Peterson, Vaughn Trials Cost Will County at Least $500,000

Will County has already spent half a million dollars prosecuting Drew Peterson and Christopher Vaughn -- and is requesting more money to pay the bills.

Prosecuting Drew Peterson and Christopher Vaughn trials cost Will County more than $500,000, according to the AP. But just wait -- Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow is asking for $100,000 more.  The Will County board will vote Dec. 20 whether to approve the $100,000 request. The money will pay for "expert witnesses" used in both trials, according to the New Republic.  The county transferred $500,000 into a special prosecution fund a few years ago. Much of that money was designated for both cases, according to the Joliet Herald-News.  “When you get right down to it, they were probably two of the biggest cases in the history of Will County,” said Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for Glasgow’s office.  Peterson was convicted of the murder…

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Will County Experts: Heroin Has Become a Public Health Crisis

Will County public officials spoke at Romeoville High School last week at a community heroin forum hosted by Valley View School District 365U and Will County HELPS.

In 1998, Will County officials were surprised if they saw one or two deaths from heroin overdoses, Will County Coroner Pat O’Neil told those gathered for a community forum on heroin Nov. 14.  Now Will County is on track to have 48 deaths from heroin overdoses in 2012. It’s a heroin epidemic, Will County officials said. A public health crisis. Heroin is in your community. It’s readily available. It's very powerful, very addictive and incredibly dangerous. It’s cheap and easy to get. Several circumstances have occurred to create a “perfect storm” for the heroin epidemic, Nash said, and he expects it to get worse. “The holidays in regards to heroin are quite grim,” Nash said. “It’s not unusual to lose six or seven people (to heroin overdoses…

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Election 2012: Incumbents Hold on to Will County Seats

How Will County voted for county board seats, county positions and state and national races.

Circuit Clerk: Incumbent and Democrat Pam McGuire was re-elected, taking in 139,036 votes. Her opponent, Republican Marlene Carlson received 101,947 votes.  Recorder of Deeds: It was a close race all night for this county position. Republican challenger Laurie McPhillips held the position before current Recorder Karen A. Stukel. Stukel, a Democrat, was re-elected with 125,140 votes. McPhillips earned 114,912 votes.  Auditor: This one was also close. Incumbent and Democrat Duffy Blackburn was narrowly re-elected over Republican challenger Mark Batinick. Blackburn had 120,684 votes; Batinick received 113,414 votes.  Coroner: In one of the most commanding leads of a county seat, incumbent and Democrat Patrick K. O'Neil led Republican …

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Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow Wins Again

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow has secured a fifth term in office.

In a year of victories, Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow just notched another one. Glasgow successfully defended his office againset upstart Republican challenger Dave Carlson, taking 136,469 of 239,975 election night votes. He will be sworn in a fifth term as Will County's top prosecutor. Glasgow captured 56.87 percent of the ballot to Carlson's 43.13 percent. Election results will not be official until Nov. 27, when canvassing of votes is completed and after absentee ballots postmarked by midnight, Nov. 5, and provisional and grace period ballots are counted on Nov. 20. Glasgow was jubilant after the last precincts results were counted. "I'm looking forward to putting bad guys away and creating innovative prevention programs," …

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SA Glasgow Wins Prestigious Crime Fighting Award

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow has been named the winner of the Mitchell A. Mars Prosecutorial Excellence Award.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow has won the Mitchell A. Mars Prosecutorial Excellence Award for his outstanding effort in the prosecution of former Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson in the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, the Chicago Crime Commission announced Wednesday. Glasgow will be honored at the Stars of Distinction 2012 awards dinner on Nov. 7. “We are pleased to recognize the efforts of Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow by honoring him with the Chicago Crime Commission’s Mitchell A. Mars Prosecutorial Excellence Award,” said J.R. Davis, the president and chairman of the Chicago Crime Commission. “His unrelenting commitment to justice prompted the passage of legislation that will forever affect …

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After Courtroom Victory, Glasgow Faces Off Against Carlson

Dave Carlson, an attorney from Plainfield, hopes to oust James Glasgow in the November election.

