elect DAVID NELSON State's Attorney [primary campaign]

September 2, 2003
The Saline County Board
Courthouse, Harrisburg, IL 62946

Dear Board Members:

We keep hearing how broke Saline County is, but thousands of dollars have
reportedly been spent to pay private attorneys for representing Saline County in
litigation. I am not involved in and don't pretend to know anything about the
particulars of the litigation–and maybe the reports I've heard aren't true–but if they
are, as a taxpayer I wonder how these expenditures can be justified, especially in
these hard times.

The law seems clear. As it was summarized in the attached opinion of then
Attorney General Ryan a few years ago: a county has no authority to employ
private counsel to perform duties which the State's attorney is obligated
by law to perform. Duties of the State's attorney are set out in the Counties Code
[55 ILCS 5/3-9005(a), attached]. These duties, which the State's attorney is
obligated by law to perform, include:

–"To commence and prosecute all actions, suits, indictments and
prosecutions, civil and criminal, in the circuit court for his county, in which
the people of the State or county may be concerned."

–"To commence and prosecute all actions and proceedings brought by
any county officer in his official capacity."

–"To defend all actions and proceedings brought against his county, or
against any county or State officer, in his official capacity, within his county."

Yours sincerely,


C. David Nelson


copy: State's Attorney Rod Wolf