Will County raises award in animal abuse investigation

Will County prosecutors are upping the ante to help catch whoever is responsible for a gruesome animal cruelty case. Yeah, this has to do with the case of dogs found dead back in March. Brittany Tulis is following this one for us. Brittany, back in April, Will County officials said they were really looking for info. Have they had any movement in this case? Yeah, guys, it is still at a standstill. That is actually why we were out here today. But, you know, as you guys said, these six dogs were found back in early March. They were found by Crete Township highway workers. They were dumped in a rural area in garbage bags. Now, the dogs showed signs of abuse, possibly torture. A Will County state's attorney also saying they may have been used in a dog fighting ring. Now, that state's attorney, Jim Glasgow, also saying that, you know, the level of violence used against these six dogs was just disturbing. And he also adds that the person or people behind this aren't just a potential danger to other animals out there. He's also saying that they are a public safety issue. Just take a listen. And the level of depravity that it took to torture those six poor animals and then just throw them in garbage bags along the side of the road shows a complete lack of compassion and empathy. There's a legion of studies showing that people are five times more likely to be violent against human beings if they're violent against animals. Yeah, guys, they're still really looking for information. Still not a lot of movement on this case, but just the level of violence, as you heard, really has the officials concerned out here. That is why they are still looking for information from the public. So, Brittany, initially that reward for information, it was $5,000. Now it's at $25,000. Can you explain where that money is coming from? Yeah, an organization called Pets and Vets USA did add $20,000 to the initial $5,000 reward posted up by First Secure Bank. Now, that organization, Pets and Vets, rescues dogs, so this really, really meant a lot to them. And, you know, part of the reason why there has been no information, according to officials, is these dogs were dumped in a very rural area, so there has been no witnesses so far. Officials also say they're limited when it comes to evidence. The bags and the dogs were handled by so many different people and entities that DNA evidence just is not viable right now for them, so they're really looking for information from the community. Again, that reward money is now $25,000 in crime. Crime Stoppers was even here earlier letting us know that people can give a tip anonymously and here's a little more information on how people can reach out. When you give a tip to Crime Stoppers, we don't ask your name, we give you a secret identification number that you use to claim that tip if a charge is made by the state's attorney. We have three ways with Crime Stoppers that you can provide a tip, and I think they're going to show the numbers and the text number on the screen. But you can also go to crimestoppersofwillcounty.org and put the tip right into our website. And if you look at our website, it has all the information, how to give a tip, how you remain anonymous, and how this whole thing works. It's terrible. You know, you've got some sicko out there torturing and killing animals, and like Jim said, if somebody's that depraved, how long is it going to be before they do the same thing to a human? We've got to get those sickos off the street. We rescue pit bulls. We've rescued a lot of pit bulls that have been used for fighting, bait dogs, and fighting. So I only felt it in my heart that I had to come up with a reward to be the hero for these animals and give them a voice. Yeah, the community also really wanting answers for this, guys. Yeah, absolutely. Brittany, the midterms coming up, Will County will be voting on their new sheriff Tuesday. The current sheriff, Mike Kelly, is retiring after three terms on the job. So with all this going on, what do officials who talked today hope for after the election? Yeah, that was actually a big concern brought up today. The current sheriff right now, according to the Will County State's Attorney, is really pushing also for this investigation, putting resources into this investigation. So the concern is that whoever's elected on Tuesday may not have that same gusto behind this. The two people up for election is Jim Riley for the Republican Party and Patrick Jones for the Democratic Party. So the Really hope here from the Will County State's Attorney and the rest of the people we talked with today is that whoever is elected come Tuesday will really put all the resources into this investigation the way it has been since it was uncovered back in early March, guys.