Lake County state's attorney candidate says foe might be 'soft on violent crime'
A Lake County state's attorney candidate is questioning whether his Democratic primary opponent is "soft on violent crime" due to lack of experience.
Michael Perillo Jr., a 60-year-old Grayslake attorney, said Matthew Stanton has never worked as a prosecutor during his 10 years as an attorney.
Stanton, a 54-year-old attorney from Gurnee, said having no Lake County state's attorney's office experience is a benefit because he has no professional connections that would prevent him from making difficult decisions. Stanton said he will "absolutely not be soft on violent crime" but stresses the need to be "smart on crime."
Perillo and Stanton face off in Tuesday's primary. The winner will run against Republican incumbent Michael Nerheim in November.
Perillo said his more than 30 years of experience as an attorney, including two years each as a felony courtroom prosecutor in Lake County and in the Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps, qualify him for the nomination.
"Based off what I'm hearing, there is every indication that (Stanton) would be soft on violent crime, which is not a surprise coming from an individual who never prosecuted a case or served in a prosecutorial position," Perillo said. "I know what it means to prosecute violent criminals, and there's a large gulf between rehabbing nonviolent criminals and protecting the public from criminals who commit crimes of violence."
He said statements made by Stanton during a Daily Herald endorsement interview show Stanton would be too willing to seek lighter sentences for violent offenders.
During that interview, Stanton said he was involved in criminal court cases where he felt prosecutors overcharged suspects, and that some sentences offered by prosecutors during plea negotiations were unnecessarily harsh.
He cited the case against Brandon Moore, now 20, of Waukegan, who is charged with armed robbery with a firearm, possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated battery in a public place, attempted robbery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon for, authorities allege, having a loaded handgun while robbing a victim at an ATM, then stealing car keys from a second victim Jan. 23, 2015.
Prosecutors said Moore also threatened a third victim with the gun before being arrested.
Stanton said prosecutors were initially willing to talk about probation for Moore during case discussions but later pushed for an 18-year prison sentence.
If Moore broke the law, he deserves to be punished, Stanton said. He added Moore would spend a long time in jail, under the prosecution's offer, for stealing car keys and cash by only flashing a gun.
"This means an 18-year-old is going to get out of jail as a middle-aged man and his only education is going to be the prison system," he said. "Is that just? Is that the way we want to handle that kind of crime?"
Stanton and partner Paul Wharton have since dropped Moore as a client. Moore is represented by a public defender. His trial date is May 9.
Stanton said his comments about Moore's case are not proof he would be soft on crime, but rather he thinks the state's attorney's office must strive to "be smart on crime." The way to do that is to rehabilitate offenders and develop alternatives to incarceration.
"People need to be responsible for their actions and people need to be safe in their communities," he said. "It's easy to say we will be tough on crime, but there's a growing consensus that sentencings are getting a little too tough on offenders."