Countywide Contributions to Safety Initiative Now Total $125,000

June 15, 2023 JOLIET—Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow has donated $5,000 to Joliet Junior College for the purchase of two automated license plate recognition devices that play a critical role in helping apprehend carjackers and other violent criminals. Glasgow presented the check before JJC President Clyne Namuo and Police Chief Brandon Campbell at the June 14 Board of Trustees Meeting.

The high-tech cameras help law enforcement proactively prevent crime by sending real-time alerts when a stolen car or known wanted suspect from a national crime database enters the jurisdiction. When any type of disturbance or crime is reported, a review of the camera data can yield the license plate or plates–not people or faces–of those responsible.

With this contribution, Glasgow has donated $77,500 to the countywide safety initiative. Along with donations from local businesses and other community partners who have joined this public-private safety partnership, $125,000 has been contributed to communities throughout Will County to deploy these special video cameras which help prevent crime and catch criminals.

Glasgow matches private donations for the initiative, as assistance from the private sector makes the program twice as effective in thwarting violent crime, resulting in a safer and more profitable environment for local businesses.

“As we have all seen in recent years, dangerous crime in Chicago and Cook County is rampant. Having lived most of my life in Will County, I recognize that the safety and security of our communities are critical to the quality of life enjoyed by our residents,” Glasgow said. “That is why this countywide safety initiative is so important. These license plate recognition cameras are vital tools in apprehending carjackers and other dangerous criminals including those who enter Will County from Chicago and Cook County, and they send the message that criminals ‘Will’ be apprehended and prosecuted in this County.”

The license plate recognition cameras allow police to search by vehicle make, color, type, and license plate; identify the state of the license plate; and capture temporary plates. These cameras also capture vehicles with a missing, covered or paper plate, unique vehicle details like roof racks and bumper stickers, and even vehicles without plates.

“The safety of our students, faculty and staff here at JJC is paramount,” Campbell said. “It is important to leverage every available technology so that we continue to fulfill our overall mission of protecting and serving the entire JJC community.”

In addition to the JJC contribution, Glasgow has donated the costs of license plate recognition cameras for Braidwood, Bolingbrook, Channahon, Shorewood, Beecher, Elwood, Homer Glen, Manhattan, Mokena, Wilmington, and Steger, as well as Lewis University.

“These devices have already been extremely valuable in capturing criminals in Will County,” Glasgow said. “Just recently, a high-tech license plate camera identified a vehicle in Crete that had been carjacked in Chicago. Although the three suspects fled on foot after trying to back their vehicle into the police car, through a cooperative effort between the Crete, Steger, and Sauk Village police, the three individuals were apprehended in Will County. Two illegal guns were also seized. Ironically, Steger Policer Chief Greg Smith informed me of this important arrest as I arrived at a Steger Village Board meeting to present a check for $5,000 for two more high-tech license plate readers.”

These license plate recognition cameras also played a vital role in the 2022 apprehension of Jordan Henry, a violent convicted felon armed with a handgun who carjacked a vehicle on Diversey Parkway in Chicago and was captured after fleeing into Will County. Using the high-tech cameras, law enforcement was able to identify a vehicle matching the description of the Volkswagen Jetta carjacked by Henry being driven on I-94. Henry led police on a high-speed pursuit that ended on just off I-55 South in Shorewood, Will County. He was detained in the Will County jail on a $1 million bond and expeditiously prosecuted and convicted. He received a 22-year prison sentence earlier this year.

Glasgow uses money forfeited from criminals to provide the contributions for the high-tech cameras; no taxpayer dollars are used.