A trial for a prominent attorney in Will County charged with domestic battery of a child has been rescheduled to Sept. 15 and prosecutors have contended an out-of-state witness is needed for the case.

Since Jan. 14, Chuck Bretz has been facing a misdemeanor charge of striking a 4-year-old child with a belt in a “violent manner” on Oct. 18, 2025 in Minooka.

Bretz is an attorney with a law firm in Joliet and has represented clients in high-profile cases in Will County.

Although the domestic battery case was filed in Grundy County, prosecutors for Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe and LaSalle County Judge Michelle Vescogni were appointed to the case.

Prosecutors filed a notice on May 22 regarding a motion to continue Bretz’s bench trial. The motion was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. court hearing Tuesday at the Grundy County Courthouse in Morris.

Vescogni and the attorneys in Bretz’s case were not in the courtroom where the hearing was apparently meant to take place.

After several minutes, the deputy and the clerk left the courtroom after learning the case had been continued.

It turns out there was a court hearing in Bretz’s case on Tuesday afternoon but it was at the LaSalle County Courthouse in Ottawa.

The Grundy County Circuit Clerk’s Office was notified of the Ottawa court hearing in an email at 2:18 p.m. Tuesday, court records show.

The email noted Bretz’s attorneys and prosecutors agreed to continue the case for a motion hearing at 1 p.m. on July 28 in Ottawa.

The bench trial set for 1 p.m. on Sept. 15.

The decision to hold the trial in either Ottawa or Morris could be reached after the July 28 court hearing, according to the trial administrator for the 13th Judicial Circuit Court, which presides over Grundy and LaSalle counties.

On May 21, Kankakee Assistant State’s Attorney John Coghlan filed a motion to continue the bench trial because the state “obtained information” on May 18 regarding a potential witness.

“On May 18, 2026, the state obtained information regarding a potential witness and has made contact with said witness who has relevant testimony for the prosecution of this case, including information concerning prior acts of domestic violence allegedly committed by the defendant,” Coghlan’s motion said.

The motion said the witness is out of state and requires advanced notice before traveling to Illinois.

“The witness is critical of the state’s case and her testimony is necessary for the presentation of relevant evidence at trial. Proceeding to trial without the testimony of this witness would substantiality prejudice the state’s case,” Coughlan’s motion said.

A state motion to “allow other acts” and the responses from Bretz’s attorney had been sealed and impounded, court records show.