Joliet Township’s Contreras pleads not guilty in felony DUI case

Joliet — Joliet Township Supervisor Angel Contreras on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to felony charges for aggravated DUI and driving on a revoked license.

Contreras is one of two Joliet Township officials facing an uncertain political future because of felony charges, which could force them to leave office.

Contreras’s appearance in Will County Court on Wednesday was brief.

His attorney, Scott Delaney, entered pleas of not guilty on all charges. Judge Dave Carlson assigned the case to Judge Carmen Goodman for a pretrial hearing on Aug. 15.

Contreras’s arrest June 19 in Joliet marked the fifth time in three states that he had been stopped by police for driving offenses that led to previous convictions for DUI or driving on a revoked license as well as the pending charges.

The felony indictment issued by a Will County grand jury earlier this month pointed to the previous convictions.

Contreras pleaded guilty in each of the last two years to driving on a revoked license, in DuPage County in 2021 and in Will County in 2020.

His last conviction for DUI was in 2016, when he pleaded guilty to the charge in Elkhart County, Indiana. In 2008, Contreras pleaded guilty to DUI in Mahaska County, Iowa.

Contreras and his attorney declined to discuss the pending charges after the hearing on Wednesday.

Contreras previously was an elected member of the Joliet Township High School board.

He also was an appointed member of the board for the Housing Authority of Joliet. But he was removed from the board earlier this month, when Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk and the City Council did not reappoint him after his term had expired.

O’Dekirk said Contreras’s departure from the housing board was planned before the DUI incident in June.

In April 2021, Contreras was among a slate of Democratic candidates that won election in Joliet Township. Most of them were newly elected to the township offices.

Now, he is one of two whose position is in jeopardy.

A Will County judge in June ruled that Township Trustee Karl Ferrell was ineligible to hold office because of past felony convictions. The order was stayed until July 25 to give Ferrell time to appeal.

Ferrell’s previous convictions on drug and weapons possession charges did not surface until after he took office.

Contreras could be in the same predicament if convicted of a felony because of state law barring convicted felons from holding office.