New judge sought in Peterson case

JOLIET, Ill., May 18 (UPI) -- A former suburban Chicago police officer pleaded innocent Monday in the death of his third wife five years ago, court officials said.

Drew Peterson, a former Bolingbrook, Ill., police officer, is charged with the death of Kathleen Savio.

In the hearing Monday, prosecutors asked for a new judge to be assigned to the case, the Chicago Tribune reported. No other details were immediately available.

Peterson was expected to seek a reduction in his $20 million bail, which has kept him in jail since his arrest May 7. He has been unable to post the 10 percent needed to be released pending trial, the Tribune said.

Illinois authorities have been investigating Savio's death along with the disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, missing for 18 months.

The Tribune said documents in divorce proceedings between Peterson and Savio revealed Peterson could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in a divorce settlement.

The arraignment at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet had been delayed because Peterson's lead attorney, Joel Brodsky, was conducting media interviews in New York in which he proclaimed his client innocent.