Western Illinois state's attorney dies of heart attack at 39

CARTHAGE, Ill. (AP) - Authorities in western Illinois say preliminary reports show Hancock County State's Attorney Jason Pohren has died after having a heart attack.

Hancock County Sheriff Scott Benzinger says 39-year-old Jason Pohren of Carthage died Monday after complaining of feeling ill. Hancock County Coroner Kendall Beals says preliminary indications are that Pohren died of a heart attack.

Pohren became state's attorney in December 2014. He ran unopposed as a Republican, succeeding Stephanie Hilton who was appointed to the post in January 2014 after state's attorney Jim Drozdz died in a traffic accident in Georgia.

Pohren grew up and graduated from high school in Keokuk, Iowa. He is a Southern Illinois University School of Law graduate and was a judicial intern for Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier.