Former Joliet fire chief getting out of prison

The Illinois Department of Corrections says a former Joliet fire chief who is serving an eight-year prison sentence for stealing more than $200,000 from an elderly woman will be released next month.

Joe Drick and his wife, Cheri, were sentenced in 2007. Cheri Drick was released in February from Lincoln Correctional Center in Lincoln. The Corrections Department web site says Drick will be released July 1.

The couple was convicted of theft by deception, financial exploitation of an elderly person and conspiracy to commit financial exploitation of an elderly person for taking money from Gladys Farrington's estate, estimated at more than $1.5 million. Farrington died before the Dricks were put on trial.

Prosecutors said the Dricks used Farrington's money to pay their mortgage, make house repairs and finance a business.