Judge: Man who threatened Lake County courthouse may represent himself

A California man convicted of threatening to "light up" the Lake County courthouse and Gurnee Police Department has been granted his request to serve as his own attorney in future court proceedings.

Lake County Judge Mark Levitt discharged public defenders Keith Grant and Jack Idlas from serving as attorneys for Daniel Pederson, 36, of Calabasas, during a quick hearing Wednesday. After much discussion, Levitt gave Pederson until March 6 to get caught up on the legal arguments in his case.

Pederson was hoping to schedule the next hearing sooner, but Levitt told him he is unavailable and that he doesn't "get to pick his own dates."

Pederson said an expletive as he tried to leave the courtroom, which led to another admonishment from Levitt. Pederson has a history of interrupting Lake County court proceedings with outbursts at his attorneys, people in the gallery, witnesses and the judge.

Levitt tried to curtail those outbursts by telling Pederson, "Now that you are acting as an attorney, you have to act like one."

Pederson was convicted in 2016 of making a terrorist threat and faces up to 30 years in prison. It was proved that he called the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services on Sept. 12, 2014, and told an operator, "I'm going to light up the Lake County courthouse and the Gurnee Police Department."

The call came in after Pederson's driver's license was suspended in California for falling behind on child support, authorities said.

He was due to be sentenced after his conviction, but the hearing has been on hold since April 2016, after Levitt determined Pederson was mentally unfit to understand and assist his attorneys with court proceedings.

After Pederson's numerous stays at an Illinois Department of Health facility in Elgin, Levitt determined Jan. 11 that Pederson was mentally fit to continue his prison sentencing. That proceeding was placed on hold after Pederson filed motions seeking to discharge Grant and Idlas and act as his own attorney.

By law, suspects are allowed to file a motion to represent themselves in felony court, but it's up to a judge to decide whether they should be allowed to do so.