Mary Cole: 2024 candidate for Lake County state’s attorney

Bio

Party: Republican

Office Sought: Lake County state’s attorney

City: Lake Bluff

Age: 40

Occupation: Attorney

Previous offices held: Lake Bluff Trustee

Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?

I am running for Lake County State’s Attorney to restore safety, give victims a voice, and remove politics from this office. I will focus on the safety of neighborhoods and work to ensure criminals who should be in prison stay in prison. I will prioritize curbing the gang violence spreading north from the city of Chicago and into our neighborhoods, and work hand in hand with all community organizations, nonprofits, and faith-based groups to make Lake County safe.

I have witnessed firsthand how the incumbent brought a political agenda to a once politically neutral office. This is one of many moves that created devastating problems in our communities.

Priorities of the current state’s attorney fail to keep us safe. From awarding violent criminals plea deals (even when judges disagree) to an inability to keep experienced prosecutors working in the SA's office, Mr. Rinehart has spent four years ignoring the community’s needs and prioritizing his own ideological agenda.

If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?

I would fairly and equitably prosecute those who break the law to ensure safety to residents while treating all in the justice system with dignity and respect.

My opponent releases dangerous criminals back onto our streets to make our county less safe. My opponent released William Fillyaw from prison, only to watch him involved in another murder months later. My opponent gave a violent gun offender a plea deal; the offender went on to murder a 15-year-old girl in Round Lake Beach. These are devastating examples of the consequences of my opponent’s priorities. When elected, I will do the job he refuses to do and hold criminals accountable.

In addition, as a victim of domestic violence, I will protect victims wrapped up in the criminal justice system. The state’s attorney is an important line of defense between criminals, and our victims deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I will remove politics from an office that has grown all too political in recent years.

What crime should be the office’s top target? Drugs? Gang violence? Child sex abuse? Something else? Why? What steps will you take to address the priorities as you see them?

I will prosecute crimes equitably, firmly, and fairly as tasked by Lake County residents. Violent crime deserves to be the most pressing issue in Lake County, but we should focus on ALL crimes to deter future offenders. Ignoring lower-level crime as the incumbent does sends a message bad behavior will be tolerated. If we tolerate crime, we get crime.

I will institute a Drug-Induced Homicide Task Force to curtail drug related tragedies in our neighborhoods. The Lake County Coroner stats show there has been 550 overdoses in Lake County since 2020, yet only six charges of drug-induced homicide have been filed since Dec. 2020. This shows the incumbent is turning a blind eye to Fentanyl and opioids poisoning our neighbors.

We will also stop withholding charges for months and years on criminal crashes resulting in death. Far too many victims wait for justice to occur while offenders roam free, waiting for the incumbent to file charges of DUI/death or hit-and-run/death.

Describe your position regarding the allocation of resources in the state's attorney's office. Are personnel allocated as they should be? Are there capital expenses or other budgetary items that the office must address, and, if so, how do you propose to address them?

My opponent has burned through over 60% of the staff since taking office, leaving attorneys less experienced than ever before. My opponent has used taxpayer money to hire campaign strategists and employees to made up positions and six-figure salaries. He has used consultants without signed procurement contracts to drive paid social media ads for unknown reasons, and hired a Springfield lobbyist after receiving campaign money from the lobbyist’s other clients.

My opponent has also used government funding to send a campaign consultant and five staff members to Hawaii at a cost of $25,000 in hotel bills, food, and airfare.

When elected, I will ensure that the money allocated to the state’s attorney’s office will be used to protect our neighborhoods, help victims of crime, reduce crime, and enhance the quality of life for residents. The money my opponent uses for his own service comes from taxpayers, so it should be used to help protect the people of Lake County.

Name one concrete program you’ll create or personnel move you’ll make to improve efficiency in the office or make it more successful. Explain how it will be funded and how you will overcome any obstacles to initiating it.

There is a lack of experience throughout the state’s attorney’s office due to the high turnover created by the incumbent. I would bring in an experienced training supervisor to enhance our dynamic young lawyers to make them better.

I would create a Drug-Induced Homicide Task Force to curtail fentanyl and opioid deaths in our county. It’s appalling that only a half-dozen drug-induced homicide charges have been filed since 2021 when the county has seen 550 overdose deaths since 2020. We need to do curtail the flow of drugs into our neighborhoods.

I would bring in experienced prosecutors to reduce the amount of weak plea deals taking place in court. I would also object to clemency petitions and keep violent criminals in prison, which my opponent neglected.

Lastly, I would fix the delay with the state's attorney's data hub. My opponent promised to make this office more data-driven, but the data hasn't been updated since July 2023. I would finish this job he couldn’t complete.