Kidnaper Asks $1 Million for Publisher’s Kin

A prominent newspaper publisher’s nephew who is also a great-grandson of a former Illinois governor was kidnaped and was being held for a $1-million ransom, police said Friday.

Stephen B. Small, 39, was abducted early Wednesday from a building he owned and was renovating in Kankakee, about 60 miles south of Chicago, Police Chief Timothy O. Nugent said.

Small went to the building, designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, after someone identifying himself as a police officer called to say the building had been burglarized, Nugent said.

“We have several suspects and several clues,” Nugent said at a news conference. “We’re not prepared to go beyond that at this time.”

FBI Joins Investigation

The police chief would not comment on whether Small’s life had been threatened but did say the FBI and state police were involved in the investigation.

Small’s 1987 maroon Mercedes-Benz was missing, Nugent said.

Small is a descendant of former Illinois Gov. Len Small, a Republican who served as the state’s chief executive from 1921 to 1929, and is a nephew of the late Len H. Small, who was president of Small Newspapers Inc. and editor and publisher of the Kankakee Daily Journal.

A telephone caller told Small’s wife Wednesday that her husband had been kidnaped and the caller demanded a $1-million ransom, Nugent said.

Instructions for delivering the money came in later calls, the last about 11:50 p.m. Wednesday, and the caller said he would call again, Nugent said. No other calls were received.

The Small family has a long history in media ownership and in Illinois politics.

Broadcasting Company

Stephen Small’s father, the late Burrell L. Small, was president and chairman of the Mid America Media Group, a broadcasting company that owned 11 radio stations and two television stations, and was a former publisher of the Daily Journal at the time of his death in 1981. Mid America recently was sold.

The family-owned group of seven daily newspapers and three weeklies in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa and California was consolidated into The Small Newspaper Group Inc. in 1983 under the leadership of Stephen’s cousin, Len R. (Rob) Small.

Rob Small was one of the principals of Media News Corp. when it purchased United Press International in 1982, and he served as chairman of the wire service until January, 1983, before withdrawing from the company.