Kane 1st Asst. Jody Gleason named circuit judge in Kendall County

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Kane County First Assistant State's Attorney Jody P. Gleason as a Circuit Judge in Illinois' 23rd Judicial Circuit in Kendall County, where she lives, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.

Gleason was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the imminent retirement of Kendall County Circuit Judge Timothy McCann. She will officially join the 23rd Circuit on July 15, according to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Gleason has worked for the Kane County State's Attorney's Office for 27 years. She has served as the office's First Assistant since April 2009. Prior to that she served as Chief of the Criminal Division for eight years.

During her time with the Kane County State's Attorney's Office ASA Gleason has advocated for the people of Illinois and Kane County and for crime victims in a variety of cases, including several high-profile murder cases, as well as numerous child sex abuse cases.

She also has been a part of important cases outside of the office, serving as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois from 2006 to 2010 in the successful federal prosecution of seven Aurora gang members for violating the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute.

She also worked on the special prosecution team in the case of People v. Jason Van Dyke, the former Chicago police officer who was convicted in Cook County in October 2018 of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm in the October 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald.

In addition, Gleason has been recognized twice with Stars of Distinction Awards by the Chicago Crime Commission.

One was for her work in prosecuting several cold-case murders indicted in 2007 as part of Operation First-Degree Burn, an investigation involving the FBI, Aurora Police Department and Kane County Sheriff's Office that led to the indictments of dozens of Aurora gang members in cold-case murders. The other was for her work in a multi-agency illegal weapons investigation.

Gleason is a native of Macon County, a graduate of Southern Illinois University and a graduate of the DePaul University College of Law.

"Although I am honored to be chosen as a judge in the 23rd Circuit, I will miss the many relationships I have built through my years in Kane County. I want to thank all of those people for supporting me personally and professionally,” Gleason stated in the release.

Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon praised Gleason’s work in the county.

”Jody Gleason has served the people of Kane County and crime victims throughout Illinois with professionalism, dedication and legal expertise for many years. Now the people of DeKalb and Kendall Counties will see first-hand that same dedication and commitment to justice,” McMahon stated in the release.

“During her many years with our office, she has earned the respect of judges, attorneys and police officers throughout northern Illinois, as well as crime victims for whom she has worked for justice. She is one of the most respected prosecutors in the state of Illinois,” McMahon stated in the release. “We all will miss Jody personally and professionally, but we are thrilled for her as she embarks on this new chapter in her accomplished legal career."