Rioters charged by State’s Attorney in Winnabego County, IL

These days, especially in a state like Illinois, it’s a rare occurrence when public officials go against “woke”. Luckily, one county prosecutor isn't putting up with it and has charged many individuals with mob action once they started breaking the law and acting outside the scope of the 1st Amendment:

State’s Attorney Marlyin Hite Ross, thank you for doing the right thing here, just as you did when prisoners were released due to COVID-19 concerns:

Winnebago County State's Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross' office provides access to the full list of inmates who have been released from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Ross' office says they were previously contacted by individuals with concerns over the release of inmates from Illinois prisons. Ross says she expressed her concerns to the Illinois Prison Review Board regarding the "premature release of violent offenders into our community" and there have been several inmates released through commutation of sentences and medical furlough by Governor J.B. Pritzker.

In a press release, Hite Ross says "The granting of such furloughs under Governor Pritzker’s Disaster Proclamation triggers my obligation to notify the victims pursuant to the Rights of Crime Victim’s Act and the Illinois Constitution. The lack of appropriate notice to my office regarding the early release of these individuals hinders my ability to notify victims and family members in a timely manner."

Ross says she will continue to oppose the early release and furlough of violent offenders back into the Winnebago County community.

Charging rioters and going AGAINST Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. It might come as a huge surprise that Ross is a Democrat and also the first African American State’s Attorney in Winnebago County.

Hite Ross, who headed the office’s criminal bureau under State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato, will be sworn into office Dec. 3. She will become the first woman and first black person to serve as the county’s state’s attorney.

Hite Ross is filling the remaining two years of Bruscato’s unexpired term. He resigned from the post after being elected to become a 17th Judicial Circuit Court judge. He, too, will be sworn into office on Dec. 3.

Several board members said their vote for Hite Ross was not a vote against Collins, who started her legal career in the state’s attorney’s office and later served as a public defender before embarking on a distinguished 29-year career on the bench. Instead, they said their votes were cast out of respect for the board’s Democratic Caucus’ nomination, which was Hite Ross.

Because Bruscato is a Democrat, a candidate of the same party affiliation was required to serve out his term.

Ross did what’s right and put politics aside. She didn’t play into the madness one bit. This is what a good State’s Attorney does. Many others across the country should follow by her example.

Hopefully the two instances we provided aren’t just one-offs and are a change of course.