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Full Name:
Charles Rose
What office are you seeking?
DeKalb County State’s Attorney
What is your political party?
Democrat
What is your current age?
66
Occupation and Employer:
Attorney, self-employed: The Law Office of Charles G. Rose
What offices, if any, have you previously held?
Currently a board member of the Regional Board of School Trustees.
City:
Campaign Website:
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Colorado
Doctorate from Northern Illinois University College of Law
Community Involvement:
CASA
Prairie State Legal Services
Advisory Board for the Criminal Justice Program at Kishwaukee Community College
Self Help Program at the DeKalb County Courthouse
Public Interest Law Initiative for low-income people with legal issues that need to be addressed
Volunteer Legal Services for Opportunity House and Elder Care Services
Marital Status/Immediate Family:
Married with no children.
Why are you running for office?
For most of the last 40 years, I have dedicated my life to making DeKalb County a better place to live, work and raise a family. I view taking on the role of DeKalb County State’s Attorney as a natural extension of that work, allowing me to continue serving the people of our county.
I would bring to the job hands-on experience that will allow me to make an impact from day one. I have nearly nine years’ experience working as a prosecutor, more than half of that here in DeKalb County, so I understand the job and what it takes for this office to best serve the people of DeKalb County.
Additionally, my experience as a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy and a local Police Officer provides me with insights and understanding that will allow the office to partner effectively with police departments across the county to keep DeKalb County a safe place.
In short, I believe that my experience as a litigator, my background as a police officer and my decades of service to the people of DeKalb County, uniquely qualify me to step into this job.
Will you honor the results of the November election?
Yes.
Cashless bail and changes to pretrial release hearings have been in effect under the SAFE-T Act for about a year now. What is your opinion of the new system? Do you believe it’s helping or hurting? Please be specific
When first proposed, I had a negative opinion of the Pretrial Fairness Act. Like many others I was of the belief that the rates of people failing to appear and committing further offenses would see a huge increase. A study by the Loyola Chicago Center for Criminal Justice, published Sept. 24, 2024, showed that in those two areas, the rates remained the same. A report recently presented to the DeKalb County Law and Justice Committee showed the same for DeKalb County. While one year’s worth of data does not show a trend, it does negate my belief that there would be huge increases in those areas.
That being said there are still needed improvements for problematic language in the SAFE-T Act and the Pretrial Fairness Act.
It is helping those first-time offenders to remain working and supporting their families. It is “hurting” the State’s Attorney’s Office in that there is a marked increase in the paperwork needed to be generated and the time spent in court by the Assistant State’s Attorneys.
What do you believe are the top priorities for the office? Should you be elected, how do you plan to address them?
The first priority is getting those cases that have been pending far too long to trial. Having significant trial experience in that I have tried well over a hundred jury trials and many more before a judge I come in as an experienced trial lawyer capable of getting them to trial as quickly as possible.
Increase in the seriousness of offenses committed especially in the DeKalb area. I intend to institute a program of Targeted Prosecutions of those high risk to offend individuals in order to bring them to justice quickly and ask for lengthy prison time thereby removing them from our community.
What experience do you have prosecuting violent crime? Please detail.
I have approximately nine years of experience as an Assistant State’s Attorney. That experience includes prosecuting violent crimes such as Criminal Sexual Assault, manslaughter, reckless homicide and many more. I have worked with local police departments to investigate these crimes and with local agencies who offer support services to victims of violent crime to get them the supports they need to recover from the crimes perpetrated upon them.
Domestic violence is an ongoing concern for many in DeKalb County, and arrest rates for those charged with domestic violence-related crimes are frequent, according to daily arrest logs provided by the DeKalb County Jail. If elected, how do you plan to address the trending rates of domestic violence in the community?
As an Assistant State’s Attorney, I prosecuted many cases of Domestic Violence. Prosecuting cases of Domestic Violence are uniquely challenging in that many times the victim does not want to cooperate. They do so for many reasons such as dependence on the offender for finances and housing. They will be afraid of further abuse and the offender will have alienated them from family and friends thereby leaving the victim without a support group. It is exacerbated when they have children as they do not know how to provide for them without the offender.
The approach we had to these cases was to “break the cycle of violence”. This meant that we would proceed with the case even though the victim was reluctant to do so. While prosecuting the offender to the fullest extent of the law we worked with Safe Passage who would provide the supports victims needed to put their lives back together without the offender.
When children were involved, it was especially important to get those children the counseling and therapy they needed as the case studies showed they were more likely as they grew older to be victims of domestic violence or become offenders themselves. If elected, I will take this same approach and work closely with Safe Passage for successful outcomes to these types of cases.
DeKalb County’s Circuit Court operates a number of treatment courts (for substance use, mental illness, etc.), meant to address recidivism and offer some a chance to have their criminal records adjusted if successful in the programs. How, if elected, would you continue to address recidivism and substance abuse issues that are common in the court system?
Defendants in criminal cases are classified in two ways. Low, medium and high risk to reoffend and low, medium and high need which refers to their need for substance abuse and or mental health treatment. For example, an offender may be low risk to reoffend but high need for services. Addressing those that are low or even medium risk and are high need with substance abuse and/or mental health treatment if successful will lead to a reduction in recidivism and give those individuals the chance to become productive members of society. While DeKalb County currently has specialty courts to address low risk, high need offenders I would like to see that expanded to include medium risk high need individuals thereby reducing recidivism even more and giving more individuals a chance at a successful life.
If elected, how would you ensure those who go through the court system, either victim or defendant, are treated equally regardless of race, gender or socioeconomic status?
Yes. I have reached out to the current leaders of the Black and Latinx student caucuses at the NIU law school to identify those students who have an interest in working in the courtroom so that I can set up an internship program where these students would intern with the State’s Attorney’s Office with the hope that once they graduate and get their law license they will come to work for the office. I hope to bring more diversity to the oce and a more diverse understanding of race, gender and socioeconomic status.
Do you support Karina’s Bill, which aims to strengthen enforcement of the removal of firearms from those with orders of protection against them? More broadly, are Illinois laws too strict – or not strict enough – when it comes to gun rights and gun control and what changes would you advocate for?
The State’s Attorney and the Assistants take an Oath that they will follow the law and be free from bias and personal opinion when enforcing the law. We do not decide whether the laws as written are either to strict or not strict enough. We follow the law as written and would prosecute any offenses related to removal of rearms from those with orders of protection.
In your capacity as a private citizen, have you or any business entity in which you have a ownership stake received a federal PPP loan? If so, what was the amount and is it repaid, forgiven or still outstanding?
I have never applied for nor received a PPP loan as a private citizen or as owner of The Law Office of Charles G. Rose.
Have you ever been convicted of or charged with a crime?
No.