An official misconduct case against a former employee for Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow has been set for Nov. 18 for a potential preliminary hearing.

Amy Burgett-Masse, 45, and her daughter, Ryanne Burgett-Masse, 20, both of Elwood, appeared for the first time on Wednesday in a felony case filed against them at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet.

Special Prosecutor Dave Neal approved a charge of aggravated computer tampering against the mother and daughter, as well as official misconduct against the mother, who’s worked for Glasgow’s office since 2007.

The charges filed on Oct. 6 alleged Amy Burgett-Masse and her daughter removed data from a computer network at Glasgow’s office and endangered witnesses in criminal investigations and prosecutions in Will County.

The offenses allegedly occurred between Sept. 20, 2024 and May 6, 2025.

At Wednesday’s court hearing, Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak granted Neal’s request to set the case for a potential preliminary hearing on Nov. 18.

Those hearings are usually held to determine whether there’s probable cause the defendants committed the alleged offenses. Although the hearing may not be held if a grand jury returns a bill of indictment before then.

Neal told Bertani-Tomczak that he is not seeking detention for either Amy Burgett-Masse or her daughter since the charges against them are not eligible for detention under the SAFE-T Act.

The investigation into Amy Burgett-Masse began April 28, 2025, when Will County sheriff’s detectives obtained information suggesting a state’s attorney employee may have accessed and unlawfully shared “confidential information with a known gang member,” according to Kevin Hedemark, sheriff’s office spokesman.

Amy Burgett-Masse made a time-off request on April 29, 2025, according to records from Glasgow’s office.

On the same day, Burgett-Masse sent an email to Glasgow’s office that asked whether one of the prosecutors or “any of the higher ups” could “give me a call on my husband’s phone?”

On May 23, 2025, Burgett-Masse’ employment was involuntarily terminated, according to records from Glasgow’s office.

Glasgow’s office provided a letter in response to a FOIA request from The Herald-News that denied public disclosure of Burgett-Masse’s termination letter.

“[Burgett-Masse’s] termination letter has been withheld as it contains non-public information about the events leading up to her termination, which would interfere with the pending criminal prosecution and picking of a jury,” according to the letter.

Burgett-Masse worked as a legal secretary and she was allowed to access data from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office as part of her job, according to records from Glasgow’s office.

In a 2018 email, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Donna Hanson praised Burgett-Masse for discovering a defendant had not been charged with driving under the influence despite police noticing signs of intoxication.

“This is just one example of the excellent work Amy does and also an example that it truly takes a village to work successfully,” Hanson’s email said.

In a 2019 Facebook post, Glasgow announced Burgett-Masse and another staff member as the first winners of the League of Extraordinary Canines and Friends Lifesaving Award.

Burgett-Masse heard the sounds of a kitten in distress and “persevered” in persuading others that the cries were truly from a kitten, according to the post.