Streator man charged with death threats to have visiting judge hear case

A visiting judge from Kankakee will preside over the trial of a Streator man accused of threatening to kill three judges, three prosecutors and the public defender, all from La Salle County.

Joseph A. Call, 36, pleaded not guilty Thursday during a Zoom conference with his fill-in judge, Associate Judge Brenda Claudio of the 21st Judicial Circuit.

Call faces up to five years if convicted of seven counts of threatening a public official. He does not have trial dates yet; Claudio set a June 27 status hearing and ordered Call to remain in the La Salle County Jail until at least his next hearing, which will be done virtually. (Any motions hearing or trial would be held in La Salle County, however.)

Call will not, however, undergo a mental health evaluation. His lawyer, Bureau County Public Defender Eric May, acknowledged that Call had been found unfit in a previous case but, “I don’t see a concern in regard to fitness.”

Trial dates are likely to be set June 27.

According to court records, Call is said to have taken to social media May 3 and May 6 and issued death threats against Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr., Circuit Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia and Associate Judge Michael C. Jansz; La Salle County State’s Attorney Joe Navarro and two assistant state’s attorneys, Kelley Porter and Ryan Cantlin; and Public Defender Ryan Hamer.

None of the alleged targets can participate in the case, so the Appellate Prosecutor’s Office has stepped in, and authorities crossed the La Salle County line for a public defender to represent Call. The Illinois Supreme Court sent for Claudio to keep Call from standing before any La Salle County judge.