Updated 1/17/2021 12:28 PM
The first car he stole at age 13, the drug dealer he shot, the $25,000 worth of baby formula he stole to pay for his heroin addiction, the years he spent behind bars -- all of that is in the past for 27-year-old Zion native Gary Ladehoff.
That's because of the help he got from two suburban police officers, a Hainesville couple and his older sister, says Ladehoff, who tells his remarkable story in WTTW's ambitious digital series, "Firsthand: Living in Poverty," which becomes available Monday at WTTW.com/firsthand.
"It's crazy. I would have never thought I'd be able to call these guys (the officers) my friends," says Ladehoff, who now lives in McHenry with his 3-year-old daughter, MiaBella, and his girlfriend, and says he is dedicated to being a good father.