Q&A with Alvarez
Q. Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what? What will be your main priority?
My name is Anita Alvarez and I currently serve as Cook County Chief Deputy State's Attorney, the third ranking post in the nation's second largest prosecutorial office. I joined the state's attorney's office in 1986, and during my first decade of service tried hundreds of felony cases on crimes involving homicide, gangs, violent street crime, domestic violence, sexual assault and public corruption. As my career progressed and I gained a record for successful prosecution I began to rise through the many ranks of the office.
In 1996 I became supervisor of the Public Integrity Unit where I won convictions against police officers who abused their badges and other public employees. I was then promoted to Deputy Chief of the Narcotics Bureau and supervised state's attorneys who were involved in prosecuting important cases against high-ranking gang members and drug dealers.
In 2001, I was named Chief of the Special Prosecutions Bureau, supervising prosecutors in the gang, arson, organized crime/cold case, auto theft, public corruption, financial crimes and professional standards units. That same year, I prosecuted the case of the People v. Patrick Sykes, in what became known in Chicago and around the nation as the "Girl X" case. I helped secure a 120-year sentence against sexualpredator Sykes, whose brutal attck on a 9-year-old girl in a Chicago housing project left the child paralyzed, blind, unable to speak and confined to a wheelchair.
I have made a career of standing up for victims of crime. I have sat with families devastated by murder and held the hands of victims shattered by violence. I have chosen prosecution as my career and I have become good at my job, and after 22 years I still wake up each morning with the goal of making a difference in people's lives.
I seek this office not as a politician looking for a stepping stone but as a career prosecutor who understands that the state's attorney's office is the first line of defense for Cook County citizens who are victimized by crime. Now, more than ever, Cook County needs a state's attorney who will be tough, fair and free from political influence.
Additionally, I bring what I believe is a unique perspective to this race as the first woman and the first Hispanic to seek this position. I think the fact that I am a working mom with four children also adds to the vision that I would bring to this position.
While I have a lengthy list of goals if I were to be elected, serving as the Cook County state's attorney would be a very exciting progression of my career as a prosecutor and an extreme honor. My main priority will be to provide steady leadership free of political influence while advocating for and driving change to make us even better at what we do and closer to the communities we serve.
Q. As a non-incumbent, tell us what contributions you would make.
I believe that taxpayers expect and deserve county government to provide essential front line services such as police protection, aggressive and effective prosecution, health care for the indigent, improved county highways and roadways, and sound methods of incarceration. Unfortunately, here in Cook County, taxpayers have not been getting the best bang for their buck. And staggering county tax increases have added insult to injury.
While I have great personal passion for the state's attorney's office and all that it stands for, I realize that with leadership comes fiscal responsibility and accountability. In that regard, I would make it a priority to aggressively seek alternative sources of funding for programs within the office such as federal, state of private grant funding. I would also pursue partnerships with the private and/or business sector to fund new programming initiatives. Additionally I would move to increase revenue sources within the office, primarily by stepping up aggressive enforcement of civil cases.
On the criminal side, I think the most obvious challenge that we face in law enforcement right now is the escalating wave of violence, particularly gun violence, on the streets of Chicago and throughout many Cook County communities. As someone who has seen first hand the toll that gun violence takes on families, I am deeply saddened by this alarming trend. I do believe the problem stems in large measure from gang activity and drug trade here in Cook County.
The state's attorney's office is currently involved in important initiatives that attempt to reduce violence in our neighborhoods by cracking down on gun supplies and I would certainly work to ensure that these programs continue to be adequately funded and that we move as aggressively as possible on this important work.
But I believe we can and should do more and I think one way to do that is to re-emphasize our efforts to go after street gangs and their leaders. In order to do this I would shift the staffing of the Gang Unit to focus more on identified gang leaders who commit crimes rather than on singular defendants who commit gang-related crimes. I would assign state's attorneys to high crime police districts with the task of identifying cases in which the leadership of a gang or powerful members of gangs commit crime. This would enable us to focus our prosecutorial attack on those gang members directly responsible for most of the endemic violence in the community.
