Well James, What Can We Do To Change This?

James tried very hard to put himself in the position of the unbiased enforcer. He told me I should talk to the other state representatives at the event if I feel so strongly about recording the police in public, to have it changed at the law level. I already have, and I've received very positive answers from the candidates I spoke to about this. Garret Peck and Tuck Marshall, both candidates for Illinois State Senate, called the wiretapping laws ridiculous, and said that we need to be able to hold our public officials accountable. James stressed that it wasn't up to him to try and write laws, and that he can only take things on a case to case basis, to decide if he will prosecute. He noted that there are many cases he has let go if the law was a bit ridiculous or someone made an honest mistake, but he wouldn't try to take the role of a law creator.

As it turns out, this isn't exactly all true. James told me specifically that it is not his job to try and change the law. Then I would like to see him explain what I found on his campaign website.

I will quote the specific portions of his site so that it can be available for viewing, in the event it is lost or deleted.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow works on the front line to draft tough new laws that protect our families. These laws include: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE - He wrote and passed two aggressive new domestic violence laws in 2011 and 2012 that significantly increase penalties for repeat offenders as well as for abusers who torture their victims. Rebecca's Law, passed in 2011 and which bears the name of a Joliet resident who fell victim to two days of torture and beating at the hands of her then-husband, increases prison sentences for battery cases involving torture to a minimum of 4 years and a maximum of 15 years and enhances the offense to a Class 1 felony from a Class 3 felony. A second law passed in 2012 increases the penalties for repeat domestic violence offenders. An offender's first conviction for domestic battery is a Class A misdemeanor under current law. Second and third convictions rise to Class 4 felonies while the fourth conviction jumps to a Class 3 felony, and the fifth conviction to a Class 2 felony. Each higher felony brings greater prison sentences. SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA - The State's Attorney wrote and passed a groundbreaking new state law that closed loopholes in prior laws and made it illegal to possess or sell every form of synthetic marijuana. State's Attorney Glasgow and House Minority Leader Tom Cross, who sponsored the law, sent 350 letters to tobacco vendors warning them to remove the products from their shelves, resulting in virtually complete compliance in Will County. ANIMAL ABUSE - He drafted and passed an Animal Torture Statute that created the first felony charge in Illinois for the abuse of animals and a mandatory psychiatric evaluation upon conviction to identify potential mass murderers.

Hey, it's almost as if the State's Attorney has a HUGE impact and influence on our laws, and he seems to be spending quite a bit of time amending laws or creating new ones.

I don't know why James misled me. Maybe he didn't think I knew how to factcheck him? Maybe he's getting used to it, with all his years of lawyering? He does pass and write laws all of the time, and in the case of the synthetic marijuana law, take a look at what he created to keep all of us "safe." You can read his posting live on facebook, but I will mirror it here as well for those without accounts or if it is deleted.

JOLIET - Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow and House Minority Leader Tom Cross are warning retailers that selling any product containing synthetic marijuana will be illegal under a new law that takes effect on January 1, 2012. State's Attorney Glasgow researched and drafted the law that makes the sale or possession of synthetic marijuana a felony crime. Rep. Cross sponsored the legislation, HB 2595, which the governor signed earlier this year. Glasgow and Cross were joined by local police chiefs and community leaders in urging retailers to acknowledge the new law and stop selling these products. Synthetic marijuana has been sold legally under brand names such as K2, K4 White Widow, Black Mamba, Spice, Purple Haze, Zombie Matter and Orange Krunck to name a few. They are sold as incense in packages that often state: "Not For Human Consumption." However, consumers have been smoking these products - sometimes with encouragement from shop owners - in the same way people would smoke illegal marijuana. Health risks posed by smoking synthetic cannabinoids include seizures, hallucinations, tremors, paranoia, convulsions, high blood pressure and rapid heart rate. Poison control centers across the country have received more than 5,000 calls related to synthetic marijuana products in the first nine months of 2011, according to published reports. "Over-the-counter availability of synthetic marijuana has created a public-health crisis in Will County and across the nation," Glagsow said. "Young people are being poisoned by these extraordinarily dangerous chemicals. It was our obligation as law enforcement officials and as legislators to pass a law banning the possession and sale of every form of synthetic marijuana in Illinois." "With access to these dangerous substances, the safety of our children and consumers is at stake," said Rep. Cross. "That is why we acted so quickly when we learned people were getting sick after abusing these items and banned these substances through legislation this Spring." Under the new law: * All known synthetic marijuana products will be classified as an illegal Schedule 1 controlled substance. Laws were being enacted that outlawed only some chemical formulas for synthetic marijuana, but allowed the continued sale of substitute formulas. The new law comprehensively bans all currently available substances and covers more than 160 formulas. * Anyone who sells products containing synthetic marijuana could be charged with a Class 3 Felony that upon conviction carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to a $150,000 fine and the seizure of illegal stock as well as any property used to facilitate the sale. However, penalties can range as high as 30 years in prison and $500,000 in fines for someone who sells 200 grams or more of synthetic marijuana. * Anyone who simply possesses synthetic marijuana could be charged with a Class 4 Felony that carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and up to a $25,000 fine. The Will County State's Attorney's Office will work with local police agencies in January to make certain that retailers are complying with Illinois law. Officers - in uniform or undercover - will visit tobacco retailers throughout the county to ensure that these illegal products are not being sold. Last week, Glasgow and Cross sent letters to more than 350 tobacco merchants notifying them of the new law and warning them to remove the stock from their shelves. Some states have passed laws banning a few of the literally hundreds of formulas for synthetic marijuana. A sophisticated industry has developed in which suppliers track legislation and skirt the intent of lawmakers by shipping formulas that are not banned in particular states. House Bill 2595 was reviewed by the Illinois State Crime Lab and will outlaw all synthetic marijuana compounds in Illinois.

Three years in prison for simply possessing a drug? No rehabilitation? No help to the drug user? JAIL? They're not overcrowded enough, and it's not like the police have anything better to do. Except...

Checking rape kits. Guess what? Illinois in 2010 had only checked and tested 20% of its rape kits on file. 80% of the rape kits in Illinois were not tested.

This is what James chose to busy our state's police force with? This is who he chooses to place a priority on sending to jail? There are girls being raped, and instead of trying to free up police resources or work with the law to try and get these rape kits processed state wide, our State's Attorney decided it was time to start sending synthetic marijuana users to jail, for three years, for simply having the drug on them.

So as it turns out, Glasgow does choose to write some of our laws, and they're not all great. I didn't appreciate the dishonesty about it, and I definitely do not appreciate his efforts to send the users of synthetic marijuana to jail for three years. If they are using drugs, they need help, not jail.