Editorial: Put victims' financial relief over right to attorney

Sometimes bad things happen to good people. It's a sad fact of life.

As a caring society, we do our best to mitigate that. Sometimes we legislate help; sometimes we rely on the good will of the people.

Striking a balance is always tricky.

Back in 1973, the state of Illinois passed the Illinois Crime Victims Compensation Act, which provides help to the victims of violent crime. By victims, the law means those who are physically or mentally injured by crime as well as relatives who might be saddled with problems, financial and otherwise, as a result of it.

The statute provides funding for hospital expenses, funerals, counseling and such, up to a maximum of what today is $27,000.

Victims apply for the money, which is administered by the court. Expenses covered by insurance and other sources are not covered.

It's the state's way of trying to lessen the misery borne of such tragedy.

The state's Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act, enacted 20 years later, was designed to preserve, protect and enforce the guaranteed rights of crime victims throughout the criminal justice process and ensure that victims receive notice of court proceedings, have open lines of communication with prosecutors and have a voice in pleas and sentencings.

What it explicitly precludes, however, is the court appointing an attorney to represent the victim. Denise Rotheimer of Ingleside wants to change that.

Rotheimer has been fighting for victim rights for years as a result of what she feels was an inadequate sentence for the man who sexually assaulted her daughter.

Our Lee Filas wrote this week about her efforts to lobby for an amendment to the Crime Victims Compensation Act that would allow reimbursement to victims for the costs of an attorney to assure their interests are represented. Funding would come from the victims' compensation fund.

Rotheimer says many victims believe the prosecutor is there to represent them, while in reality the prosecutor is there to represent the law. Sometimes a prosecutor's mission can align with the victim's, but not always, says Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim, who supports Rotheimer's goal.

Rotheimer's general concept is appealing, but it's important to realize that the proposal doesn't add funding for attorney fees on top of what's already available to victims. It includes them as an expense that can be reimbursed from the existing fund, along with basic emergency needs already covered.

With the uncertainty over the state budget, that is a real concern. It is not reassuring to consider that reimbursements for some victims' basic needs could be crowded out by reimbursements for lawyer's fees, justifiable though they may be.

State Sen. Pam Althoff agrees that while the concept is good, the operative challenge is all about money - and the state is broke.

Until the state can right its ship and find money to ensure funding both types of need, providing emergency financial help to victims must supersede the state's ability to provide them an advocate in court.