Louise Hayes: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Lake BluffWebsite: http://www.louisehayes2012.com/Office sought: Lake State's AttorneyAge: 49Family: I have been married to my husband Bill since 1987 and we have four children ages 20,18,16,14Occupation: Lake County Assistant State's Attorney, hired by Fred Foreman in 1990Education: Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, IL Purdue University, BA, West Lafayette, IN John Marshall Law School, JD, Chicago, ILCivic involvement: Lake County Bar Association Association of Women Attorneys of Lake County St. Mary's Church, Women's Guild Member PTO Representative Parent volunteer in the Lake Bluff Middle School and Lake Forest HS Meals on Wheels Representative for Catholic Charities Board of Governors Lake County Republican FederationElected offices held: NoneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 As State's Attorney, I will implement a post-conviction review board made up of attorneys, law enforcement personnel, scientists, and other representatives. This panel will review all serious felony convictions that involve complex issues including, but not limited to DNA and confessions.We will ensure that the State Attorney's office serves justice and that no innocent person is incarcerated for a crime they did not commit.Key Issue 2 With the ever-growing presence of the internet and social media into our lives, we must reallocate funds to the Cyber Crime Division.Online thefts and sexual exploitation of children over the internet are at the core of this division.This division of the office prosecutes criminals who misuse the internet and often exploit our most cherished assets, our children.We have the staff to make this change, but it has not been made a priority, I will change that.With the inception of our cyber lab, we need to train law enforcement to do forensic analysis. We want to be pro active in online investigations and this will be possible with increased resources.Key Issue 3 We will collaborate with agencies in both Lake County Government and non-governmental organizations to protect the ever-growing elderly population from abuse/neglect and identity theft.This includes continued training of law enforcement and training of first responder personnel to recognize the signs of abuse/neglect that elders can suffer at the hands of others. We need to reach out and collaborate with financial institutions to educate and ensure seniors are educated in protecting their assets and identities. We will educate seniors and their families, countywide.Questions Answers What do you plan to do to bolster public confidence in the operation of the prosecutor's office? What will you do to improve the handling of cases with a DNA element to them?As State's Attorney, I will bring a new culture and accountability to the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.Clearly, there are practices that must change.One of my first actions as State's Attorney would be having all Assistant State's Attorneys in the Criminal Felony Division receive comprehensive DNA training from experts in the field.In addition, I will have our entire staff retrained on best practices for their given positions.We also must communicate better with both the press and the citizens of Lake County and this would be done through both training staff in effective communications and having a Communications Director.As State's Attorney, I will not allow past events to stop me from bringing this office to its full potential.Do you support reducing penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana? Why or why not?No.The State's Attorney Office does not make the laws, we can only enforce them.I will always strongly enforce drug laws as they are written by statute.What improvements in the use of technology by the state's attorney's office do you propose? Be specific.We must fully modernize the office by working toward fully electronic records consistent with the guidelines of the Illinois Integrated Justice Information System.Under my leadership we will develop, adopt, and implement systems designed to more easily and positively identify individuals, provide offender status and history information, electronically exchange case information as it flows through the justice system, and share police incident report data.I also will make our website state of the art so we can have better outreach in the community.How can the state's attorney's office best participate in the discussion of construction of new court facilities' Be specific.We would arrange a working group of various members of the State's Attorney's office from numerous divisions of the office to participate in discussions with the Chief Judge, the County Board, and County Administration. While I understand the desire for new facilities, anytime courtrooms are added, additional staffing would be necessary to administrate those courtrooms. Members of the State's Attorney's Office, court reporters, security, and other staff all would need to be able to cover these courtrooms.During this time of economic hardship, I would ensure that the economics of the situation are at the forefront of the discussion, that any decisions are made in collaboration with all interested parties with both physical needs, and fiscal needs fully evaluated.What improvements can be made in the efficiency of operations in the office in light of budget cutbacks' Be specific.We will work within the confines of the budget provided to us by our Lake County Board.I am a strong believer in promoting people based on merit and not just because they have long tenure in the office.I also believe that by improving technology we will actually save money and become a more efficient office. We must continue to both aggressively pursue available federal and state grants and work to gain proceeds of forfeitures to our office (e.g. United States currency, vehicles, electronics, homes, etc).