representative Ellis Levin, Rudd co-wrote amendments to the Illinois Condominium Property Act. At one time, Rudd had a law firm in Schaumburg with, he has said, more than 2,000 clients, mostly homeowner associations, but in 1994 he voluntarily changed the status of his Illinois law license to “inactive” after four complaints were filed against him with the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.