DuPage Chief Judge: Traffic Court Judges Get Threats, Need More Security
From the Chicago Daily Herald
Spurred by threats against fellow jurists, DuPage Chief Judge Kathryn E. Creswell is calling for increased security at all four county traffic courts, even if it means moving one of them to a safer location.
Creswell shared her concerns during a Tuesday budget presentation, telling the county board's judicial and public safety committee she's concerned for the safety of all those in the satellite courts.
"I don't think that the right question to ask is how many incidents (have happened)," Creswell told county board members, "but how can we prevent one from happening."
"It's not a question of if it's going to happen," she said. "It's a question of when."
Creswell said judges can become targets of "disgruntled litigants" and it can happen regardless of whether a judge is hearing a felony, divorce, foreclosure or traffic case.
She cited several examples in recent years where DuPage judges have been targeted by those threatening to cause harm.
In July 2013, a former Wheaton man, Gordon Vanderark, was sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in prison for soliciting a prison buddy in 2011 to kill a DuPage County judge, a prosecutor and two other people. Vanderark concocted the murder-for-hire plot while serving a lengthy prison term for his 10th DUI.
Last August, a former Western Springs man was sentenced to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to stalking Creswell. John Euwema admitted to anonymously sending a package to Creswell's home in July 2013 while facing a felony driving charge in her courtroom.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Daily Herald
Spurred by threats against fellow jurists, DuPage Chief Judge Kathryn E. Creswell is calling for increased security at all four county traffic courts, even if it means moving one of them to a safer location.
Creswell shared her concerns during a Tuesday budget presentation, telling the county board's judicial and public safety committee she's concerned for the safety of all those in the satellite courts.
"I don't think that the right question to ask is how many incidents (have happened)," Creswell told county board members, "but how can we prevent one from happening."
"It's not a question of if it's going to happen," she said. "It's a question of when."
Creswell said judges can become targets of "disgruntled litigants" and it can happen regardless of whether a judge is hearing a felony, divorce, foreclosure or traffic case.
She cited several examples in recent years where DuPage judges have been targeted by those threatening to cause harm.
In July 2013, a former Wheaton man, Gordon Vanderark, was sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in prison for soliciting a prison buddy in 2011 to kill a DuPage County judge, a prosecutor and two other people. Vanderark concocted the murder-for-hire plot while serving a lengthy prison term for his 10th DUI.
Last August, a former Western Springs man was sentenced to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to stalking Creswell. John Euwema admitted to anonymously sending a package to Creswell's home in July 2013 while facing a felony driving charge in her courtroom.
Read more in our daily News Update...