An Elgin man with an extensive criminal record was sentenced to nearly 18 years in prison for drug dealing.
James Johnson, 61, of the 200 block of Dexter Street, was given a 17.5-year term in exchange for a guilty plea to one count of felony unlawful delivery of a controlled substance in a deal approved by Kane County Judge David P. Kliment.
Johnson admitted to selling more than a gram of cocaine to an undercover Elgin police officer on April 7, 2021, near Hickory Place and Hill Avenue in Elgin, a Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office news release said.
The sentence was enhanced because of Johnson’s criminal history, which includes a 2020 felony conviction for burglary, a 2011 felony conviction for delivering cocaine, a 2001 felony conviction for delivering cocaine near a school, a 1998 felony conviction for delivering cocaine, a 1989 felony conviction for delivering cocaine, a 1988 felony conviction for burglary and a 1980 felony conviction for armed robbery, the release said.
Under state law, he is eligible for day-for-day sentencing.
“Elgin is a safer place with Mr. Johnson, a career criminal, in prison instead of selling cocaine on the city’s streets,” Assistant State’s Attorney Hillary Sadler said in a statement.