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Name: Jose Villagrana
Party: Democratic
Why did you choose law as your profession? What in your legal experience bestqualifies you to be Kendall County State’s Attorney?
As a kid growing up in Chicago, going to Chicago Public Schools, I delivered papers and worked at a newspaper stand. (I also collected baseball cards and looked at the stats and charts on them. I idolized baseball players.) While delivering these papers, and learning from the papers I would read, I dreamed of being a Police Officer and possibly a lawyer. The lawyer was a backup plan in case I didn’t wind up as a police officer. Fast forward to 2024 and I have now served as a full-time police officer in Illinois for over 24 years, and have been a practicing licensed lawyer in Illinois for over 23 years. I have assisted 100s of people as a lawyer all without missing a beat. As a cop I have made approximately 25,000 traffic stops, and between 500-750 arrests (plenty of the DUI and the domestic battery variety) without a problem. I probably have been to more homes than any other person in Kendall County in the last 24 years-there as a cop in their time of duress or an emergency when these folks needed police assistance. I’ve accomplished this while serving communities like: Aurora, Plainfield, Plano, Montgomery, Naperville, Oswego, Yorkville, Joliet, Newark and Minooka. I now want to take all this experience and apply it to move my career forward in a positive way-meaning, serving Kendall County in a just and fair way that keeps the community safe without shortcuts and without favoring one citizen over another. Being a police officer, you make legal decisions based on the US Constitution, Statutes, and Supreme Court cases and State Constitution, Statutes and state cases in split seconds. Do I have probable cause, can I collect this evidence and how should I do it so it stands up in court, do I have a Terry stop, can I stop this person and detain and question them on these facts, how long can I detain them, do I have to read Miranda, can I use force legally including deadly force, etc? Also, do I have a legal right to infringe on my fellow citizens freedom of movement or other freedoms? Can I refrain from unlawfully using my police powers against the public? I respect every citizens’ freedom(s). My opponent answers these questions in days or weeks from behind a desk, I have done it for 24 plus years in the streets and under the duress of the job of being the police. Let me reiterate-in split seconds! So, having been a lawyer and police officer in real time, this unique combination of service and experience uniquely qualifies me to be State’s Attorney in Kendall County. I could have chosen in 2001 to be behind a desk in a suit and tie and practicing law, but instead I chose to be a cop in the streets with the people, the everyday person that needed police services. There is nobody more uniquely qualified for this office than I am, if you can find someone with my experience and record, I’d love to meet them and buy them a few beers.
Why are you the better candidate for Kendall County State’s Attorney?
I know how an arrest is made, I know what it takes to make a good arrest that’s fair and just and based on the law and facts. I know what the issues are from the street level, my opponent knows them from an inanimate paper file he receives. I have been with citizens at the street level and have been learning from them and listening to these folks. I also have the training and experience as a lawyer. My opponent has been just prosecuting arrests without seeing the wider picture of policing and thus he just prosecutes what is brought to the office. As State’s Attorney, if elected, I will look more closely at arrests and patterns of arrests for inconsistencies and equality in policing to better serve all citizens. No citizen will be treated unfairly if I’m elected.
What do you think are the three biggest challenges the Kendall County State’s Attorney’s Office will face during the next term and what solutions would you propose?
a) The changing demographics and needs of the whole county-this includes growth. Not just the needs of the current State’s Attorney and his friends and those rich landowners and business owners that finance his campaign.
b) The culture of the work environment. Eric Weis hired Mark Shlifka as his chief assistant and was there when Shlifka committed crimes and misused his office and the Office of the State’s Attorney. This also got the State’s Attorney’s office and Eric Weis sued. The way we treat women in the office and victims of crimes has to be paramount, Eric has failed in this regard for sure.
c) Addressing and listening to all citizens on the issues that affect them, this includes the younger citizens and voters who are the future of the County. This includes the way we now understand Mental Health Crisis and victim advocacy, etc.
What is the most important goal you would want to accomplish if elected?
To show the County of Kendall that we need change every so often and that a person running unopposed for 18 years is not healthy. Eric Weis has run unopposed for 18 years and now he acts like he owns the office when in fact the citizens and voters own it and they need choice and change. Democrats intend on challenging for every office from this point on. The citizens need choice.
Do you believe you can serve your constituents in a bipartisan manner? Why or why not?
I totally believe I can. My two main slogans are: We need modern solutions for policing and Prosecution of arrests and Prosecuting without fear or favor.
I’ll also add 4 items:
Respecting the rule of law and equality,
Listening to citizens’ concerns on community and crime,
Applying 25 years of law enforcement experience, and fostering an environment of equality in the office, to include gender equality and socioeconomic status.
The Pretrial Fairness Act that curtailed cash bail has been in effect for a little over a year. How do you think it has affected criminal justice in Kendall County?
As far as I know crime stats are down year to year nationwide-so there’s that. Crime has been used by the Republicans to scare people, it’s almost used as a racist issue or one based on targeting poor people in America to appease certain voters-those voters who live in fear of crime only because they have been trained by the Republican party to live in fear and vote out of this fear. I can say that crime can never be eliminated from our existence. That is true. Some politicians may say they can eliminate it, but I won’t be one of them, not that I am a politician, I feel I’m more like a public servant. I believe we can try and curtail crime, but also want to be honest with people and not feed them a line I feel they want to hear. I would rather lose a vote by being honest than gain one with a lie.
I grew up in poverty in Chicago and struggled my way to a fulfilling career in policing and serving the public where the law and facts are paramount in my career and life. I have achieved all this while raising a family with my wife, my high school sweetheart. We moved to Oswego, Kendall County 26 years ago and I have volunteered to coach kids’ sports and read to young students at Boulder Hill School.
Now to this issue: The facts are that if a kid (some would call him or her a criminal, but we are still talking about a human accused person), this could be any poor voter’s kid, let’s say 22 years of age, let’s say they live in Boulder Hill in Kendall county. That kid gets arrested and the bail is $4500.00. If the family this kid comes from is poor and needs to either choose to pay their mortgage and buy food and keep the heat on, or bail their kid out, they are stuck and their kid might have to spend 10 days in Kendall County jail awaiting bond and a court date or a release on his/her signature.
Now, if this kid comes from “family of means” as they say, meaning a kid from a rich family: Same scenario, $4500.00 bond, same crime, that kid gets out, gets a court date, the minute he/she is given a bond amount. Is this fair? Not in my worldview. Kendall County needs to start looking at issues from others’ points of view and not allow politicians or those angry few voters to affect the way they think. Our citizens have to start thinking independently. The US Constitution says no excessive bail, nor excessive fines, etc. Do we believe in the Constitution? We should, it’s the supreme law of the land. As a police officer, I don’t feel less safe because of this law. If a police officer tells you they feel less safe that’s their thing, not mine.
Additionally to this issue: We still physically arrest certain perpetrators, such as DUI and Domestic and felonies, among others. So, either of the kids in this scenario can be released and commit another crime the same day they’re released. And, we have to think about liability to the County as well when we hold people in the jail when the law now says there are other solutions. This is the law now, when the legislature changes and the law changes and the governor signs it we’ll do it differently and according to the law. I like following the law, this is the law. I was not complaining when the law was different, the law is the law. It costs thousands upon thousands of dollars to hold people in jail or prison-who pays for this? The average cost to hold someone in prison for a year is approximately close to $100,000.00 per year. I just looked up California and it’s $106,131.00. The taxpayer pays for this. This is not mentioning the potential liability. If that person awaiting bond is injured or abused while in jail it creates liability as well. Who pays for this? The taxpayer again. So, I’m ok with following the law and agreeing with the law.