I would also work to attack this problem by expanding the staffing of the State's Attorney's Complex Drug Prosecution Unit. This would enable us to increase our efforts to dismantle the organization of Chicago street gangs by identifying and seizing the assets utilized by the gang to run their operations. I would increase the number of conspiracy investigations and move them along as quickly as possible.
I would also personally support and lobby for legislation that would ban assault type weapons and limit their purchase and I have specific ideas in mind for new gun legislation as well.
To help curb violence and bring our office closer to the communities we serve I would bring back and invigorate a program of community prosecution. I would move prosecutors into neighborhoods to work with parents, teachers, clergy and beat officers to prevent crime. It is much less costly to work with young people before they become clients of our office as either victims or defendants. Community prosecution is a proven way to build trust by building bridges.
Another challenging area of our office that I take great interest in is the Domestic Violence Unit. If I am elected state's attorney I will renew the fight against domestic violence by implementing new procedures, becoming a public spokeswoman to educate the public about the problem and forging partnerships with community-based advocacy groups. Women must know how to recognize the danger signs, where they can turn to for help and know that they will be protected.
I would also work to reorganize the Sex Crimes Unit, expand its functions and place an enhanced focus on Internet predators and mass molestation cases. We need more ASAs handling the felony review aspect of sexual assault cases. We also need to increase efforts to train medical professionals who are often the first to deal with sexual assault victims.
Q. What will you do to prosecute police, prosecutorial and political corruption? Do you think the resource allocation currently used in the office is sufficient to prosecute corruption? If not, how would you reallocate it, and what other areas would you take away from to beef up political corruption prosecution?
Given the current climate in politics and government - in which stories of corruption and abuse of power have become seemingly common events - it is clear that more needs to be done to combat and crack down on public corruption. Despite the claims of my opponent, the state's attorney's office has charged many cases of police and governmental corruption. Unlike my opponent - or any of the opponents I faced in the primary election for that matter - I have personally tried cases of public corruption, including trying and convicting three Chicago police offices from the now-infamous SOS Unit. I know first hand what it takes to develop, try and convict public corruption cases and as state's attorney, I would make the prosecution of corruption cases an important priority.
In order to be more aggressive in the prosecution of government and public corruption, I would reorganize the Special Prosecutions Bureau within the office. I would increase the number of assistants dedicated to this Bureau and I would also attempt to bring in auditors and forensic accounting investigators, which are crucial resources in helping to develop and investigate corruption cases. While I understand this would require additional funding from the county, I believe that a relatively small investment allowing us to hire auditors and financial investigators will go a long way in this effort and certainly pay dividends going forward. It is time for certain members of the Cook County Board to stop paying lip service to this issue and step up and provide the resources that are necessary to address the problem.
With respect to police and prosecutorial misconduct specifically, training has been increased and there have been important safeguards put in place to deter misconduct such as the videotaping of interrogations. This initiative has helped tremendously to ensure that there is no abusive behavior by officers. I also believe strongly that early intervention on the part of the state's attorney's office is crucial in cases of police misconduct or brutality. That is why I would increase the number of ASAs assigned to our Professional Standards Unit to improve our ability to intervene as quickly and effectively as possible.
Additionally, I think we can enhance the training that we provide for our state's attorneys - particularly our younger ASAs - by creating a mentoring program, similar to mentoring programs that exist in most private law firms. I think such a program would be crucial to providing the necessary guidance and oversight for ASAs handling sensitive cases involving corruption or police misconduct.
The next state's attorney must have unquestioned integrity and be willing to take a proactive stand in efforts to combat public corruption and in continuing to work with federal authorities on such investigations. I am willing to do these things and I offer that quality to voters. There is no way to predict the specific challenges the next state's attorney of Cook County will face when it comes to public crime and public corruption, but the next state's attorney must be eminently qualified to meet these challenges in terms of legal experience and sound judgment.
Q. Historically, the state's attorney's office has been shaped almost as much by the first assistant as the state's attorney. Who would your first assistant state's attorney pick be?
This question assumes that if I am elected state's attorney I will keep the present management and executive staffing positions as they currently exist, particularly with respect to the First Assistant. If elected I will review the management structure of the office in concert with the priorities and goals that I intend to accomplish and I would structure accordingly.
