Another Trip to Jail For 1-Time State’s Attorney Candidate, Special Drug Court Graduate

JOLIET, IL — A former prosecutor and candidate for state’s attorney who had warrants out for her arrest from three counties was arrested again Wednesday night and made another trip to jail.

Elizabeth Johnson, 34, was released from the Will County jail on $3,500 bail Thursday morning. Johnson faces a felony drug case in Grundy County, resisting the police and traffic cases in Will County, and a driving under the influence charge in LaSalle County.

Johnson was a Will County prosecutor until September 2011. She was hired by the state’s attorney’s office after completing its special drug court program.

“Life was spinning out of control. And (Johnson) knew a felony conviction would prevent her from attending law school and becoming a lawyer. It had been her dream career since she was a girl and she would dress up with an old briefcase while pretending to be in court,” the state’s attorney’s office said in a 2011 press release.

“In the ultimate validation for the program, State’s Attorney (James) Glasgow, the same prosecutor whose office filed the felony charge against her when she was a teenager, recently welcomed her back to his office, this time as a new assistant state’s attorney in his misdemeanor division,” the press release said.

A special prosecutor has been assigned to Johnson’s Will County cases in place of the state’s attorney’s office.

Johnson ran for Grundy County State’s Attorney in 2016. The campaign ended with her defeat in the primary.

Elizabeth Johnson | image via Will County Sheriff's Department