Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow Named ILACP Public Official of the Year

The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police is proud to announce the selection of Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow as its Public Official of the Year for 2024. 

"He a policeman's prosecutor and he is always on our side," said Chief Marc Maton, ILACP President.

Will County State’s Attorney James W. Glasgow has a long and distinguished career during which he has implemented groundbreaking initiatives to successfully investigate, prosecute, and prevent crime as well as being a long-time supporter of law enforcement. State's Attorney Glasgow is an advocate for public safety and an innovator who has a long history of supporting law enforcement and the communities he serves, and for such reasons we recognize him as our 2024 Public Official of the Year. 

The organization wants to recognize SA Glasgow for his financial support in assisting agencies in the acquisition of technology over the past several years. State’s Attorney Glasgow has partnered with members of the law enforcement community on numerous public safety initiatives through his innovative use of forfeiture funds such as providing license plate readers, tint meters, and police K9s.

"Mr. Glasgow has a history of advocating for public safety and providing necessary resources to keep our communities safe," said ILACP Executive Director Kenny Winslow. "He’s not afraid to speak up for his constituents or prosecute the hard cases." 

SA Glasgow is a person of integrity and is not afraid to make difficult decisions or aggressively prosecute. His work to crackdown on organized retail theft enterprises is especially noteworthy. In 2023, State’s Attorney Glasgow’s Office was awarded the Prosecuting Agency of the Year by the Department of Homeland Security for his innovative work in this area. State’s Attorney Glasgow went on to form a Financial Crimes Prosecution Unit to assist those who are victims of financial exploitation, theft, and identity theft or loan fraud. He also launched the High Technology Crimes Unit in 2012, pioneered many domestic violence initiatives, created Will County's first Gang Prosecution Unit, and founded the Will County Children's Advocacy Center in 1995.

 

We would be remiss if we did not also highlight State's Attorney Glasgow's legislative advocacy that has resulted in stronger criminal laws. SA Glasgow has actively sought to make Illinois’ criminal laws more effective to better serve public safety and victims. His successful legislative initiatives include:

 

• Authoring the groundbreaking synthetic marijuana ban to keep this dangerous poison off our store shelves and away from our children.
• As a result of a horrific hit-and-run traffic accident that left three teenagers dead or dying on the side of a road, State’s Attorney Glasgow wrote legislation increasing the penalty for such an offense to a Class 2 felony with an extended sentencing range for multiple deaths of 3 to 14 years.
• In response to a number of traffic accidents caused by drivers under the influence of intoxicating compounds, the State’s Attorney plugged a 25-year-old loophole in the Illinois DUI statute by drafting legislation adding intoxicating compounds to the list of prohibited substances.

Ordinarily, ILACP awards its Public Officials of the Year during Lobby Day in Springfield. This year, the ILACP chose to do things a bit differently with a special presentation in front of our Executive Board at our August meeting. Congratulations to State's Attorney James Glasgow and thank you for your incredible work.

Here is a historical list of all Public Officials of the Year honored by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.