People outside the House Chamber while legislators are in session on Feb. 20, 2024, at the Illinois State Capitol. SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers plan to make a second push to create a statewide office to help under-resourced public defenders after a previous effort fizzled amid questions over whether the office would remain independent of the judiciary., but the two-page proposal provided scant details about how a statewide system would work.
The House bill was filed by state Rep. Dave Vella, a Rockford Democrat who once worked as an assistant public defender in Winnebago County. He said the state Supreme Court did a good thing by wanting to give more resources to public defenders, but the problem with the initial bill was that it didn’t resolve issues of judicial oversight of public defenders from the high court and from chief county judges, who appoint those positions.
When the term is up, a newly-formed state public defender commission composed of 11 members would select a state public defender for a six-year term. The governor would select four of the commission members, the state Supreme Court would choose three and the four state legislative leaders, two from each party, would each get one.
The fact that county public defenders are appointed by judges is a dynamic that can give the judiciary too much control over public defense, Vella said. The legislation would allow any two counties within the same judicial circuit to combine public defender’s offices. Now, two adjoining counties can share a public defender in certain situations.
The report, which focused on nine counties, noted the state had no oversight structure to assess whether each county had a sufficient number of lawyers with the appropriate training and resources to provide effective counsel at every stage of an indigent client’s case.