Downstate man wanted for allegedly harassing Will County judge
BY JANET LUNDQUIST jlundquist@stmedianetwork.com March 18, 2013 2:14PM
Jason Chance, 40, of 294 N. Main St., Apt. 2, Lewistown, IL.
Maps
Updated: April 20, 2013 6:23AM
A downstate man who once threatened to kill the Will County State’s Attorney is wanted again, this time for allegedly making harassing phone calls to a Will County judge.
Jason S. Chance, 40, of Lewistown, is accused of calling Judge Matthew Bertani, who presided over Chance’s child support case, at home.
Chance also allegedly called Channahon Village Clerk Janet Schumacher and Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, intending to harass Schumacher and anyone who picked up the phone at the hospital, according to a petition to revoke Chance’s probation.
Special Prosecutor Chuck Colburn, whose office filed the petition, said Monday there is an active warrant for Chance’s arrest, issued March 8.
Asked for more information on why Chance called Schumacher and the hospital, Colburn said, “I can’t give you a reasonable explanation. I can’t discuss the facts of the case, but even if I did, it wouldn’t make sense.”
In 2010, Will County police say, Chance threatened State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow on his Facebook page, posting a rant that said, among other things, that Glasgow “is soon to be a dead” man, referring to the state’s attorney with a gay slur.
He also wrote it was time to overthrow the government with violence, police said, and he wrote his plans for Will County officials were worse than the Holocaust, authorities said.
Chance pleaded guilty to a charge of threatening a public official in September 2011 and was sentenced to 36 months of probation by Judge Daniel Rozak.
Since his plea, Chance has been a prolific writer, sending mail to Rozak ranting about topics ranging from his child support case to a clerk who hung up on him.
In a letter that appears to have been faxed to the courthouse in March, Chance complained to Rozak that Bertani allowed his son to remain with his mother, who Chance alleges mistreated him.
In August 2012, Chance called Bertani’s house, the petition states. Chance called Schumacher, and the hospital, in February.
In recent correspondence that was delivered to Rozak, Chance included information on small claims lawsuits he filed against Bertani and Schumacher in Fulton County, citing harassment, stalking, gang stalking, intimidation, conspiracy, defamation of character, malicious prosecution and physical and emotional pain and suffering.
