The Wrong Side of Justice – Injustice Watch

‘The Wrong Side of Justice’

Illinois’ Special Prosecution Unit has been responsible for dozens of questionable cases, while acting outside of public view and with little oversight.

Clout, conflicts of interest cloud the work of Illinois’ Special Prosecution Unit

The former assistant state’s attorney charged with murder.The judge caught driving drunk.The clerk accused of skimming government funds.When local prosecutors might have political or personal ties to a defendant, the state brings in an elite squad of government attorneys: the Illinois Special Prosecution Unit.They are supposed to be lawyers beyond reproach.Instead, the unit has been clouded by allegations of corruption, misconduct and conflicts …

The wrong side of justice – Injustice Watch

Since creation of the Illinois’ Special Prosecution Unit in the 1980s, the unit has been the primary way criminal cases in Illinois are handled when local state’s attorneys are disqualified because of conflicts. Its prosecutors took on more than 1,000 cases in 2024, far more than were pursued through other methods of appointing special prosecutors, including referrals to the state attorney general, private attorneys, or prosecutors from neighbor…