Illinois law provides for the appointment of a special prosecutor when the elected county state’s attorney has an “actual conflict of interest in the cause, proceeding, or other matter.”
Often the conflicts are inadvertent: A relative or political ally is a key witness in the case, for example, or the state’s attorney previously represented someone now charged with a crime.
The petition to appoint a special prosecutor can come from any “interested person,” even if that person is not a party in the case. The special prosecutor’s appointment must be approved by the judge overseeing the case.
In Illinois, special prosecutors can come from one of four sources:
Illinois’ Special Prosecution Unit
Formed in the 1980s, the squad of two dozen state government attorneys is housed in an obscure state agency called the Illinois State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor. Today the unit is the go-to resource for criminal cases where county state’s attorneys are disqualified because of conflicts. The unit handled more than 1,000 cases in 2024.
The Illinois Attorney General’s Office
The local state’s attorney or judge can ask the state attorney general to be appointed as a special prosecutor. Cases involving public corruption are usually handled by the AG’s Public Integrity Bureau or its Criminal Enforcement Division.
- Example: In 2023, the attorney general’s office was called in to prosecute a case against Boone County Recorder of Deeds Julie Bliss for stealing public funds.
Prosecutors from another county
In many states, special prosecutors are most often state’s attorneys in neighboring counties. While this also happens in Illinois, it is relatively rare.
- Example: In 2016, Kane County State’s Attorney Joseph McMahon was appointed as the special prosecutor to handle the murder case against Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke for the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald.
Private attorneys
If no public agency or prosecutor from another county is available or willing to take the case, judges can appoint a private attorney to serve as special prosecutor, with the appointments usually limited in scope and duration.
- Example: Then-Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin appointed former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb as special prosecutor to reexamine two politically charged cases: the homicide of David Koschman by a relative of then-Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2012, and the Cook County state’s attorney’s handling of Jussie Smollett, whose conviction for a hate crime hoax was later reversed by the state Supreme Court, in 2019.
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