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	Deal Discussed in Priest Abuse Case Associated Press, carried in Daily Herald [Chicago IL] March 22, 2007 http://www.dailyherald.com/news/illinoisstory.asp?id=293210 Prosecutors and defense attorneys discussed a possible plea agreement on Wednesday for a Chicago priest accused of sexually abusing children. The possibility of such a deal arose during a hearing in Cook County court, where a judge agreed to a meeting with the Rev. Daniel McCormack's attorneys and prosecutors. They withdrew with Judge Thomas Sumner to his chambers, but no deal was announced when they emerged an hour later. Sumner then set May 1 as the next court date. While the talks went on behind closed doors, McCormack waited in a hallway outside the courtroom. He is charged with five counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in the alleged fondling of five boys at Our Lady of the Westside School's two campuses and the nearby St. Agatha Catholic Church. He had earlier pleaded not guilty to all charges. Prosecutors could not discuss details of Wednesday's talks, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office said. Defense attorneys also declined to comment. If convicted, McCormack faces seven years in prison on each charge. Peggy Hough of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said she wanted to see a trial, arguing that it would help shed light on issues of sexual abuse. "I would like there to be as much exposure as possible and a trial would give this more exposure," she said. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has been criticized in the case because McCormack wasn't removed from his parish on the city's West Side until he first was charged in January — several months after one of the allegations was made against him.
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