Victim Advocacy Groups Speak Out in Favor of COLA's for State's Attorney Employees
Two victims advocacy groups spoke out Wednesday on behalf of the State’s Attorney’s office employees, urging the County Board to approve cost-of-living increases.
Speaking on behalf of the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists were Marti Belluschi and David Perozzi. Speaking on behalf of Rape Victims Advocates was Angela Exson, director of advocacy services for the RVA.
AAIM works with the State’s Attorney’s office in drunken driving cases and works to prevent deaths and injuries caused by intoxicated motorists in Illinois while providing help to victims and their families.
The RVA’s Advocacy Department also works with institutions that serve survivors to assure sensitive and informed treatment of survivors of sexual abuse sexual assault. Currently, the Advocacy Department is working with the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) to improve the care and response of first responding systems (law enforcement, hospital staff, and the State's Attorney's Office) to sexual assault survivors.
Both agencies interact on a continuous basis with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, both with its victim-witness specialists and its prosecutors.
The State’s Attorney’s victim witness assistance programs works with about 100,000 victims and witnesses each year.
Neither they nor prosecutors have had a cost of living increase since 2003.
The average prosecutor with seven years experience making $70,000 can look across the courtroom at the Assistant Public Defender with the same experience making $75,600.
Since the first of the year, the SAO has lost 112 prosecutors, including the 44 who were severed as part of the office’s effort to help balance the county budget. With an average annual attrition rate of between 50 and 70, the office has already lost in a half year double the number that leaves in a year. Since the budget passed at the end of February, 52 prosecutors have resigned.
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