Ex-Joliet City Manager, Innocent After DUI Arrest, Seeks Expungement

JOLIET — Now that former Joliet city manager Jim Capparelli was found not guilty of a driving under the influence criminal charge levied against him by members of the Joliet Police Department, Capparelli and his downtown lawyer have filed a court petition at the Will County Courthouse asking for an expungement.

In 2024, Will County Judge Sherri Hale ruled that Capparelli was not guilty of the DUI charge.

The expungement filing was made last week by downtown Joliet criminal defense attorney Eugene "Gino" Fimbianti on behalf of Capparelli, who served as a lawyer in Joliet in private practice at the Castle Law Firm prior to being named as the Joliet city manager in January 2021.

Capparelli remained in that role until the summer of 2023, when he worked out a settlement to leave his position shortly after the election of Terry D'Arcy and some new Joliet City Council members, in the April 2023 elections. Capparelli became Joliet's first permanent city manager since David Hales was let go in October 2018, less than a year into his three-year city manager's contract.

Several months after Capparelli left his position with Joliet City Hall, Joliet police arrested him in the Cunningham Neighborhood after he was involved in a minor crash with another motorist.

According to the Joliet police report from the Oct. 3, 2023, incident, Capparelli was involved in a crash with another driver and he "had difficulty explaining crash. Driver had bloodshot glassy eyes and slurred speech. Driver steadied himself on vehicle. He refused tests and PBT (preliminary breath test)."

Last week's expungement filing by Capparelli's lawyer checked the box on the expungement request for "FI" which stands for "Found Factually Innocent."

In October 2023, Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English provided the following set of events in regard to Capparelli's arrest on the DUI charge:

At 10:28 p.m., officers responded to the area of North Hickory Street and Moran Street for a crash. A Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Capparelli, and a Chevrolet Malibu driven by a 24-year-old woman who lives in Joliet collided while both vehicles were southbound on North Hickory Street.

The front driver’s side portion of the Cherokee struck the passenger side of the young woman's Malibu. No injuries were reported from the crash. Police said officers determined that Capparelli appeared to be exhibiting behaviors consistent with alcohol impairment. Capparelli refused to conduct field sobriety tests, and he was placed into custody without incident.