McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office brings on 30-year criminal prosecutor from Cook County

The criminal division within the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office has a new chief of special prosecutions after officials brought on a former criminal prosecutor from Cook County to fill the role.

Ashley Romito, who worked for more than 30 years criminal prosecutor for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, was brought on in January, officials with the office said in a release last month. During her tenure in Cook, officials said Romito handled “a caseload of significant and complex cases,” with many having been first-degree murders.

“Ms. Romito brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience in all facets of criminal prosecution,” the state’s attorney’s office said in the release.

Romito began her career at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office as an entry-level assistant in the appellate division. She also spent a couple years working in the Juvenile Justice Bureau and eventually became the first chair in the felony trial division, according to the release.

She was promoted to deputy supervisor in the appellate division in 2003, and then supervisor in the felony trial division in 2012, officials said. She received her law degree from DePaul University College of Law in 1990.

In a separate release, officials announced in January the hiring of Brendan Pierard as an assistant state’s attorney. Along with Romito, he will serve in the criminal division, officials said.

Pierard worked as a clerk for Judge Robert Marsaglia, who previously served in the Illinois 13th Judicial Circuit Court, which covers Bureau, Grundy and La Salle counties, according to the release. While working in the role as part of a fellowship program, Pierard oversaw legal compliance of multiple companies and ran his own general practice. He has served as general counsel for a boutique investment firm.

Pierard received his law degree from New York’s Cornell University in 2011, according to the release.