Fresh off his victory in the Christopher Vaughn murder trial, Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow drew applause from some attendees at the Grand Haven candidates’ event Thursday. But opponent Dave Carlson had some harsh words for his former boss. Carlson, 41, accused Glasgow of gloating over his recent high-profile convictions of Vaughn and, two weeks ago, Drew Peterson. The Republican from Plainfield vowed to bring the state’s attorney’s office “back to basics” if he's elected on Nov. 6. “Take out the media,” Carlson said. “Take out the politics. We shouldn’t gloat. We shouldn’t pound our chests. We shouldn’t act out for the media. “ … We won’t have that in my administration,” Carlson added after taking a swipe at Glasgow’s office …

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What Wilson's Watching

Trapped in the Witty Woods

This scarefest has a lot of charm.

I was prepared to despise The Cabin the Woods based on its previews, and until the last minute, I debated going to see Chimpanzee instead. I am so glad I took a pass on the primates and opted for the horror instead. There’s nothing subtle about Cabin (and subtlety is overrated anyway), but there’s enough humor and tongue-in-cheek (more like tongue-on-the-floor-after-it’s-been-chopped-off) pop culture references in this one to keep even the most desperate-for-amusement moviegoers intrigued. The premise seems like one we’ve all heard before: Attractive college-aged kids decide to escape for a weekend to a remote destination, enjoying their time “off the grid” and entertaining nature-based possibilities like swimming, off-road motorcycling …

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Dave Wilson

9:37 am on Tuesday, April 24, 2012

It was pretty corny, Freddie, but enjoyable nonetheless.   more ›

Titanic Flop

Feel the "Wrath" of Liam Neeson’s Hair in this clunker.

I’ve alluded to this before, but 2012 is shaping up to be the hairiest year ever on the silver screen. Wrath of the Titans, with the main characters’ long manes and Orthodox-length beards, even outshags The Hunger Games, which I proclaimed “an early candidate for the most Hirsute Film of 2012.” Is there a barber strike in Los Angeles or something? Any enterprising hairdresser could make a fortune by setting up a salon at Hollywood and Vine. Meanwhile, this same trend also puts the Shorewood/Joliet/Plainfield area at the cutting edge of popular culture. These days we’re best known for mustaches and male use of hairspray, as exemplified by the incarcerated Drew Peterson and his arch-nemesis, our finely coiffed and muscle T-wearing Will …

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Heroin Use is Up in Will County

Will County law enforcement members have seen a shift from cocaine use to heroin use over the last three years.

Will County States Attorney James Glasgow had a message to share Monday night in Channahon. He wanted to spread the word that use of heroin has reached epidemic levels and that parents need to be hypervigilent to stop it. “Our kids can pick up a hit of heroin for less than the price of a movie ticket,” he told Channahon Village Board members Monday night. “We’ve got to get the message out to the parents in the community at the grass roots level; you can't be asleep at the wheel.” Glasgow said that about three years ago, those involved in law enforcement saw a shift from the use of cocaine to heroin. Although both are terrible for the community, the chance of overdose is much higher with heroin use. “We’re on a pace for 60 fatal overdoses …

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Reader Poll: Fake Pot—Should It Be Banned?

New state law makes both the possession and sale of synthetic marijuana a felony, punishable by as much as 30 years in prison with a $500,000 fine. What do you think?

Shop owners are raking in outlandish profits on synthetic marijuana, marking up the product as much as 500 percent, said Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow earlier this week. And that's why at least some merchants plan to continue carrying it despite a law that makes its sale a felony starting Jan. 1. During a Tuesday press conference at Shorewood Village Hall, Glasgow—joined by State Rep. Tom Cross, R-Oswego, Will County Executive Larry Walsh and a veritable army of Will County police chiefs—told of the reluctance to stop selling supposedly dangerous, and soon to be illegal, drugs. "They told him no, they're not pulling it off (the shelves) because the profit's too good," Glasgow said. "We're going to have to force them, by …

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