Randolph County State’s Attorney, Illinois Attorney General Detail Preliminary Hearing in People V. Drew Peterson

Chester, IL − Randolph County State’s Attorney Jeremy R. Walker and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that defendant Drew Peterson waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered a plea of not guilty in the state’s case charging him with one count of solicitation of murder for hire and one count of solicitation of murder.

Peterson, 61, an inmate at the Menard Correctional Center, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered the plea before Randolph County Circuit Judge Richard A. Brown.

The charges, both Class X felonies, allege that between September 2013 and December 2014, the defendant solicited an individual to carry out a murder-for-hire plot against Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow. The case is being jointly prosecuted by the Randolph County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Also today, the state filed a required notice disclosing the case involved the use of a court-ordered eavesdropping device on two occasions – from Oct. 24 to Nov. 23, 2014 and from Nov. 23 to Dec. 22, 2014.

The state also filed a motion for a discovery protective order pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 415(d) precluding the defendant, defense counsel or defense personnel, as well as the prosecution, from publicly disclosing any information provided in discovery for the duration of this case to protect the identity and safety of Individual A. Judge Brown granted the state’s motion following an in-camera hearing.

The case was set for a case management conference at 10 a.m. on April 14.

The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.