Schillerstrom: Birkett can't advise us on replacement
As DuPage County Board members prepare to vote on who will replace outgoing DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett, the last person they apparently want advising them about the process is Birkett.
In what will be his final action as board chairman Monday, Robert Schillerstrom is planning to ask for appointment of a special state's attorney to provide legal advice to the county board until Birkett's successor is chosen.
The move comes after this week's announcement that seven candidates are hoping to replace Birkett, who will be sworn in Dec. 13 as an appellate judge. While county board Chairman-elect Dan Cronin has the authority to pick a new state's attorney, the county board has to approve his choice.
On Thursday, Schillerstrom filed a motion in DuPage County circuit court stating the county board needs special legal counsel, in part, because two of its members Pat O'Shea and John Curran have applied for the state's attorney's job.
O'Shea is a lawyer from Lombard who has been on the county board since 1990. Curran, an assistant Cook County prosecutor, was elected to the county board in 2008.
Their interest in the office, according to the motion, raises “various questions regarding the eligibility requirements of county board candidates, resignation timing for county board candidates and potential activities that would preclude current members of the county board from seeking the appointment to the office of state's attorney.”
Birkett, according to the motion, opined that county board members can be considered for the state's attorney job only if they resign from the board and cannot participate in “the deliberative process” until they step down.
But the motion goes on to say that because three of the candidates work for Birkett, it's “impossible for him or his office to provide independent, unbiased and qualified legal opinions” on the questions the board wants answered.
On Thursday night, Birkett called that statement “nonsense.” He stressed his legal opinions aren't influenced by his preference for any individual.
He added that he was “offended” by the motion, which he called “a stinker of a pleading.”
“I don't take it lightly any time somebody attacks my office,” Birkett said.
Joseph Ruggiero, one of Birkett's top lieutenants who heads the office's special prosecutions division, had been the rumored front-runner to replace his boss. The other prosecutors in Birkett's office who have expressed interest are First Assistant State's Attorney Nancy Wolfe and Bob Berlin, who is chief of the criminal bureau.
The two other candidates seeking to replace Birkett are DuPage Circuit Judge Daniel Guerin and state Rep. Dennis Reboletti.
When it came to the advice he has provided, Birkett said he told sitting board members that they must refrain from soliciting support from fellow board members to become state's attorney.
“The purpose of providing advice and opinion is to keep board members and the county out of trouble,” he said. “That's my job as state's attorney.”
Birkett also said he's entitled to his opinion that the state's attorney position be filled by an experienced prosecutor.
“To propel somebody into that position who is not experienced, in my opinion, would be a great mistake,” he said.
This week, Cronin said a special meeting might need to be held Dec. 13 so the board can vote on who will lead the state's attorney's office for the remainder of Birkett's term. That's the same day Birkett will be sworn in as justice for the Second District Illinois Appellate Court.
If the county board is unable to agree on Birkett's successor on that day, Chief Judge Stephen Culliton will pick an interim state's attorney.
Search: ‘I don't take it lightly any time somebody attacks my office'