Bloomington’s Whalen given more prison time as he finishes sentence for 1991 killing

Posted on January 21, 2021
Donald Whalen. (Photo courtesy: Illinois Department of Corrections)

By Heart of Illinois ABC

BLOOMINGTON – Additional prison time has been ordered for a Bloomington man who is almost done serving a sentence for killing his father in the Twin-Cities 30 years ago.

Donald Whalen, 54, received three more years in prison after pleading guilty to escape for violating conditions of his bond after a judge granted him a new trial. William Whalen was fatally beaten and stabbed at the family’s Downtown Bloomington bar in 1991.

Authorities said Whalen was on electronic monitoring after posting $100,000 cash to be released, but left his home and visited several places last February and April, including a pawn shop, drug store, truck stop and furniture store in Bloomington-Normal, Peoria, and Champaign.

For his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop several other charges including domestic battery against a woman Whalen was dating when he was free on bond.

In December, the judge who granted Whalen a new trial reversed his ruling, citing an appeals court opinion.

If not for Whalen’s latest legal troubles, he would have been eligible for parole in March because he served half his 60-year sentence.

Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at [email protected]. 

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