Charity basketball game at Marshall HS raises reward money for slain former player

Vehicle used in shooting located but killer remains at large

CHICAGO — The John Marshall Metropolitan High School basketball court where Dylana Rainey, affectionately known as ‘Dede,’ once impressed crowds with her talent was filled with alumni men and women ball players going head-to-head in a benefit game.

Rainey’s mother, Margo, organized the event. 

“I’m just so happy. I’m overwhelmed to see so many people came out to participate, to lend a hand in helping us get justice,” she said.

On July 24, Rainey was pulling into the driveway of her mother’s Maywood home in the 700 block of S. 6^th Ave. when a gunman fired shots into her car. She was later pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center.  

Police believe the person who killed the 22-year-old was driving a 2003 black Buick Regal with gray trim and tinted windows and windshield.  

Dede’s family says they learned the car was found abandoned and burned. Friday’s game is meant to raise money to catch the killer. 

“There really is no set amount. We’re just hoping that whatever we can raise can be put towards helping us find some sort of justice and peace,” said Rainey’s brother, Devonte.

He told WGN News that it was weird being back on Marshall’s court without his sister being there but said that he sensed her spirit.

“It’s that sense of us knowing that something is missing but knowing that that person is still here with us,” he said.

Despite the trying times, the family said they are grateful for the Marshall family coming together to show their love. 

“Marshall really showed her how much basketball meant to her, so doing this here with the people that we have here, her basketball family, her Commando family, my mom’s Commando family, it felt like the right fit and the right time,” he said.  

Rainey’s mother also started a GoFundMe page dedicated to creating a scholarship fund for men and women affected by gun violence in her name and contributing toward the reward money raised at Friday’s charity basketball game.