State's Attorney

The NG:

"There are some lab reports that have not been completed," Rietz's office said in a release, "which will be provided when available.

"We will not release information about the report until our review has been completed. We do not have an estaimate as to when our review will be completed.

"The report consists of hundreds of pages and numerous computer discs. We will review all the information provided thoroughly, and if needed will request follow-up investigation.

"We appreciate ... the patience of the public as we move forward with this process."

Is the report FOIA-able, or exempt because it relates to a criminal investigation?  Is there a good reason it can't be released to the public now?

(UPDATE: Typo fixed in headline. Sorry!)

Some of us have been wondering for a long time if any of the mandated reporters in Urbana's School District would be charged for failing to report suspicions about Jon White when they were first reported.

Today, three were charged:

Julia Rietz said Thursday that she filed misdemeanor charges Wednesday of failure to report suspected child abuse or neglect against former Urbana Superintendent Gene Amberg, former Thomas Paine elementary school principal Janice Bradley, and former Human Resources Director Carmelita Thomas for their failure to report their suspicions about inappropriate conduct by Jon White, a teacher at Thomas Paine.

Discuss.

I'm not sure that we need a separate thread to discuss UI (former?) basketball player Jamar Smith, but it seems to be all anyone wants to discuss today.

The NG has two more articles, here and here.  The DI story is here.  There are other articles elsewhere, essentially saying the same things.  IlliniBoard is rife with accusations and rumors and defenses and speculation.

As for me, I'm excited about Meyers Leonard and the rest of the 2009 and 2010 players, as well as all the current players who are actually interested in playing for the UI. 

And, to me, the most interesting part of the Smith story are the actions of State's Attorney Julia Reitz.  Asking for Issuing an arrest warrent and asking for $25,000 bond for a probation violation for an offense like this and an offender with a nearly perfect court attendance record is certainly very interesting.

UPDATE:  Edit above to clarify that SA Reitz didn't issue the arrest warrant, but asked the judge to issue the warrant.  Thanks to the person who pointed out my error.  It's still interesting that she thought such steps were necessary.  Is this a normal SA reaction to a reported probation violation?

From today's NG:

Ford agreed with Nolan that the contract between the county and Farnsworth called for mediation, which is nonbinding, followed by arbitration, to which both sides must agree.

"Some of this is gibberish but it doesn't mean it's ambiguous," Ford said of the language.

In early 2007, the county agreed to a $127,000 settlement with PKD Inc., the company that oversaw construction at the nursing home. PKD also agreed to help the county advance its case with the other contractors.

The county has already been involved in binding arbitration with Otto Baum, one of the carpentry contractors, over mold that was found on the trusses and other pre-fabricated panels, Phebus said.

Ford's ruling means the county will now have to begin the same process with Farnsworth.

EDIT:  Last week's post on this here.

From the NG:

Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz says her easy victory in Tuesday's Democratic primary shows at least one issue her Republican opponent this fall is pressing doesn't resonate with voters.

In the primary, Urbana attorney Alfred Ivy III criticized Rietz's office for a lack of consistency in the charges it files for various crimes. He said they were overly harsh in many cases, involving both youths and adults, particularly minorities, creating disparities in whom the county prosecutes and how.

Rietz in the fall will face Republican Janie Miller-Jones, an assistant public defender in Champaign County, who wasn't opposed in the GOP primary.

Rietz won four of every five votes cast, taking 15,533 to Ivy's 3,568.

WDWS has a podcast featuring the Democratic candidates for State's Attorney.

The News-Gazette covered the race for Champaign County State's Attorney over the weekend.

Rietz is proud of the accomplishments she and her assistants have made in the last three years and two months.

"I'm proud of bringing the state's attorney's office back to a place where the office is respected in the criminal justice system and in the community," she said. "Specifically, I'm proud of mending relationships, of creating processes, and of personally handling significant cases involving children as victims.

"I'm proud of innovations such as the collections program and our drug asset forfeitures. I'm proud that we have used our resources wisely even though we've lost grant funding over the years. We've been able to maintain our staffing and stay within our budget."

Ivy thinks the person holding the job could do more.

"I haven't seen the level of progress in change in the state's attorney's office that I think many people would like to see in terms of fairness in charging, creation of more opportunities for alternative sentencing options, and just getting back to representation of the people of Champaign County," he said. "It's a tough job, thankless. Definitely, the connection with the community needs to be maintained. I think the state's attorney could do more to galvanize the community and be more of an agent of change rather than just a prosecutor."

"We have to have leadership committed to crime prevention as much as committed to prosecution."

He plans to work on "repairing the community, being more visible and present."

Discuss.

Posted here in its entirety, as I don't think there's any place to link it.

Janie Miller-Jones Running for State's Attorney

For Immediate Release
November 6, 2007
Contact Janie Miller-Jones
369-2079

Janie Miller-Jones announced her candidacy for the office of State's Attorney today.  Miller-Jones submitted her nominating papers at the County Clerk's office yesterday.  Miller-Jones has worked for eight years in the Champaign County Public Defender's Office where she handles felony cases.

"The State's Attorney's office should be a partner with our community in reducing crime," said Miller-Jones.  "I see an office that is more proactive, more responsive, and more focused on reducing crime." Miller-Jones noted that as a Public Defender she has worked with crime victims, police officers, business owners, schools, and treatment providers as well as with defendants.  "I can bring a broad perspective to the job of State's Attorney that unites our community in an effort to make all of us safer."

