Rowe said she erred in disclosing 2001 arrest

Danielle Rowe said she responded sincerely, and what she thought to be truthfully, when she disclosed an 11-year-old arrest on her Daily Herald candidate questionnaire.

Rowe, who’s in a three-way GOP primary race for the 52nd House District seat, wrote that she slapped her sister during a heated argument, but that charges were dropped. However, McHenry County court records show she received one-year supervision and a $342 fine for misdemeanor battery.

Rowe said she accepts full responsibility for the inaccuracy in her response.

“This was an unfortunate situation that got dramatized, and I honestly thought it was dropped,” Rowe said. “My sister never came to court or pursued the charges, and I don’t even remember being on supervision.”

According to the 2001 court complaint, Island Lake police arrested Rowe for domestic battery for intentionally causing bodily harm to her sister. It said she “choked, pushed and slapped” her in the face and neck.

Rowe, 39, said she expected her arrest to surface when she decided to run for office, so her two sisters submitted letters on what happened.

The one who was slapped wrote that she deeply regrets the argument, and had no idea Rowe would be thrown in jail or have her life hindered. The second sister, who phoned police after getting a distressed call from the other sister, she didn’t realize it was just a sisterly quarrel, and that she’s saddened “Danielle has had to deal with this incident over and over when she had done nothing wrong.”

Rowe said she’s not ashamed of what happened and has nothing to hide.

“My family and I have worked it out and moved on,” Rowe said. “To me, this shows how I can work through challenges in life.”