State Attorney Jim Glasgow's Fears Of 82-Year-Old Joliet Murder Defendant Rejected By Judge Smigielski

JOLIET, IL — In the absence of their boss, approximately 10 criminal prosecutors who answer to Will County State Attorney Jim Glasgow gathered in Courtroom 503 on Thursday afternoon as Will County Judge Art Smigielski rejected a motion from their boss, arguing that 82-year-old Joliet Township murder defendant Gilbert Bernal now lives too close to Glasgow, leaving Will County's top elected law enforcement official and his family members in fear of harm.

Glasgow was not in attendance for Thursday afternoon's ruling from Judge Smigielski. He rarely, if ever, shows up for any criminal proceedings, trials and sentencings inside the Will County Courthouse, assigning his serious cases to his subordinates. Glasgow has not held a press conference since 2024 and he's stopped sending out press releases, even on his high-profile murder cases, including sentencings.

After hearing arguments from Glasgow's chief prosecutor Peter Wilkes, and Dave Carlson, the former judge and lead criminal defense attorney for Bernal, Judge Smigielski denied Glasgow's motion asking that the judge require Bernal to live somewhere else while he remains free and awaits his eventual first-degree murder trial.

On Jan. 2, Will County Sheriff's detectives arrested Bernal for the December 1988 disappearance and presumed slaying of his wife, Joan Bernal, whose body remains missing. At the time, the Bernals lived in the Preston Heights area of Joliet's east side and the married couple worked together at the Joliet bus garage along South Chicago Street.

In the absence of his boss, Wilkes delivered the prosecution's arguments Thursday. Wilkes suggested that Smigielski perhaps would have put residency restrictions in place had everyone known that Bernal planned to live within a few miles of Glasgow's home upon his release from the Will County Jail earlier this month.

Offering to remedy the conflict, Wilkes informed everyone that the Will County State's Attorney Office was now willing to let Bernal return to Michigan to remain there under the home confinement and electronic monitoring order that Judge Smigielski imposed earlier this month.

At Thursday's hearing, Wilkes informed Smigielski that Carlson and fellow criminal defense attorney John Fotopoulos of Orland Park were in agreement with the prosecution's proposed compromise: allowing Bernal to go back to his home in Flint, Michigan, and live there while he awaits his eventual murder trial.

Wilkes suggested that Glasgow's motion was filed to protect the state's attorney and his family. The judge's previous ruling that freed Bernal from the jail under the SAFE-T-Act ordered Bernal to remain under 24-hour home confinement, remain in Illinois and only leave his residence in Illinois to meet with his attorneys, attend doctor visits or religious services.

Wilkes said that in effect, Bernal's travels for those events place him traveling within 500 feet of the State's Attorney's residence.

"That concern for safety is a real, real, fact that has to be dealt with," Wilkes argued.

Carlson refuted Glasgow's motion during his oral arguments. Carlson pointed out that he, as a former long-time Will County judge, made numerous life-altering decisions including sentencing people to life in prison for actual crimes. Glasgow's motion was only based on "this perceived intimidation and threat that's stated as a fact. I take offense that we're having this conversation. I won't take it personal," Carlson exclaimed.

In the end, Smigielski informed everyone he heard no evidence suggesting Bernal has engaged in any threatening behavior, stalking or harassment toward Glasgow.

The judge pointed out that Bernal remains on electronic monitoring; Will County's pretrial services and law enforcement has the ability to monitor Bernal's movement at all times, 24 hours a day.

The judge fell back on his previous ruling, ordering that Bernal must remain in Illinois during the pendency of his first-degree murder case, and while Bernal might prefer to return back to his home in Flint, Michigan, the judge said he is not willing to allow that.

"The state's motions are denied," Judge Smigielski declared.

Smigielski said that he respected Glasgow as Will County's elected State's Attorney and he understood that Glasgow had concerns about his own safety, but the judge could not point to any specific fact or act involving Bernal's conduct that puts the State's Attorney of Will County in fear.

The judge pointed out that several of the lawyers seated in his gallery from the State's Attorney's Office are routinely prosecuting high-level drug and gang crimes and there's been no similar residency orders sought for them by the Will County State's Attorney's Office.

In the end, Judge Smigielski gave Bernal one last admonishment, instructing that he "should not be contacting opposing attorneys anyway." The judge also clarified that Bernal cannot possess any guns, weapons or ammunition as part of his pretrial release order.

Thursday's ruling means Bernal can continue to live in the Joliet and Plainfield area, presumably with his family members. The exact address where Bernal is staying is known to the judge and the lawyers but has been impounded from the public as part of the court records.

Bernal's next pretrial hearing at the courthouse is set for April 7 at 9:30 a.m.