Reginald Mathews: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: LindenhurstWebsite: http://www.ChooseMathews2012.comOffice sought: Lake State's AttorneyAge: 39Family: Married and 4 childrenOccupation: Assistant State's AttorneyEducation: Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement Administration, Western Illinois University, 1994 Juris Doctorate, Louisiana State University, 2001Civic involvement: Church organizationsElected offices held: Not applicableHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Prosecute cases based solely on competent and reliable evidence sufficient to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in an effort to uphold justice.Key Issue 2 Restructure the State's Attorney's Office in such a way that will most efficiently and effectively achieve the goals of justice.Key Issue 3 Restore the public trust in the criminal justice system and renew the public faith in the State's Attorney's Office.Questions Answers What do you plan to do to bolster public confidence in the operation of the prosecutor's office? What will you do to improve the handling of cases with a DNA element to them?Open the lines of communications with the public so that the public is well-informed regarding the reason(s) the State's Attorney's Office has taken a particular position in the prosecution of any specific case.As far as the handling of cases with a DNA element, DNA analysis is an important investigative tool in seeking the ends of justice. It is a vital piece of evidence at trial to be examined in light of all other valuable pieces of evidence.Assistants in my office will receive training several times a year on the handling, collection and presentation of DNA evidence to the trier of fact.Do you support reducing penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana? Why or why not?Police departments have the discretion to either charge possession of small amounts of marijuana as an ordinance violation or charge said possession as a criminal offense.I would encourage the individual police departments to exercise their discretion and charge a first time offender caught with small amounts of marijuana with an ordinance violation punishable by a fine. However, I do not believe we should reduce the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuane if charged under the criminal code because posession of small amounts of marijuana is already classified at a classification carrying the lowest possible penalties.What improvements in the use of technology by the state's attorney's office do you propose? Be specific.I propose that we expediate the filing of certain legal dccuments via the email to cutback on the volumes of paper being used for that purpose and I propose the State's Attorney's Office, the Courts and police departments become linked to a central electronic system to carry out certain procedural steps during a criminal investigation in the most efficient and effective manner.For example, police officers could submit a request for an arrest warrant by reviewing the details of the case with an Assistant State's Attorney over the phone; that information can be uploaded into a central system where the on-call judge can review the information, have any questions answered by the officer via skype and, if approved, electronically sign the warrant.How can the state's attorney's office best participate in the discussion of construction of new court facilities' Be specific.Assistant State's Attorneys spend a majority of their day in the courtroom and can offer ideas to design a courtroom that will ensure the safety of those inside the courtroom while making certain additions such as designing a sound-proof room where attorneys can meet privately with their custody clients so that their conversations are not causing a disruption to court proceedings.What improvements can be made in the efficiency of operations in the office in light of budget cutbacks' Be specific.As public servants we must be mindful that we are in a time of economic cutbacks and just like the private sector, we must take a hard look at our day-to-day operations.I would restructure and down-size certain divisions in the State's Attorney's Office that are over-staffed and reassign Assistant State's Attorney's to areas where their expertise can be best utilized.