Former prosecutor looking at Aurora judgeship

A former educator who has tried some of the area's most notorious cases hopes to become the Aurora area's first elected judge.

Herb Hill, 66, announced Wednesday his candidacy for the newly created subcircuit judge post, representing residents in portions of Aurora, North Aurora and Montgomery.

Legislative changes in 2005 caused the 16th Circuit -- which encompasses Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties -- to break into five sub-circuits. Each subcircuit has a roughly equal population. Judges elected in the sub-circuits must live there. Lawmakers said that should increase geographic, ethnic and political diversity on the bench.

Hill says he is able to offer diversity in education, trial experience and ethnicity.

Raised in the housing projects in Chicago, Hill moved to Aurora in 1964 after completing college in Iowa on a basketball scholarship. The prejudice Hill said he experienced growing up has helped him view issues from multiple sides and get past prejudices to get to the core disputes.

Before becoming an attorney, Hill worked as a fifth-grade teacher in Aurora, and later at Waubonsee Community College. He graduated from John Marshall Law school, attending evening classes after his teaching jobs.

"I can use those experiences to relate to people and issues that others might not be able to," Hill said.

In his 38 years as an attorney, Hill said he has handled numerous legally complicated issues, including capital murder cases, civil rights cases and federal racketeering cases. He worked on the commonly referred to "Home Alone" case in which a St. Charles couple left their children at home while they vacationed in Mexico. He is currently handling the re-trial of Edward Tenney for the 1993 murder of Aurora resident Virginia Johannesen, a neighbor of murdered dairy heiress Jill Oberweis. The case has dragged on for more than a decade. Hill has also argued law before state, federal, appellate and supreme courts.

The Aurora and Elgin sub-circuits, created by the legislature in 2005 and open for election for the first time in 2008, are expected to draw several candidates.

So far Hill will square off against former state's attorney candidate Renee Robinson, Aurora branch court prosecutor Mark Wade and Aurora Township Supervisor Jim Murphy and former Kane County Board member Paul Greviskes. Republican candidates so far are former associate judge Fred Morelli and Aurora attorney John Rizzuto.

Winners of the February primaries will meet in the November general election.