Special Prosecutor Named in Cook County

This was the headline on the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times Saturday. That paper has conducted a crusade to get a Special Prosecutor named.

Since McHenry County is familiar with what a Special Prosecutor can do–even to a State’s Attorney–I thought it might be worth noting that one has been named to investigate David Koschman’s death at the hands of R.J. Vanecko.

No solid criminal investigation by Chicago Police, plus laxity on the part of the Cook County State’s Attorney led to Judge Michael Toomin’s ruling a Special Prosecutor was appropriate.

Toomin’s commentary was scathing.

“This was a defense conjured by police and prosecutors,” the Sun-Times reports.  The judge further talked about “missing files syndrome.”

None was found in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Toomin ruled there was “an institutional conflict of interest.”

Perhaps over optimistically,  the Judge stated, “This is not a whodoneit.  In this building, when you have a dead body, someone’s going to jail.”

In its story, the Chicago Tribune gave credit to the Sun-Times for spearheading the uncovering of damning evidence.

It reported that the Judge said an outsider is needed “to bring transparency to the mixed signals emanating from this troubling case.”

He pointed to “a defense conjured up by police and prosecutors, made of whole cloth.”

A John Marshall Law School professor, Lance Northcutt had this insightful comment in the Tribune article:

“Once a special prosecutor is appointed, they’re really untethered in terms of which direction they take the investigation.”


Comments

Special Prosecutor Named in Cook County — 1 Comment

  1. Just as important Cal, was the following statement from the sitting States Attorney;

    Alvarez — who had fought the appointment of a special prosecutor — said she would not appeal Friday’s ruling.

    “Justice” must be the end game in “ALL” courts, even McHenry County!

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