Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow Gets Opponent

JOLIET, IL — Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow is asking the voters to re-elect him to a seventh term of office in November's election. On Wednesday, Joliet private practice lawyer Rick Munoz told Joliet Patch he will be running as the Republican candidate.

Munoz said he plans to unseat Glasgow, calling the long-time state's attorney a major disappointment amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Munoz said Glasgow has been largely invisible during the pandemic. Meanwhile, numerous local small businesses across Will County have sustained economic ruin amid Gov. J.B. Pritzker's executive order forcing bars, sit-down restaurants, hair salons, health clubs, barbershops, jewelry stores and a host of others to remain off-limits to walk-in traffic the past three months, Munoz said.

"The biggest thing, honestly, is the shutdown," Munoz told Joliet Patch's editor Wednesday. "The governor had only 30 days of emergency power."

Munoz said that Glasgow should have been working with Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley letting the governor know that the Illinois State Police would not be arresting people in Will County if small local businesses choose to stay open and defy Pritzker's order to keep Illinois businesses closed during the pandemic.

Munoz also said that Glasgow is a no-show at the Will County Courthouse.

"He's absent," Munoz said. "He doesn't come to the courthouse. He's completely absent when you're talking about people's rights. And with the continued shutdown, he should have been telling (businesses) they had a right to be open. There's no need to be going through these phases."

Munoz told Patch he is working with Will County GOP Chairman George Pearson to obtain the necessary petition signatures to be on the Republican ballot for November.

Munoz assured Patch he will submit more than enough signatures so voters have a choice when deciding who will be their Will County State's Attorney these next four years.

Pearson told Patch on Wednesday that Munoz needs to submit at least 597 valid signatures by June 1. Pearson said they plan to obtain at least 1,000 signatures. "If we get 1,000, we'll be good," Pearson said.

When Patch asked Pearson if Munoz has what it takes to defeat Glasgow, one of Will County's most recognized elected officials, the GOP chairman answered, "absolutely."

"Rick is a man of integrity and a vision for the law that has been missing in Will County for the last 16 years," Pearson said. Regarding Glasgow, "it's definitely time for him to go," Pearson added.

Patch called Glasgow's director of public affairs, Carole Cheney, on Wednesday seeking Glasgow's reaction to the criticisms being leveled against him by Munoz.

"Rather than respond to statements made by an individual who is not even at this point an official challenger who will be on the ballot in November, I am focused on continuing to protect our community's safety, health, and welfare as I have done throughout my tenure as Will County's longest serving State's Attorney," Glasgow said in a statement.

Munoz told Patch that earlier in his career he worked in St. Charles in the Kane County State's Attorney Office and there was an expectation the state's attorney would be a regular presence inside the courtrooms. Munoz said he has had his own law firm since 2002. This marks his first run for political office.

Munoz said if he's elected by the voters of Will County, he will be a regular presence in the courtrooms of the new Will County Courthouse, which is set to open in late October.

"You've got to be present," Munoz said. "You've got to be accountable. I'd look at the people of Will County like my clients, and my clients want to see me in the courtroom."

Munoz said one of his other big complaints surrounds the lack of communication between the state's attorney and victims of crimes. Munoz clarified he is not talking about the role of the victims services staff, rather, his complaint involves the courtroom prosecutors.

"I would be looking at victims of crimes," Munoz said. "I think they need more personal contact from the prosecutors. Guess what? Victims want to talk to people in charge, too."

Munoz said that based on his interactions with crime victims at the courthouse, "they are saying there's very little contact with the state's attorney."

During Wednesday's interview with Joliet Patch, one of the courthouse employees approached Munoz, whispered to him and walked away. When Patch asked what she said, Munoz said the courthouse employee told him she will be supporting his candidacy against Glasgow.

Nowadays, running as a Will County Republican is an uphill climb. In the 2018 general election, all of the county offices, including two judge races, were won by Democrats.

"I have the energy for it and I have the focus for it," Munoz told Patch. "In a Rick Munoz administration, people are going to know I'm around."

Glasgow has won his past four elections after losing his 2000 re-election bid against Joliet attorney Jeff Tomczak. Four years later, Glasgow beat Tomczak and has remained in political power ever since.

In 2012, Glasgow defeated Republican challenger Dave Carlson by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent. Carlson later became a Will County Circuit Court judge.

In the 2016 election, Glasgow ran unopposed.