Two women to vie for Boone County State's Attorney seat for first time in county history
Posted Jun. 10, 2015 at 10:48 AM
Updated Jun 10, 2015 at 11:46 AM
BELVIDERE — Two candidates emerged this week in the race for Boone County state's attorney and for the first time in county history, both of them are women. Incumbent Michelle Courier and challenger Tricia Smith, a former County Board member, announced their bids Tuesday for the Republican nod in the November 2016 election.
The Republican primary will be held in March.
Courier is the first woman to be elected state's attorney in Boone County. Her second term in office will end in 2016. She announced her candidacy for re-election Tuesday night at the Belvidere VFW, 1310 W. Lincoln Ave.
Courier emphasized her track record prosecuting gangs and child predators over the past eight years. In 2009, Courier successfully sued the Latin Kings organization and more than 30 known members in Belvidere and Boone County under the Illinois Street Gang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act. The lawsuit prohibited gang members from spraying graffiti on public and private property, meeting in public, and possessing guns.
"My priorities have remained the same for the last two terms," Courier said Tuesday. "Making sure we aggressively prosecute drug dealers, child predators … those areas aren’t going to change for the next four years.”
Courier said she also plans to coordinate with the judicial system to expedite prosecution in cases of domestic violence and expand diversionary programs designed to allow certain offenders to avoid criminal charges by attending preventative education classes, paying restitution and performing community service if they are unlikely to become repeat offenders.
Smith is running with the support of former Boone County Sheriff Duane Wirth, and John Maville, who served three terms as Boone County state's attorney from 1968 to 1980.
Smith said on Tuesday that the results of Courier's lawsuit against the Latin Kings have been overstated: "These people ... remain in our community and continue to commit crimes."
"The incumbent state's attorney has chosen to address gang activity in our community by suing alleged gang members for fines," Smith said in a statement released Tuesday. "To combat gang activity, I will emphasize vigorous and effective prosecution of crimes committed in Boone County to send gang members to prison."
In addition to her law degree, Smith also has a master's degree in public administration and a degree in administration of criminal justice. She has served on the Boone County Board, spent nearly six years as a Rockford police officer and has worked as both an assistant state's attorney and a defense attorney.
Smith said she isn't necessarily opposed to expanding diversionary programs.
"Sometimes people do make a one-time mistake," Smith said. "I don't want to overburden our criminal justice system if we can divert people into those other programs, but they have to be effective."
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