While I am not ruling out the position of First Assistant, I have not yet made such a decision. If and when I appoint a First Assistant it will be an individual who shares my commitment and values as a prosecutor and someone who puts public service above all other professional opportunities. Furthermore I would look for someone who will bring a fresh and unique perspective and who will not be adverse to seeking solutions and ideas outside of Cook County.
Q. What will your criteria be for use of outside counsel once you are elected? For what purposes would you use them, would there be an hourly price cap and what criteria would you use in selecting outside counsel? Do you believe firms who donated or whose employees donated to your campaign should be eligible for hire by the county?
In addition to prosecuting crimes in Cook County, the state's attorney has many important statutory responsibilities, including serving as the lead attorney for Cook County government and all elected officials. When conflicts arise in the representation of Cook County or elected officials, the state's attorney's office has traditionally sought outside counsel at the request of the elected official and with the approval of a circuit court judge.
I think we need to take a close look at the role of outside counsel and the process that is employed to obtain outside counsel in conflict of interest cases and if I am elected state's attorney I will do that. The state's attorney has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that outside counsel is being utilized only in cases where legitimate conflicts of interest exist. There is currently an hourly price cap that exists as set by county ordinance and I see no reason why any outside counsel would receive more than the amount set forth in that ordinance.
With respect to campaign donations from law firms, there is currently a Cook County ethics ordinance that sets limitations on such donations.
Q. What policy emphases in the current state's attorney's office would you change, specifically, and why?
Hiring more talented minorities as well as retaining experienced minority assistant state's attorneys would be a high policy priority for me if I become the next Cook County State's Attorney. As the highest ranking woman and minority in the office I would work very hard to foster an environment of inclusion, in which we tap into the strengths and talents of everyone in the workplace. I would also work very hard to encourage and implement what we refer to as lateral transfers, which is bringing talented minority attorneys into the office at higher levels of management.
Several years ago, Dick Devine gave me the opportunity to lead an effort to recruit more minorities to our office. I am proud that under my leadership we have successfully recruited record numbers of high quality minority lawyers, but there is still a lot of work to do to make the state's attorney's office look more like the citizens we serve.
County budget constraints have forced elected officials to look to ways within their own offices where costs could be trimmed or duplicative services eliminated. I would push to implement a job-sharing program that would make part-time positions available to assistant state's attorneys. I think this would provide incentive for women in the office to return after maternity leave. I think that we could staff areas such as the Preliminary Hearing Unit with part-time ASAs. This type of plan would also offer cost savings to the county.
As referred to above, Community Prosecution and increasing our outreach to our communities would be a high policy priority as well.
Q. If you are elected to this office, would you ever consider running for higher office? Why or why not?
I have never aspired to be a politician and quite frankly it has been at times an awkward experience for me and for my family to adapt to the demands of politics. For me, the decision to run for state's attorney has always felt like more of a personal decision than a political one. At this point in time, I have no plans to seek higher office and am focused entirely on becoming the next State's Attorney of Cook County. If I ever considered a future run for higher public office it would have to involve an opportunity in which I truly felt I could make a difference in people's lives.
Q. What were your grades in law school? Please provide a transcript from your law school or supply a release form allowing us to obtain a transcript directly from your college of law.
Release form sent as an attachment.
Q. Please use this area to tell us about issues or your position on issues that we have not addressed that you believe voters should know about.
One area that I am particularly interested in and committed to expanding are the diversionary programs offered for adult offenders by the state's attorney's office. We currently have a Drug School program that works exceptionally well to divert nonviolent drug offenders from jail and provide them with the education and treatment they need to deal with their addiction. Instead of facing cuts each year by the Cook County Board, this program should be expanded to reach more nonviolent offenders and divert them from the criminal justice system. This would also be an area where I would attempt to pursue grant funding, private partnerships or even partnerships within the Cook County law enforcement community to expand this and other types of programming for adult offenders. Ultimately these programs are less costly than traditional incarceration and they provide a treatment and educational component.
I would also reorganize and invigorate the Consumer Fraud Unit in the state's attorney's office to place a special emphasis on prosecuting cases of mortgage fraud and identity theft. I have a specific plan in mind to step up the prosecution of cases of mortgage fraud, which has become one of the fastest growing crimes in Chicago and across the nation.