Special prosecutor’s appointment to Duck Dickinson case remains a mystery

A top official for Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said he could not explain why a special prosecutor was assigned to the Don “Duck” Dickinson case because “the matter” was under seal.

In 2020, Dickinson, a former Joliet City Council member, made a shocking allegation against Mayor Bob O’Dekirk in a Joliet police report that accused the mayor of “intimidation” by somehow getting his hands on nude photographs of him.

O’Dekirk has repeatedly denied the allegation.

Almost a year and half later, it was Dickinson who was charged with a crime.

Special Prosecutor Bill Elward filed a misdemeanor charge against Dickinson that accused him of attempted obstruction of justice by falsely claiming to police that O’Dekirk threatened him.

Illinois State Police officials continued to withhold further information on the Dickinson case as of Friday.

Dickinson again did not respond to calls and messages. His attorney, Frank Andreano, said he does not know if he will represent him in the criminal case. Andreano declined to comment on the charge.

It’s not clear why Glasgow declined to have his office handle the case.

Glasgow did not respond to calls Friday. Instead, Ken Grey, his chief deputy state’s attorney, responded and said he couldn’t answer questions as to why a special prosecutor was assigned to the case, because “the matter was sealed by the court.”

Grey did not specify what he meant by “the matter” and referred further questions to Elward, who failed to respond to calls.

“I’m not trying to be cagey, but we do not address things that are under seal of the court,” Grey said.

Since at least 2019, Elward has prosecuted criminal cases against Joliet Police Detective David Jackson and Joliet Police Officer Andrew McCue, both of which resulted in dismissals because the alleged victims failed to appear in court.

Elward currently is prosecuting Joliet police Officer Erin Zilka, Will County Sheriff’s Deputies Andrew Schwartz and Edward Goewey, and Richard Gabrys, who was charged with harassing Glasgow and his staff.

Elward also made the decision not to file charges against O’Dekirk over his altercation with brothers Victor Williams and Jamal Smith at a protest-turned-riot May 31, 2020.

The brothers sued O’Dekirk, several police officers and the city of Joliet in federal court. The case ended with a $93,000 settlement in their favor.

For months, Glasgow’s prosecutors and Illinois State Police officials said they could not comment on the O’Dekirk investigation because the case was under seal.

Glasgow’s prosecutors filed a motion to appoint a special prosecutor to the O’Dekirk case on Aug. 17, 2020, and requested that motion be sealed from public view because the case was under investigation.

Now-retired Judge Richard Schoenstedt signed a court order to seal the motion and the court order itself. It did not specifically forbid prosecutors or the police from talking about other aspects of the case.