Evanston man sentenced for murder at The KegBy Diana Xin

An Evanston man was sentenced to 18 years in prison Monday for a 2005 shooting at The Keg that killed another Evanston resident.

Antoine Hill, 20, of the 1500 block of Greenleaf Street, pled guilty in September to second-degree murder at the Skokie Circuit Court, according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office.

Hill shot Robert Gresham, 22, in the chest at about 2 a.m. June 19 after the two of them and one other man fought at the Keg, 810 Grove St., police said. Gresham was pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital, 355 Ridge Ave.

Hill was charged with first-degree murder after he turned himself in to police two days later.

Cook County Circuit Judge Garritt Howard finalized his sentence Monday, the Attorney General’s office said.

During the hearing, Hill asked the judge for permission to apologize to the victim’s family members who were present, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s office said.

The victim’s family filed a lawsuit against the Keg in May, alleging the bar’s responsibility in Gresham’s death. The bar can be found responsible if it served Hill alcohol before the shooting.

Gresham’s estate is seeking $50,000 in damages in the case, which will be heard again Nov. 13 at the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago.

After the shooting, Evanston Mayor Lorraine Morton suspended The Keg’s liquor license for one week.

Concerns from the shooting also led the Evanston City Council to pass an ordinance in October 2005 prohibiting people ages 21 and under from entering bars after midnight.

Aldermen later relaxed the lax to allow charity events.