State's Attorney Hires Civil Bureau Chief

Veteran prosecutor Greg Vaci joins DuPage County State's Attorney's Office as the new Chief of the Civil Bureau.

State's Attorney Hires Civil Bureau Chief

Veteran prosecutor Greg Vaci joins DuPage County State's Attorney's Office as the new Chief of the Civil Bureau.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin on Friday announced veteran prosecutor Gregory Vaci has joined the State’s Attorney’s Office as the new Chief of the Civil Bureau. As Chief, Vaci will supervise 16 attorneys and support staff responsible for representing DuPage County Government and all of its elected officers in their official capacities, according to a news release from the State's Attorney's Office. Vaci joins DuPage County after serving in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office as Supervisor of the Labor and Employment Unit where he supervised 13 Assistant State’s Attorneys engaged in labor and employment related litigation in federal and state courts, according to the release. He began his career in the Cook County State…

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Former Employee of DuPage Employee Credit Union Faces Theft Charges

Hermila Garcia of Elgin is charged with stealing $3,000 from not-for-profit agency.

A former employee of the DuPage County Employees Credit Union (DCECU) is charged with stealing $3,000 from the not-for profit agency, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin announced Friday. Hermila Garcia, 33 of Elgin, had worked as a teller at the DCECU for approximately seven years. She is charged with two counts of theft over $500, a Class 3 felony, two counts of financial institution fraud, a Class 3 felony, and two counts of misappropriation of financial institution property, a Class 3 felony, according to a press release from the DuPage County State's Attorney. As a DCECU employee, Garcia allegedly completed paperwork indicating she had deposited money from her drawer to the vault, but kept it for herself on at least two …

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Former Secretary Sentenced to 10 Years for Stealing $516K from Downers Grove Law Firm

Mary Marra, 44, of Woodridge, was convicted of felony theft and continuing a financial crimes enterprise after embezzling more than $500,000 from her employer over four years.

A Woodridge woman was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for stealing more than $500,000 from a Downers Grove law firm where she worked as a secretary, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. Mary Marra, 44, of the 3000 block of 63rd Street, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of theft in excess of $100,000 and one count of continuing a financial crimes enterprise—all Class 1 felonies. Beginning in December 2003, Marra started embezzling money from the law firm through a number of different schemes she hid for more than four years, according to a press release. In all, she stole a total of $516,226.24. The methods of Marra’s thefts included writing herself unauthorized checks from bank accounts controlled by the law …

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Cronin Names New DuPage State's Attorney and Five Members of Water Commission

New county chairman is confident his picks will serve the people well.

The Dan Cronin era of DuPage County government kicked off today with the appointment of a new state's attorney and new members to the DuPage County Water Commission. Cronin, who was elected DuPage County Board chairman in November, began his tenure with the board unanimously supporting his selections. Immediately following the confirmation of his appointment as state's attorney, Robert Berlin was sworn in as the top law enforcement official in DuPage. Berlin, who has worked as a prosecuting attorney since 1987, said he is looking forward to the challenge of leading the office he's served the past six years. "The top priorities of my office will be protecting the public and defending the rights of victims of crime," Berlin said. "The …

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Jim Court

9:30 pm on Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Although the "get tough on crime" stance plays well to voters and the public's easily manipulated and fearful mindset, it also leads to an authoritarian governance and legal system. DuPage has had a long history of "guilty until proven innocent" . Although I truly detest crime, I never want to see an excessive burden placed on those who are innocent. The Texas model of criminal justice is not the…   more ›