Miller-Jones noted that the State's Attorney could engage in more education and informational campaigns that can improve the awareness of the public about crime.

Miller-Jones also said that she would work to make the process of charging criminals more consistent and to avoid overcharging.  "There is a lack of uniformity in how we charge criminals in the County.  If we are to instill public trust in our legal system it first and foremost must be seen as fair.  Fairness will be one of the foundations of my office."

Miller-Jones also hopes to take advantage of more grants to enhance the ability of the State's Attorney's Office to meet the growing needs within Champaign County.  She also would like to see an increased use in the adult diversion program as a means of easing the burdens on the criminal justice system and to reduce recidivism.

Miller-Jones, her husband Robert, and their two children live in Rantoul.  Miller-Jones is a graduate of Illinois State University and Southern Illinois University Law School.

Discuss.

A roundup of contested races locally, after yesterday's filing deadline. 

Ballot vacancies can still be filled by established Parties (Democrats, Greens & Republicans) after the Primary.

Petition challenges may still remove some of these candidates from the ballot.

I'll try to link to a district map when available.

If you know if any of these candidates have websites, please post them in comments - I'd like to clean this up and make it the candidate blogroll.

I've tried to list people in the order in which they filed, and therefore the order in which they'll appear on the Primary ballot.

Asterisks indicate incumbents.

Congress - 15th District

• Tim Johnson (R-Urbana)*
• Steve Cox (D-Urbana)

State House

• 104th District

• Terry Baldwin (R-Danville)
• Scott Eisenhauer (R-Danville)

• 105th District

• Dave Tomlinson (R-Champaign)
• Shane Cultra (R-Onarga)*

Countywide

• Auditor
  • Brad Jones (R)
  • Tony Fabri (D)*
• Circuit Clerk
  • Linda Frank (R)*
  • Kim Hooper (D)
• Coroner
  • Duane Northrup (R)*
  • Mark Medlyn (D)
• Recorder
  • Barb Frasca (R)*
  • Danis Pelmore (D)
• State's Attorney
  • Julia Rietz (D)*
  • Alfred Ivy III (D)
  • Janie Miller-Jones (R)

County Board

• District 4 (one full-term seat)
  • Ken Goodchild (R)
  • Steve O'Conner (R)*
• District 6 (one full-term seat)
  • Giraldo Rosales (D)
  • Wayne Williams (D)
  • Eva Jehle (D)
  • Pattsi Petrie (D)
• District 7 (two full-term seats)
  • Janet Anderson (D)*
  • Pius Wiebel (D)*
  • Walter Pituc (G)
  • Kostas Yfantis (G)
• District 8 (one full-term seat)
  • Samuel Jay Smucker (D)
  • Joe Futrelle (G)
• District 9 (one full-term seat)
  • Brendan McGinty (D)*
  • Devan Cowsen (D)

You can find a full list of County candidates here.  A full list of State and Federal candidates is here.  (GOP Presidential Delegate candidates file in about a month.)

I know I've certainly missed something, so correct me in comments.

UPDATE:  To re-emphasize - I have not listed any uncontested races here.  The News-Gazette's filing story is here.

From comments in today's Open Thread:

Looks like Julia Rietz will have competition in the primary.  According to the County Clerk's blog, Alfred Ivy III filed as a Democrat for State's Attorney.

You can view County Filings here, and State/Federal filings here.  (GOP Presidential Delegates file next month, if you're wondering why there are none listed.)

There's been some scuttlebutt about Vermilion County State's Attorney Frank Young potentially running for State Rep. in the 104th District, but this story in today's News-Gazette indicates he is retiring from politics:

A Danville Republican, Young was elected to the state's attorney's office in 2000 and was re-elected in 2004. Before 2000, he served two six-year terms on the Danville Area Community College board.

In 2006, Young ran for circuit judge in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, but was defeated by Nancy Fahey. Though his name had been circulated as a possible replacement for state representative in the 104th District – currently held by Danville Republican Bill Black – he said Monday that he's not running.

While the names of several local attorneys have surfaced as possible candidates for Young's office, only two – both Democrats – confirmed they are considering a run. Derek Girton of Oakwood and Bill Donahue of Danville have picked up petitions.

Discuss.

State's Attorney Julia Rietz and our area's State Representatives have been pushing this legislation since the death of Matt Wilhelm last year.  It passed the House 115-1 yesterday.

The Illinois House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legislation sparked by the death of 25-year-old bicyclist Matt Wilhelm last September.

Wilhelm was struck and killed by a teen driver, who ran off the road while downloading ring tones for her cell phone. The fatal collision happened in September 2006 just east of Urbana along Illinois 130.

"Unfortunately, that tragedy was compounded by the court's inability to impose anything resembling an appropriate sentence," said state Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville.

The driver, Jennifer Stark of Urbana, was charged with improper lane usage and got the maximum sentence the law allowed – a $1,000 fine and six months of probation.

HB 1382 would give prosecutors a new option between petty traffic offense and felony reckless homicide, which requires willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others. The new offense of negligent vehicular homicide would be a Class A misdemeanor, allowing for a larger fine and up to a year in jail.

Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Reitz said she was "very pleased" to hear that the House voted 115 to 1 to pass the bill.

Discuss.