Karen Williams: 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: MundeleinWebsite: http://electkarenboydwilliams.comOffice sought: Lake State's AttorneyAge: 39Family: Married, five childrenOccupation: AttorneyEducation: Juris Doctor, DePaul University College of Law, 2006 MBA, American InterContinental University, 2003 Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication, Journalism concentration, Truman State University, 1993Civic involvement: Salvation Army, Waukegan Corp, Board of Advisors Daisy's Resource and Developmental Center, Board of Directors Association of Women Attorneys of Lake County, Board of Directors Mrs. Glades School of Chaplaincy LLC, Board of Directors U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Volunteer Panel Attorney Prairie State Legal Services, Volunteer Attorney The Chapel, VolunteerElected offices held: NoneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Making sure that the real criminals are brought to justice and prosecuted, thereby protecting all citizens and our tax dollars.Key Issue 2 Offering more support for the Assistant State's Attorney's with case file review, research, and case management by utilizing area law students, paralegal interns and attorney volunteers so that cases are moved quickly and more effectively through the court system.This would help to keep employment costs down in the State's Attorney's Office, which could result in tax savings to the citizens of Lake County, and it would provide real world experience to the interns and volunteers to move them towards securing paid work, thereby helping to boost the economy.Key Issue 3 Establishing more consistency and tougher restrictions in sentence negotiations for repeat offenders.Offenders need to know that if they come back to court for the same type of offense it is a big deal, and they cannot expect a slap on the wrist.That is offensive to Lake County citizens and a waste of Lake County tax dollars.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?I plan to make sure that the policy of the office is to prosecute with integrity, due diligence, and efficiency.We will use all of the technology available to us to analyze DNA, and let the evidence drive the case.When there is an issue of DNA and confession being contradictory, we will have to amp up forensic analysis, dig deeper into evidence, i.e., interviewing the police department and requesting interrogation videos--pre-confession--and whatever it takes to make sure that we are not simply proceeding with a specific suspect just to say we have someone to prosecute.If we have to work with the police department and go back to the drawing board because we discover we have the wrong defendant based on invalid evidence, we should rather do that than destroy someone's life for something they didn't do, and waste Lake County's precious tax dollars on prosecuting the wrong person--and then again on prosecuting the right person, and then on remuneration payouts for the wrong person.The people of Lake County need to be reassured that it is the interests and well-being of the citizens--all citizens--that the State's Attorney's Office works hard to protect, and that means, in part, making sure that the real criminals aren't running free while someone else is taking the heat for their crimes.Do you support reducing penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana? Why or why not?To preserve or reallocate resources, and to help improve the economy, I would support reducing penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.Right now Lake County spends a staggering amount of dollars, people resources, space, and time because of arrests for marijuana possession.One big issue is, however, that in spite of the arrests for possession, prosecution for small amounts don't really go forward.While prosecutors may make the choice to "stop the bleeding" by choosing to not spend more tax dollars, time, or jail space--still resulting in tax dollars--and dismiss the case, the question becomes why must citizens be arrested, spending those valuable resources to begin with, for possession of small amounts of marijuana?Other jurisdictions have considered, for example, issuing citations with fines attached for small possession.And I agree.This would free up jail space to allow for housing violent offenders, and free up the State's Attorney's office, court time, and other resources to be used more productively.I would also propose supervisionbeing imposed with the citation, so that there is a stricter penalty if the offender is caught again within a specified period of time.For supervision violators, repeat offenders, and/or possessors of larger small amounts, we could require classroom time, akin to driver's education in lieu of court time for moving violations, except that this education would be 1) required just by virtue of getting this level of possession citation, and not optional as in the case of a moving violation, and 2) job skills and job interview training, with an additional requirement to report to IDES (or some other resource center) to apply for a specific number of jobs and a specific number of days per week.This method could be employed because of the number of possessors arrested who are trying to distribute as a means to earn income.This also keeps the criminal records of these offenders clean so that they can secure gainful employment.In each of these scenarios we would save Lake County tax dollars, collect new tax dollars for Lake County, and move in a more pragmatic direction of rehabilitating Lake County offenders, which is what the justice system is, in part, set up to do.What improvements in the use of technology by the state's attorney's office do you propose? Be specific.The use of laptops in the courtroom by Assistant State's Attorneys (ASA) is one big improvement in the use of technology by the State's Attorney's Office I would propose.There are other jurisdictions in Illinois where defense counsel can speak with the ASAs prior to their case(s) being called and, especially if there is an agreement prior to the case(s) being called, the ASAs type notes into a laptop, or proposed Agreed Orders or continuation details, which the judge can quickly reference once the case is actually called and move the case quickly off the call.If we implemented this, the same technique, then, could be used for agreements arrived at prior to the court date so that ASAs know what defense counsel will not be in court.An Agreed Order could merely be printed and signed by the judge when the case is called, or pre-hearing.Notes could be put into the system, if the judge signs off prior to the hearing date/time, so that anyone pulling the case up online, especially ASAs so that they know what heavy paper files they do not have to drag in to court, knows that the Agreed Order has already been approved and entered by the judge so the case won't be called unless there is an objection voiced in open court.How can the state's attorney's office best participate in the discussion of construction of new court facilities' Be specific.If by this question what is being asked is in what ways the construction of new court facilities could best assist the State's Attorney's Office, I would suggest electronic scanning machines being installed at the entrances near security so that employees of the office can (obtain and) scan government-issued IDs prior to walking through metal detectors for less cumbersome ingress and egress to/from the building.What improvements can be made in the efficiency of operations in the office in light of budget cutbacks' Be specific.There are always people looking for work, especially, in this economy, new attorneys.More interns, coming to work for school credit only, can be put to work overall, including 711-licensed law students, regular law school students, paralegal studies students, and even administrative students.Volunteer attorneys who are looking to gain work experience, or work experience in a new area, should also be invited. These avenues would not only provide more assistance for employees, and without coming out of the State's Attorney's Office's budget, but they would also foster a learning environment that would be good for all:giving management and teambuilding experience to existing employees, valuable legal work experience to the interns and volunteers, and additional fresh eyes and ideas in the office which could cause a perspective that could also improve prosecutorial performance.