Drug Unit

The Narcotics Prosecution Unit of the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office is dedicated to imposing meaningful punishment upon those who use and traffic illicit narcotics in Will County. Each of the six felony courtrooms at the Will County courthouse is staffed with an Assistant State’s Attorney assigned solely to narcotics cases.

The Drug Unit is particularly important given that Will County is located approximately 35 miles southwest of the City of Chicago, the nation’s largest transportation hub and the third-largest city with a population of 3 million people. According to statistics kept by the National Drug Intelligence Center, Illinois is the nation’s fifth-largest state with two-thirds of its population of nearly 12.8 million people concentrated in Cook County and the surrounding collar counties. As one of these collar counties, Will County contains four major interstate highways that directly lead in and out of Chicago. Chicago serves as the home for the world’s busiest rail yard and trucking centers, and a principal transshipment point for commodities sent between Mexico and Canada, as well as the East and West coasts. With its combined inter- and intrastate highway systems, along with the numerous railroads, Illinois is a prime network of movement — forcing law enforcement agencies throughout the Chicago region to constantly track illegal narcotics and money laundering activities.

Many police departments in Will County that have drug units within their agency work closely with the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office in obtaining search warrants authorizing the seizures of narcotics in drug houses. Members of the Drug Unit also obtain judicial authorization for eavesdrops, which allow law enforcement officers to develop further evidence against suspected drug dealers. A particularly meaningful tool used by law enforcement agencies pertains to the use of those individuals already charged with crimes. Nothing gets at the heart of organized drug activity like the use of cooperating individuals in proving a case against a drug dealer that may be a friend or relative of the dealer.

The attorneys of the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office Drug Unit take pride in the countywide and regional efforts to stop illicit drug trafficking. Public awareness and cooperation by all citizens is an integral component of this battle against illicit drugs. Anyone with information concerning drug-related activity is encouraged to contact your local police department or the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.