(CHICAGO, IL, 11/02/26) — The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, decried the decision by a Will County judge to grant pretrial release to a Wilmington man facing felony hate crime and intimidation charges.
On October 22, 2026, Chad M. Glover, 42, was charged with hate crime, intimidation, and disorderly conduct following an incident on July 14 in Wilmington, Illinois. According to prosecutors, sheriff’s deputies responded to a disturbance where Glover, operating an ATV, confronted a man wearing a “turban” and a woman wearing a “burqa” who were attempting to enter a residence.
Prosecutors stated that Glover shouted, “I don’t want you here, you are not welcome here, I will kill you,” and reached behind his back while threatening to retrieve a firearm. Glover reportedly returned shortly after, reiterating threats to kill them and shouting bigotry regarding Muslims and “Sharia Law.” Despite a petition filed by prosecutors under the SAFE-T Act to keep Glover detained, Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak denied the request and allowed his pretrial release.
“Threatening community members with lethal violence and Islamophobic vitriol is a direct assault on the safety and security of minority communities,” said Jordan Esparza-Kelley, Communications Coordinator for CAIR-Chicago. “This is a terribly irresponsible decision made by Judge Bertani-Tomczak. As the judge for the Wadee Alfayoumi case, she saw first-hand what this rhetoric can lead people to do, yet today she excuses it and lets the perpetrator out of pre-trial detention. This person very clearly stated their intentions to the victim, and we are inclined to believe them. The SAFE-T Act was built to keep threats to public safety behind bars—how much clearer of a threat is needed than stating you are going to kill a stranger in public?”
Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago Executive Director added that CAIR-Chicago recently welcomed the filing of hate crime charges against an Orland Park man following an Islamophobic and xenophobic attack targeting a woman perceived to be “Middle Eastern” in Tinley Park. “But how good are the charges, if they’re not being taken seriously? If Muslims are not treated as justly in our judicial system.”
Earlier this month, CAIR-Chicago welcomed the filing of multiple felony hate crime charges against a Des Plaines man who allegedly threatened to shoot three Muslim women wearing hijabs at Lake Opeka (Lake Park) while shouting white supremacist slogans.
CAIR-Chicago continues to monitor the case and encourages anyone experiencing hate incidents or discrimination to report them to the organization’s civil rights department.
CAIR-Chicago encourages anyone experiencing or witnessing bias or discrimination to report incidents immediately to its civil rights department at www.cairchicago.org/get-help.
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CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director, CAIR-Chicago arehab@cair.com; Jordan Esparza-Kelley, Communications Coordinator, j-esparzakelley@cair.com