Currently Chief Deputy in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Anita Alvarez wants to bring the office back into the community.
She is the only female candidate running in the crowded Democratic Primary race for Cook County State's Attorney, a seat currently held by Dick Devine.
Alvarez started her career in the State's Attorney's Office in 1986. She has prosecuted a large assortment of cases over the years in areas such as domestic violence, corruption and gang crimes, and tried the famous 'Girl X Case.'
Alvarez, who currently holds one of the highest positions in the office, has also served as Chief of Staff, Chief of the Special Prosecutions Bureau, Deputy Chief of the Narcotics Bureau and Supervisor of the Public Integrity Unit. She is also the second vice president of the Chicago Bar Association, and will become its president in 2009.
Windy City Times: You've been in the State's Attorney's office since 1986, so you've seen a lot over the years. Off the bat, what are some changes for sure need to be made in the office?
Anita Alvarez: I've been around for a long time, and I've worked my way from the bottom to the top, so I've been all over the place. I think there are things I would like to bring back. I have ideas for programs I would like to implement. I think I'd like to change the structure of the office.
First, the community prosecutions offices were one thing we had to unfortunately close because of the budget. I would love to bring those back. In fact, that is one of my top priorities. Not only would I like to reinstate them, but I'd like to expand them to more communities. They serve an important function. In many communities, there is distress over law enforcement. There's been an erosion of that relationship over time, and I think we need to rebuild that. It's very important that we rebuild that relationship. Having those community prosecutions offices help us to be involved in the community and put a face to the name, so to speak. It allows community residents to walk in there if they have a specific complaint or certain crimes are happening in that particular community.
… There are some other ideas I have. Domestic violence is an area that I worked in years ago. That's very important to me. That's a special unit, and it should be a special unit, because those cases are not—you can't handle them the way you handle a bar fight. There's a lot more going on, obviously—the concerns for the entire family, the relationships there. They are special cases. They need to be handled specially. We've done so much more than when I was young and trying those cases. We're on the right track. I think there are probably more things there that we can implement in the domestic violence unit to have things run smoother. There is a program, I believe, out in Brooklyn, New York, where the 911 tape on every domestic violence call are transmitted directly to the courtroom so the attorneys out there have that for the bond hearing. They have that information of an actual 911 tape immediately. We don't. We get those eventually, but we have to subpoena them. If you don't subpoena them within 30 days, then you lose them. That information if vital, not just for setting a bond, but for trying the case.
… As far as the structure of the office, I would like to change the way assistants rotate through the system. I think it's important to avoid burnout and help with the morale. I think we lose a lot of good people at that two to three year level.
WCT: Yes, I was going to ask your plans regarding retention.
AA: I don't have to tell you the problem is always the budget. You don't get rich by being a prosecutor [ laughs ] . The young D.A.'s have student loan debt, which is outrageous now. You know, so many good ones leave because of money or they get burned out in the position or unit that they're in. I think I would change the way they rotate through. I think I would like to start a mentoring program. Every large law firm in the city of Chicago has a mentoring program. I think that would help with our retention issues. I've done a lot with recruiting people, particularly minorities, and I'm very proud of that. I think a lot of our problems tend to be with retention, and not so much the recruitment. I think if we did a better job through a mentoring program to keep people involved, keep people engaged and change the way they rotate through so they don't get burned out, they will stay longer. I think there are some avenues for part-time employment. What I'm thinking of is actually job sharing. … It would actually save the county money because if you are doing the job sharing, you don't have to do the benefits and pay for that.
WCT: How will any of these changes and ideas possibly affect the local LGBT community?
AA: I think particularly as far as community prosecution offices and domestic violence, you know, there would be an opportunity there if we could open up a community prosecution office in the gay community. It would be a great place to have an office and a place for people to go. Also, you know, in having worked in domestic violence and having handled those cases, I'm well aware that domestic violence is an issue in the gay and lesbian community, as well. It would be nice to have advocates, maybe who are either gay themselves or have more of a sensitivity and expertise with that particular community. It would be someplace where people could feel more comfortable going. I think those kinds of things would translate more in the gay and lesbian community.
As far as recruitment and retention, when I say minority, I include everyone. I know that I have on my staff people who are gay and lesbian on the executive staff who have worked for me for years, and I would continue to do that. I think, again, I think that out of all the candidates in this race, I would offer and can provide and foster an atmosphere of inclusion with everyone.
WCT: Tell me a little bit more about what you've done for the local gay and lesbian community.
AA: I'm thinking particularly of the people on my executive staff who are members of your community. I would obviously continue that. As far as recruitment, at our last symposium at John Marshall Law School, the past two years, it started out as a symposium that focused on minority law students. We've been doing it for the past seven years, and every year it gets bigger and better. The past two years, we've increased the number of gay and lesbian students who have attended, and who have actually come over to our office and started clerking. We do it every September, usually at John Marshall, and we had the largest attendance we ever had, and in particular, the largest [ number ] of gay and lesbian students that ever came to our symposium. It's working. It's getting the word out there that this is a good place to work and a good place to be a public servant. We need members of every community represented in our office, because it's important
WCT: One of our opponents is actually a colleague of yours [ Bob Milan ] . I was wondering if you could tell me what you believe your advantages are, and what puts you ahead of the game.
AA: Despite the fact that yes, he's qualified and I do admire that he's chosen the same career as me, there is a difference. I think I have a wider breadth of experience within the office. Our careers haven't paralleled each other. I have handled a much wider variety of cases, and I have supervised. I've done domestic violence, I've supervised the Public Integrity Unit, so I was looking into corruption. I'm the only candidate in this race who has personally tried and convicted a police officer regarding home invasion, armed robbery and official misconduct charges. It's sad when a police officer does things like that, you know, because they are supposed to uphold the law, but I'm the only one in this race who has done that. I'm not afraid to make those decisions when they have to be made. I supervised public integrity. I also was a deputy in Narcotics [ Bureau ] , where I oversaw these large corner conspiracy cases, which are long-term narcotics investigations. I have that experience, as well as Bureau Chief of Special Prosecutions, which means under me were all the special units, the gang units, the arson units, financial crimes, public integrity, professional standards … I think I have a different base than Bob has, and the fact that I'm a woman and a working mom—I do offer a different perspective. I think I'm more sensitive to the needs of the community. Obviously, with my experience in this office, not only as a trial lawyer but a supervisor, certainly I qualify to manage the office.
WCT: Having tried a wide variety of cases, does it bring to light any issues that you'd like tackled?
AA: The first thing I'd do is meet with the new superintendent of police and the new superintendent [ of the Independent Police Review Authority, formerly the Office of Professional Standards ] . It would be my priority to sit down with those two. We need to work on this relationship. Communities and the general public seem to be losing faith in law enforcement, and that's something we need to change. That is something really important to me, to rebuild this relationship. Also, staying connected to the community so we do hear. We need to be better listeners, and hear the needs of each and every community so we can address those.
