July 6, 2023 JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow is pleased to announce that Jeff Brown, Chief of the office’s Sex Crimes Unit, has been named President of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois (CACI). Brown most recently served as the Vice-President of the CACI, a chapter of the National Children’s Alliance which coordinates and supports Illinois’ 41 accredited Children’s Advocacy Centers.

Glasgow founded the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) in 1995 to provide hope, healing, and justice for children who have endured sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, sexual exploitation, child pornography, neglect, and exposure to violence. The CAC serves approximately 700 children annually.

As a sex crimes prosecutor with Glasgow’s office, Brown sits on the Will County CAC’s multidisciplinary team comprised of law enforcement, DCFS investigators, forensic interviewers, child and family advocates, trauma therapists, medical personnel, and prosecutors. He also serves as a facility dog handler to therapy dog Kiwi, one of the canines in the CAC’s Paws for Kids program established by Glasgow in 2012 to provide support to the children receiving services at the Will County CAC.

“Our Children’s Advocacy Centers protect the most vulnerable among us – children who have been abused and neglected. Children’s Advocacy Centers are the most indispensable resource available to law enforcement in our mission to safeguard children. From my experience working with Jeff in our Office, I know that he is dedicated to protecting our most precious resource, our children, and will serve as CACI President with compassion, knowledge, and dedication,” Glasgow said. “Jeff will be a tremendous asset for Will County and the State of Illinois as President of the CACI Board.”

“Child abuse continues to occur in epidemic proportions in today’s society, and Children’s Advocacy Centers play a crucial role in helping children who have suffered from the trauma of abuse to heal and go on to lead productive lives,” Brown said. “I want to thank State’s Attorney Glasgow for giving me the opportunity to help protect vulnerable children who are unable to protect themselves. His trust in appointing me to the CAC multidisciplinary team and allowing me to serve on the state CACI Board led to this appointment. It is an honor to be selected for this position and I am committed to continuing my work with the CACI’s staff, multidisciplinary teams, and partner organizations to advocate for the needs of children affected by abuse across the State of Illinois.”

In addition to prosecuting sex crimes, Brown was selected by Glasgow to head up the Animal Protection Unit in the State’s Attorney’s office. Glasgow created the Unit to address animal cruelty and neglect with the goal of protecting humans as well. Violence against animals is often a precursor to violence against humans, and perpetrators of domestic violence abuse or threaten to abuse animals to control their victims.

“We have a moral imperative to protect the most defenseless among us,” Glasgow said. “I can trust Jeff to stand up for the most defenseless on a daily basis.”

Brown also serves on Lewis University’s Culture of Respect Team (CRT), where he contributes to creating and implementing a strategic plan for addressing campus sexual violence, domestic/date violence, and stalking.

He assumes the new position as CACI President immediately.