JAMES W. GLASGOW
Will County State's Attorney

I was first elected as your state's attorney in 1992 and served until 2000.  You were kind enough to return me to office in 2004.  I look forward every day to making this a safer and more productive place for all of us to live and raise our families.

I grew up in Joliet, attending St. Patrick’s Grade School and Joliet Catholic High School.  I went on to college at the University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana and received my law degree from Northern Illinois University.

My wife, Gina, and I have five children, ages 7 to 31, who are fourth generation Will County residents.  Our Great Dane and ollie round out the family and keep us on our toes.

I am very happy to tell you that I am the author of the animal torture law that made the serious abuse of animals a felony for the first time in Illinois.  It also provides for a mandatory psychiatric evaluation of the offender to determine if there is any propensity to harm people in the future.  Studies have shown that Most mass murderers and serial killers had a history of torturing animals.

As the county’s chief prosecutor, my primary obligation is to aggressively prosecute criminals who pose a clear threat to our personal safety and our property.   My dedicated staff has done a phenomenal job helping me fulfill that obligation over the past three years.  

I have increased felony prosecutions 61% since I took office in December of 2004 with no increases in personnel.  Remarkably, the number of search warrants issued has tripled.  We have maintained our excellent conviction rate in the face of this substantial increase in workload.  Simply put, this means many more cold blooded murders, violent gang bangers, drug dealers, identity thieves and deviant sexual predators are now being sent to prison.  

These increases are not the product of a skyrocketing crime rate, but simply the implementation of my philosophy of an open and professional spirit of  cooperation with all local police agencies, including federal authorities, that is responsive to their needs on the street.  Will County is very fortunate to have a law enforcement community devoid of territorial jealousies that is truly dedicated to protecting all of us.

Our children clearly are the future and we must do everything within our power to protect and nurture them.  I established the Children’s Advocacy Center in 1995 for our children who are the victims of sexual assault and serious physical abuse.

It provides a neutral non-suggestive child friendly environment to obtain an accurate statement from the child to guarantee a successful prosecution of the deviant sexual predator. Appropriate critical after- care services are also provided to the children.

In 1998, I wrote a federal grant that established our Drug Court.  This is an intervention program that allows non-violent young people with an addiction to obtain effective treatment.  This has been a phenomenal success with a stunning 92 percent of the graduates have are living drug free productive lives. 

Successful completion of the one year drug rehabilitation program in Drug Court costs only $3000, while a one year stay in the Will County Jail costs the taxpayers over $30,000. 

I established the county’s first gang prosecution unit to aggressively prosecute this latest form of organized crime.  The Illinois State Crime Commission recognized the incredible success we achieved in reducing gang related shootings naming me State’s Attorney of the Year in 1996 and in 2008.  We have also released our latest edition of our gang awareness and prevention book which the Chicago Tribune previously called "the primary primer" on gangs.  It is geared toward parents, teachers, business leaders and government officials who must learn the warning signs so they can help us stop gang infiltration in its tracks.  If you would like a copy, you can contact my office.

The battle against domestic violence has always been one of my highest priorities.  We are in the midst of committing unprecedented resources to investigating two highly publicized disappearances of two young women from our community.   I established the first specialized domestic violence court in 1995 after obtaining a federal grant and helped to implement the first abuser counseling/anger management program.  I have participated in the annual Take Back The Night candlelight marches to call attention to the serious problem of violence against women.  Working with Joliet Junior College, I originated the

 Lighthouse Program to assist battered women with educational, counseling, employment and residential placement which in many cases are necessary if we hope to end the cycle of violence.

The Bad Check Program that I implemented shortly after taking office has been an unprecedented success.  We have collected nearly $1 million dollars for local businesses at no expense to them.  Anyone interested in recovering for a bad check can click here to get step by step instructions on how to make good on that check.

I have become increasingly concerned over the years about crimes committed by tech-savvy financial con-artists and sexual predators who prowl the internet searching for vulnerable victims.  I formed my computer crimes unit in 1998 that specializes in flushing out these internet predators.  We have prosecuted hundreds of online criminals for financial exploitation of the elderly, identity theft and sexual exploitation.  Also, through my speakers bureau, members of this unit and the crime prevention division are available to give awareness, intervention and prevention seminars throughout the county.

Glasgow Teams Up
With Secret Service
to Target Scams
on Senior Citizens