State’s Attorney Glasgow Announces Five Participants Graduate Will County Adult Redeploy Illinois Program

March 4, 2020

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow has announced that five defendants who committed non-violent crimes have graduated from Will County Adult Redeploy Illinois (ARI), a program that seeks to keep non-violent offenders out of state prisons through counseling, substance abuse treatment, mental health therapy, and job location services. The individuals, from Joliet, Homer Glen, Romeoville, and Bellwood, graduated from the program in a March 4 ceremony at the Will County Office Building.

“Our justice system needs to be about more than simply putting people behind bars. Our Will County Problem Solving Courts show the positive difference our criminal justice system can have in rehabilitation and helping people get back on their feet,” Glasgow said. “As a result of our Adult Redeploy program, individuals are gainfully employed and have reconnected with family members. They now are on a path to achieve their goals, turn their lives around, and become productive citizens who contribute to our community — which benefits all of us.”

Each of these defendants had pled guilty up-front to various non-violent offenses, such as retail theft, to participate in the intensive 18-month program that helps them avoid a prison sentence. 30 individuals have graduated from the Will County ARI Court since its inception.

Also participating in the ceremony were Circuit Judge Daniel Rippy, who presides over the ARI docket, and Problem Solving Court Coordinator Julie McCabe-Sterr of the State’s Attorney’s Office.

Glasgow wrote and obtained the grant spearheading the creation of the Will County ARI Court in 2015. The Court was recognized at the national level by the National Association of Counties with the 2018 Achievement Award. In addition to the ARI Court, State’s Attorney Glasgow spearheaded the creation of the Drug Court – Will County’s first Problem Solving Court – when he wrote and administered the grant that funded its formation in the late 1990s. He also successfully petitioned for the formation of the Will County Veterans Court in 2012, and along with former Chief Judge Gerald Kinney established the Mental Health Court in 2010.

Glasgow has also established three residential facilities to further help Problem Solving Court participants on the path to reentry: the Miller Taylor House and Julie Ann House, which provide temporary housing; and the Connor Kelly Residence, which opened in 2019 and provides longer-term transitional housing.