Ex-Joliet city manager found not guilty of DUI by Will County judge

A Will County judge found a former Joliet city manager not guilty of driving under the influence following a trial where his attorney claimed he was subjected to biased treatment by police.

On Tuesday, James Capparelli, 63, waived his right to a jury trial and chose Judge Sherri Hale to decide whether he was guilty of misdemeanor DUI in connection with a 2023 two-vehicle crash in Joliet.

Hale ruled that prosecutors had not met their burden in the case. She found Capparelli not guilty of DUI.

Five witnesses were called by prosecutors at the trial, including two officers and a sergeant. Hale was shown body camera video that depicted Capparelli’s interactions with officers before his arrest.

Capparelli did not testify. His attorneys called no witnesses.

After officers learned Capparelli was involved in a crash in 2023, a police supervisor responded in accordance with a policy for incidents involving people of “higher political position or employment status,” according to Tuesday’s testimony.

But Capparelli’s attorney, Jeff Tomczak, argued that was evidence of officers subjecting his client to treatment with “obvious bias.”

“This is an individual being treated very, very differently than everyone else,” Tomczak said.

Tomczak said there was no evidence that Capparelli was unable to produce documentation when asked, no evidence he was unable to answer questions and he showed no legitimate signs of intoxication, such as staggering.

Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Burkhardt said Capparelli was not seen staggering on the video because he was “leaning against his car the entire time.”

Tomczak repeatedly questioned police department witnesses about whether they were treating Capparelli in a biased manner. He grilled one witness about meeting with Capparelli regarding an officer allegedly committing a crime against her but she said they “didn’t even speak about what happened.”

Burkhardt said while Tomczak is trying to make the case about Capparelli there was no “grand conspiracy” against him.

“This case is about what James Capparelli did,” Burkhardt said.

Joliet Police Officer Ken Macejak said Capparelli had bloodshot, glassy eyes, slurred speech, and slow physical movements. Burkhardt said Capparelli was not cooperative when officers asked him questions about the crash.

Macejak said he wasn’t able to smell alcohol because of a nasal surgical procedure. Assisting Officer Bryson McCaskill said he was able to smell an odor of alcohol and the smell lingered in his squad vehicle after he took Capparelli to the police department.

Capparelli refused to take field sobriety and chemical tests.

Macejak said Capparelli’s position as city manager did not inform his decision to make a DUI arrest.

Before Tuesday’s trial began, Tomczak unsuccessfully motioned to suppress Capparelli’s statements to police. Tomczak argued Capparelli invoked his right to an attorney when he told Macejak that he is an attorney.

But Burkhardt said that was “merely a declaration of [Capparelli’s] profession.”

During the 2023 incident, Capparelli repeatedly told a police dispatcher and officers that he consumed no alcohol before the crash.

“Not a drop,” Capparelli told Macejak.

At a Nov. 2, 2023 pretrial hearing, Capparelli admitted he did have an alcoholic beverage but he was not impaired. Capparelli’s statements at that pretrial hearing was not part of Tuesday’s trial.

Capparelli said he did not tell Macejak he had been drinking because there were many officers on scene and he was concerned about “payback” from the Joliet Police Department. He said he had a “completely adversarial” relationship with the police department when he was city manager.