Part 3 - Race for Lake County State's Attorney Includes Lake Bluff Resident

Part 3 of 5-part series - Read Part 2, Part 1

As the Chicago Tribune reported on March 11, "For the first time in two decades the top prosecutor's job is open in Lake County, attracting a slew of candidates who promise to restore public confidence to an office that has come under heavy criticism for its handing of high-profile murder and rape cases that unraveled with DNA evidence.

"The three Democrats and three Republicans on the March 20 primary ballot at times appear to be running against one person who is not in the race: departing state's attorney Michael Waller, who is retiring after 22 years in office."  

As further reported in the Tribune article, all six candidates, whether Republican or Democrat, are vowing to restore honor to the Office of the Lake County State's Attorney. Most of the candidates have likewise proposed adding an expert panel that would review past and possibly present cases to address wrongful convictions, and are also supportive of increasing communications and transparency with the public and media. 

With similar declarations made by each candidate, the state's attorney race has become a highly competitive and coveted office to win for both parties, more so even for the Republican Party as it attempts to retain the office. 

I will leave the evaluation of the three Democrat candidates to a true and tested Democrat, while I go on to deal with the three candidates for State's Attorney on the Republican side of the aisle: (current occupation: Lake County prosecutor; (current occupation: criminal defense attorney; and (current occupation: personal injury lawyer.

I had the chance to hear all three of the Republican candidates at a meeting of the Republican Assembly of Lake County, of which I am a member, on Jan. 12. (The Republican Assembly of Lake County is a conservative Republican organization that draws its members from across Lake County. Most members are political activists who follow politics very closely. Many members hold precinct committeemen positions in their respective townships. Conversely, candidates eagerly seek endorsements from RALC members).

In addition to the three Republican candidates running for States Attorney, 11 other guest Republican candidate speakers vying for county-wide offices presented themselves, after which questions were entertained by RALC members.   

Hayes, Nerheim and Winter spoke one after the other. Hayes was first up. After hearing all three of the Republican candidates, several questions entered my mind. 

1. Does Hayes' background as a career prosecutor give her a step up in her qualifications as the chief legal officer for the County? Hayes has worked for almost 20 years as a criminal prosecutor for the people of Lake County and in nearly every division of the State's Attorney Office.  

2. Would Nerheim be a better fit because his current practice is one of a criminal defense attorney? As reported in the Daily Herald on Sept. 23, 2011, Nerheim was representing a confessed murderer and also a defendant accused of child sex crimes. Should Nerheim's present involvement in protecting criminals make a difference if criminals are being kept on the streets through successful lawyering.        

3. What about Winter, who has never worked in the State Attorney's office, but who currently practices municipal and personal injury law? Althouth Winter did lay claim to being a former prosecutor with extensive litigation experience, one possible problem facing Winter might be a conflict of interest as his wife serves as a Lake County judge.

4.  Is there any special training in law school to prepare for being a prosecutor or a defender? 

Winter revealed at the RALC meeting that he has received endorsements from County Clerk Willard Helander, Sheriff Mark Currann and many other government officials. On the surface this sounds pretty good. But on second thought, through researching Winter's campaign donations, it became apparent that he is raising little money on his own. 

Where then is Winter's money coming from for his mailers, yard signs, and other campaign expenditures? Not wishing to berate or condemn Helander, Curran or other Lake County government officials, but they are party to an old-boy-type of network that operates behind the scenes to select and then elect candidates that many times are more likely to go along with the existing Republican status quo.

Not wishing others to decide for me the candidates best for the job if it involves support from the higher-ups in the Republican Party Establishment, I had to give Bryan Winter a pass.

My choice was then between Nerheim and Hayes. But question four first needed clarification before I could reach both a logical and a fair decision. 

Relying on a lawyer friend, I was told that one graduates from law school with no specialty; that one gets on the job training in an area that you choose to practice. 

Nerheim's campaign website informed me that although he did work in the Lake County Attorney's Office as a prosecutor for a few years, he then left to go into private practice, perhaps to make more money. For the past seven to eight years, Nerheim has been defending criminals. As a defense lawyer, Nerheim argued for bonds to be lowered on clients so they could be let out of jail, argued for lesser sentences, and for evidence to be thrown out.

This seems to be in direct contrast to the work in the Lake County State's Attorney Office, which is about protecting the people of Lake County. I have concluded that it is likely Nerheim would have difficulty changing gears.

Only one person was left standing, Hayes. A Lake Bluffer like me, which in no way influenced my choice,  Hayes lives with her husband, Bill, of 25 years and their four children (Sarah, 20; John, 18; David, 16, and Maggie, 13). 

Hayes could have left the prosecutor's office and worked for a private law firm, but she made a decision to stay and fight for justice and victims rights. This make Hayes the only career prosecutor in the Republican Lake County State's Attorney race.

In speaking with Hayes at the RALC this past January, she expressed her role as a passionate prosecutor for more than 20 years; how she was hired in 1990 as an assistant state's attorney by the then State's Attorney Fred Foreman; that she has worked in almost every division of the office; and that she currently oversees the Grand Jury and works in two of the state's attorney's special courtrooms:  mental health and veterans courts. 

Hayes further told me that her career as a prosecutor and advocate for victims right is what drove her to run for Lake County State's Attorney and to reform the office to its full potential.

Local law enforcement endorsements include: Waukegan Police Benevolent and Protective Association, Zion Fraternal Order of Police, and Lake Forest Metropolitan Alliance of Police. 

I also like the plan Hayes has for Lake County if elected: 1) Protecting children from online predators, 2) Preventing sbuse and identity theft of senior citizens, (3) Implementing a post-conviction review board, and (4) Re-training (revamping) the office from top to bottom to bring needed change to the Lake County State's Attorney Office.