Kane County prosecutors finish strong in 2009

Looks like 2009 was a good year for Kane County prosecutors, who maintained a 95 percent conviction rate in the felony division despite staffing shortages.

According to State's Attorney John Barsanti's annual report, there were 23 fewer felony cases in 2009 than in 2008, but the division disposed of more matters than it took in.

Prosecutors authorized 3,588 felony cases compared to 3,611 the year before, and there were dispositions in 3,608 felony cases in 2009, some still on the docket from years prior.

Altogether, the division tried 120 cases - 51 jury trials and 69 bench trials - which demonstrates how commonly matters end in negotiated guilty pleas.

Barsanti noted his office was down three assistant state's attorneys and two support staff members due to ongoing financial problems at the county level.

"With less staff, we did the same, generally, and better in some areas" as in 2008, he said. "We're looking at a lot of positive things."

DUIs: Not surprisingly, the conviction rate for misdemeanor DUIs fell behind the felony division, with 74 percent.

Driving under the influence cases are some of the most contested matters in court, and Barsanti has been pushing programs to prevent suspected drunken drivers from refusing sobriety tests as a defense strategy.

In all, Kane County saw 2,069 misdemeanor DUIs filed in 2009, down 104 from the year before. There were 2,124 in 2008, and 2,069 in 2007.

Eighty-two misdemeanor DUIs went to trial, 21 by jury and 61 by bench. The conviction rate at trial in 2009 was 68 percent compared to 71 percent in 2008.

Sex cases: Prosecutors in the county's Child Advocacy Center had a strong year, getting convictions in 57 cases, or 92 percent overall.

The annual report says those convictions led to sex offenders "receiving multiple life sentences and a total of 173.6 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 1,007 days of county jail time, and 1,244 months of probation."

Perhaps the most notable case was that of 63-year-old Charles E. Granter of North Aurora, who was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence after being convicted of sexually preying on two young girls. Another biggie was Michael J. Jackson, 32, of Elgin, who got 40 years for molesting two boys younger than 13.

By location: Aurora generated the most felony cases of all 34 police agencies in Kane County last year with 1,245.

Keeping Aurora company in the Top 5 were Elgin, 838; Carpentersville, 321; St. Charles, 281; and unincorporated Kane County, 209, according to the report. The county's forest preserve police generated the fewest, with just one, followed by the village of Wayne, which had two.

The most common criminal charge was unlawful possession of controlled substances, with 564 cases, followed by obstruction of justice, 299; retail theft, 295; burglary, 202, and theft, 182.