Will County Sheriff's Office

A state lawmaker wants the SAFE-T Act repealed after a Will County judge continued the pretrial release of parents charged with the drug-related murder of a child but the law's supporters note the parents have not violated their release conditions.

A 14-year-old boy from Joliet died in Wilmington after he was “reportedly not breathing,” according to police officials.

A Georgia woman has been charged with stealing money by posing as a Will County sheriff’s sergeant and claiming a woman owed money for missing jury duty.

A Homer Glen father and mother face a new charge of first-degree murder that alleged they failed to seek timely medical care for their 2-year-old child who was suffering from a drug overdose that led to their death.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office issued 108 citations during the Memorial Day “Click It or Ticket” enforcement period.

An 11-year-old child was flown to a hospital in Maywood for treatment of his injuries when his electric dirt bike collided with a pickup truck in Joliet. 

A Joliet man has been charged with harassing a witness in a robbery case by offering money and claiming he had recordings that could incriminate the witness, court records show.

A Will County judge allowed the jail release of a man facing a charge of disseminating child sex abuse materials whom a prosecutor said is “actively looking for young girls.”

Will County police departments participated in the annual Torch Run fundraising program for Special Olympics Illinois.

The Trump administration is reported to be slashing a $56 million annual grant program for the training and distribution of Narcan, a nasal spray that is credited with saving lives from opioid overdoses.

A Lockport man pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of a man killed in 2020 in a Joliet shooting as part of plea deal with prosecutors.

A mother whose child was the victim of a 2023 hate crime murder in Plainfield Township reunited with the first responders of the tragedy at the Will County Sheriff’s Office in Joliet. 

An 18-year-old driver died from injuries he suffered in a crash in Joliet Township.

The Trump administration is reported to be slashing a $56 million annual grant program for the training and distribution of Narcan, a nasal spray that is credited with saving lives from opioid overdoses.

A federal judge found the police misconduct claims in a lawsuit over the 2020 in-custody death of Eric Lurry were strong enough for trial and possibly receive a favorable verdict. 

Former Will County correctional officer Daniel Herod has had his case for child sexual abuse continued until June. He remains held in jail.

A Shorewood man’s attorneys in a case linked to a 2024 mass shooting in Joliet is seeking to use artificial intelligence to review and analyze his discovery as he prepares for trial. 

A 30-year-old man is in police custody and a house has been deemed uninhabitable after a domestic disturbance Saturday in Frankfort Township.

A special prosecutor said both parties in the felony theft case against a former CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties are engaged in negotiations.

An employee of Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s Office is under investigation for “malfeasance,” according to a spokesman for the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

A defense attorney claims a conflict of interest with the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office means a special prosecutor should be assigned to the case of a former sheriff’s deputy charged with sex crimes.

A Joliet man charged with a violent crime had been released from jail in 2023 on the wrong bond amount by a former Will County sheriff’s deputy, who’s now facing sex crime charges, police records show. 

A Joliet man is accused of hitting a woman following an argument over taxes, firing a gunshot into a garage wall and then driving under the influence of alcohol afterward, according to prosecutors.

A New Lenox resident lost $3,900 after a scammer posing as a police officer called them and claimed they had an arrest warrant.

A Will County Sheriff’s Office correctional deputy now faces a charge of possessing a video of child sex abuse material in addition to charges of predatory sexual assault of a child and criminal sexual assault.

A special prosecutor has been reviewing a case where a Will County Sheriff’s Office correctional deputy was alleged to have used “excessive force while on duty,” court records show.

Will County correctional officer Daniel Herod is still employed, but sheriff's spokesman says office plans to terminate deputy arrested by Homeland Security.

A correctional officer at the Will County jail made his first court appearance on Friday morning on a charge of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child following his arrest in Elwood by federal agents.

John Underwood, 53, of Plainfield, has been charged with predatory criminal sexual assault allegedly dating back to 2004. A judge ordered him to remain in jail under the SAFE-T Act.

A major bust in Lockport has led to 16 felony charges filed against man accused of possessing cocaine, methamphetamine and AR-15 rifles, one of which is a “ghost” or unserialized version of the rifle, records show.

A reckless homicide charge has been filed in Will County against a Tesla driver over a Feb. 5 crash that claimed the lives of Sameer Gowani, 36, and Quincy Benbow, 33.

A Plainfield man is facing an aggravated battery charge of the 2-year-old child that is punishable by 6 to 30 years in prison.

A felony gun case fell apart after a Will County judge ruled a sheriff’s deputy unlawfully searched a vehicle based on the smell of marijuana that was never collected or tested.

A Harvey man who was charged at 16 with the 2020 New Lenox murder of Charles "Charlie" Baird, 19, has allowed a Will County judge to decide his fate. His trial began Tuesday.

A 33-year-old man was struck multiple times in a shooting on Luther Avenue in Joliet. At least three shootings have been reported in the Joliet area since Friday.

A Joliet man has been pronounced dead after a late-night shooting in the 1300 block of Pico Court in Jolie Township.

Felony murder and armed robbery charges were dismissed against a Joliet Township man after a Will County judge found no evidence to support the armed robbery charge. 

A settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit case against a Will County SWAT sniper who fatally shot a hostage taker after he surrendered to the police in 2022.

Advocates of the family of a Muslim child who was killed in 2023 in Plainfield Township say the convicted killer was radicalized by unfounded and dehumanizing claims about Palestinians in media coverage of the Gaza war.

Jury selection is expected to take place on Monday for the hate crime murder trial of a former Plainfield Township landlord after a judge allowed the admission of his statements to a sheriff’s deputy.

A sensory playground in Plainfield has been dedicated to the memory of a Muslim child who was stabbed to death in 2023 in Plainfield Township.

A private investigator contracted by a Chicago law firm will handle the internal affairs investigation of a Will County sheriff’s lieutenant fatal shooting of a hostage taker.

A judge ruled a Will County sheriff’s deputy conducted an unlawful search of a vehicle that led to the arrest of a Lockport Township man on felony gun possession charges.

Thirty buses at Troy School District 30-C were rendered inoperative after the catalytic converters were stolen from them.

The Will County Sheriff’s Office said a body found near a creek in a wooded area in Crete been identified as that of 18-year-old who had been missing since Feb. 6.

One person is dead and two others are injured after a car went off the roadway and went airborne before landing near a creek in unincorporated Homer Township.

Defense attorneys in a Lockport Township gun case claim a vehicle search during a traffic stop was unjustified because a deputy claimed he could smell marijuana that was never recovered.

A Joliet grocery store and several restaurants were closed for one day as part of a nationwide protest in solidarity with immigrants in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

The family of a hostage taker who was killed by a Will County sheriff’s lieutenant in 2022 said they feel a “sense of profound injustice” after learning the lieutenant won’t face charges.

A Will County sheriff’s lieutenant who is being sued over claims that he wrongfully killed a hostage taker in 2022 at a Romeoville bank will face no charges over the incident.