Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine works in the nation's largest unified court network and oversees more than 900 prosecutors. Devine, a Democrat, will be running for his third term as the county's top prosecutor on Nov. 2.
Windy City Times: There's now a victim notification system in Chicago. Tell me about it.
Dick Devine: The AVN system allows crime victims to know the status of their cases as well as hearing or release dates of incarcerated criminals. Over the course of the last 25 years, there has been more recognition regarding the rights of victims to be informed about what goes on in the criminal justice system—and this is one part of that.
WCT: You were somewhat critical of then-governor of Illinois George Ryan when he commuted the death sentences of 160 inmates in January, 2003.
DD: Drop the 'somewhat.' [Smiles]
WCT: Has your stance changed at all?
DD: No, because my main issue is that he failed to look at each case and evaluate it on its terms and the evidence in that case. He promised to do that and that's what he should've done. If he concluded after a thorough investigation of a case that he had doubts, I [would've] at least agreed or disagreed—but at least he would've done that.
By doing something across the board, he violated the spirit of what clemency is about and I think he abused the rights of families of victims to have cases heard on their individual merits.
WCT: What do you think the spirit of clemency is?
DD: I think it's to provide an outlet based on mercy and any other considerations that a chief executive wants to bring to an individual case based on the facts surrounding an individual case—and that's not what we have.
WCT: What would you say is the most pervasive problem in Chicago—drugs, gangs, or something else?
DD: I think it's a combination of that unholy trinity of gangs, guns, and drugs. They all mesh together in that there are gangs that use guns to control territory to sell drugs. These gangs are not the old-style street gangs run by teenagers who are interested in violence for violence's sake. Most of these gangs are run by people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who stay in them because there's big money in it. Some of these gangs have become sophisticated. They take the rather large proceeds from drug activity and buy real estate; one even bought a radio station. So, this is a very serious business and I've made it a priority to do things that have not been done by local prosecutors—namely, attack [these gangs].
WCT: There seems to be a decrease in criminal activity in Chicago. Why?
DD: There are many reasons. No. 1, there are probably demographic factors as far as age, particularly young adults. Also, we've had some good years economically (although not the last few, particularly) however, there is a connection [to some extent] between economy and crime. I think it's important that criminals are now being sent away for many more years; that keeps hardcore criminals off the streets. In addition, some of the police strategies have been good at focusing on street crimes. All of those things have had an impact and it's up to the criminal justice system to maximize our resources. However, no one should think that the crime problem has been licked in any way.
WCT: In 2001, when you marched in the Gay Pride Parade, some people protested because of what they felt was your office's refusal to prosecute police brutality cases [involving] the GLBT community.
DD: Well, people have the right to say what they want about any governmental activity; I recognize that. I believe that, over the course of my time in public office, we have certainly supported GLBT activities—and that most of the people in the community understand that. We've sponsored the domestic registry in the county and we're probably the foremost office in the country regarding hate crimes. We also have an advisory council that meets with the [GLBT] community leaders; we try to address all issues that come up. [Note: Devine marched in the 2003 parade, but was out of town in 2002 and had a family conflict in 2004. He plans to march next summer, assuming he wins in the election.]
As far as police cases, they have a heavy responsibility and they're given authority to do their jobs. They can use force in certain circumstances—but they don't have the right to go beyond using a legitimate amount of force. If we have evidence that they've gone beyond that, we'll prosecute. In the last few months, we've prosecuted a Chicago police officer for using excessive force in an arrest at Cabrini Green and we've prosecuted two Evanston officers [for the same offense].
However, it's important to know that there's a distinction between the discussions about an incident and what you can prove in court. We have to have evidence. I will never file charges just because someone is screaming for them. [Conversely,] if the evidence is there, I'll never fail to file charges.
I understand that people can have different views and that cases can become adversarial. That means that sometimes we'll do things that groups or individuals won't like.
WCT: How would you define justice?
DD: Justice is a combination of the laws of the books and the agencies that try to implement those laws, including the police, courts, and [lawyers]. There are also the citizens, who shape the law. We create the system of laws that is designed to, on the criminal side, hold people responsible for injuring or killing others. It's our responsibility to be professional and fair in doing this ... it's also important the public has an assurance of safety and can go about its business. At the same time, the system has to respect due process rights and needs [to work] so that the results are fair and accurate.
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