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Kane County judge appointed in DuPage judge stalking case

A Kane County judge and former prosecutor was brought in Wednesday to oversee the case of a man accused of stalking a DuPage County judge.

Judge John Barsanti, a former Kane County state's attorney, will hear the case of 57-year-old John Euwema. Last week, DuPage Judge John Kinsella recused himself because Euwema's alleged victim, Judge Kathryn Creswell, presides over the felony division of which Kinsella is a part.

Barsanti was appointed after DuPage Chief Judge John Elsner requested an out-of-county jurist through the Illinois Supreme Court. On Wednesday, Barsanti scheduled for Monday a hearing on a prosecution motion to hold Euwema without bond.

Authorities said Euwema stalked Creswell by sending cash, a book and letters referencing her family to her husband at their home address and by email. The Western Springs man had been convicted in September of driving on a revoked license and was sentenced by Creswell to 90 days in jail and two years of probation under a plea bargain.

According to prosecutors, Euwema later became “incensed” about the term and demanded it be modified. When investigators searched his office, they found printouts of newspaper articles about Creswell's family and a box of ammunition, which he cannot legally possess as a felon previously convicted of aggravated drunken driving, authorities said.

Euwema remains in custody and has agreed to be held without bail until a bond hearing can take place. His attorney has declined to comment.

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