elect DAVID NELSON State's Attorney [primary campaign]

According to an article by staff writer Eric Fodor in Friday's Daily Register, Todd Bittle was selected by the Saline County Republican Central Committee on Thursday night as their candidate for state's attorney in November's general election:

HARRISBURG - At a caucus Thursday night, Republicans named Todd Bittle as the party's candidate for state's attorney.

State law allows a party to name a candidate by caucus, after the primary election, if nobody ran in the party's primary.

In the November election, Bittle will face Democrat David Nelson, who won a sometimes-bruising primary battle against Kelly Phelps.

Bittle said he has thought for years about running for state's attorney and only recently decided the timing is right.

"Running for state's attorney is something I've thought about for the last few years.It's only in the last few months that I have discussed it with my family. We decided this would be the best time in my career to run," Bittle said.

Bittle, 37, passed the bar in 1996 and became a Saline County public defender Dec. 1, 1996. He also handles cases in Gallatin County.

"The majority of my time is spent with criminal law. The other part of my practice primarily has been collection of debts or bad accounts on behalf of companies in Southern Illinois," Bittle said.

The wave of methamphetamine cases in recent years is the biggest issue facing the
county, Bittle said. He also believes the mounting fine money owed to Saline County
is a problem. The county is approaching $3 million in outstanding fine money, he said.

Not all that is necessarily past due -- Bittle said it is impossible to break down the
figures on it -- but the money should be aggressively pursued.

Bittle said he would like to see the office run more efficiently and he hopes to bring
openness to the office.

"I think I can be open and fair to people. I can be firm when I need to be firm, but I
know these people are human beings even though they are criminal defendants --
which doesn't mean I wouldn't be firm," Bittle said.

Crime victims should be brought into the process more, he said. Some counties have
a victim's advocate who acts as a liaison between crime victims and the court system.

While the county's tight finances may make another employee impossible, the
concept can be approached in some way -- maybe through volunteers, Bittle said.

Even though Bittle is a Republican -- he is a precinct committeeman in Harrisburg 8 --
he took a Democrat ballot in the March primary.

"As an attorney, I felt the state's attorney's race is the most important race in the
judicial system. I had not yet made my decision to run," Bittle said.

"But I felt if I did not vote, I could not criticize later."

His belief a conservative should be elected state's attorney also convinced him to
pick up a Democrat ballot in March.

"I am a conservative and I thought we needed a conservative in this office," Bittle
said.

Phelps was widely perceived as more politically conservative than Nelson.

Bittle said his willingness to vote in the Democrat primary may be an asset rather than a liability in the General Election -- it shows he is willing to look beyond party labels.

"I like to vote for the candidate," Bittle said.

. . . when he and Senator Durbin were in Saline County the other day, and the Daily Register ran our picture with their story.

A visibly tired Eric Fodor submitted the following article in the wee hours after the election was decided:

The Democrat primary for state's attorney was a nail-biter for both candidates, but David Nelson squeaked past Kelly Phelps, largely by receiving strong support from Harrisburg voters.

The final vote total was 2,340 to 2,290. Even though the margin was razor-thin, Phelps called Nelson about 12:45 a.m. and conceded the race, Nelson said.

Nelson carried all Harrisburg precincts except precincts 2 and 6, with Phelps winning each of those precincts by one vote. He [Nelson] also carried rural precincts such as Mountain, Independence, Brushy and Cottage townships.

Phelps ran well in Eldorado and Raleigh, while the voting was close in Galatia and Carrier Mills precincts.

Nelson, visibly tired after a day of campaigning, was glad the race is over, but elated by the result.

"I'm so worn out that it's hard for me to say anything intelligent, but I am very grateful to the voters of Saline County for nominating me for state's attorney and I will never betray that trust," Nelson said.

The race turned bitter in the final weeks of the campaign, with Phelps ending up on the defensive about his experience in trying criminal cases after a series of advertisements were published in the Daily Register/Daily Journal by Nelson.

Nelson declined to comment on the advertisements or on the tone of the campaign.

Phelps was not present at the courthouse Tuesday evening and could not immediately be reached for comment.

While there was no Republican candidate for state's attorney on the primary ballot, GOP party leaders are not ruling out trying to nominate a candidate by caucus at a future Republican Central Committee meeting.

My opponent called me about 12:45 a.m. Wednesday to concede. At that time all precincts were in, and I had a 49 vote lead. I picked up another overnight, so that the final official tally was 2,340 to 2,290.

I will never be able to thank enough everybody who had a hand in winning this uphill battle.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Eight hundred Democrats made mail applications to vote absentee in the primary by Thursday's deadline. I don't know how many have voted absentee in person--and that can still be done through Monday, March 15, at the county clerk's office in the courthouse.

Now we have to get the people out to vote on Tuesday. Mona and several volunteers are in charge of this aspect of the campaign. They'll be making phone calls to remind people to vote and providing rides to the polls.

We need to make sure that anyone who mistakenly goes to his or her former polling place in Harrisburg is steered to the right location--either Davenport gym at the high school or the gym at McKinley Avenue Baptist Church. Everyone in Harrisburg who is to vote at McKinley should have received a postcard from the county clerk. The full listing of polling places has appeared in The Daily Register and The Daily Journal the past two days, but I can't find it online.

Here's what we posted earlier.

1. Please list your previous experience, if any, in elective office.

In 1984 I was elected by the circuit judges of the nine counties of the First Judicial Circuit of Illinois to serve as an associate judge. I was retained in 1987, 1991, and 1995.

During my 15½ years as a judge, I presided over thousands of cases of all kinds, from small claims and traffic tickets to complex civil litigation and serious felonies including murder. I was assigned by the Illinois Supreme Court to preside over courtrooms from Cairo to Chicago. For most of my time on the bench I was assigned to the Williamson County Courthouse in Marion.

2. If elected, what would you do to deal with the methamphetamine problem in Saline County?

I will give immediate attention to dealing with methamphetamine on several fronts. As state's attorney, I intend to prosecute meth offenders aggressively. But I don’t agree that we should just blindly lock everybody up and throw away the key. For one thing, the costs of jailing and imprisoning drug offenders are already breaking us financially, both here in Saline County and nationwide. It costs the taxpayers more to keep a person in prison than it does to send a student to Harvard.

As I announced earlier, my office will cooperate fully with Judge Lockwood's new drug court program. No defendant convicted of a meth offense, even a first offender, will be sentenced to probation unless he or she can show the ability to stay drug free and comply with all the other stringent requirements of drug court, including mandatory jail time, treatment, and testing.

If a convicted defendant isn't willing or able to meet the program's requirements, then my office will be back in court recommending jail or prison.

I also think more can and must be done to control methamphetamine manufacture on the supply side. We have to recognize that the main reason meth labs get set up in rural areas like ours is the ready access to essential ingredients, especially anhydrous ammonia. If we are serious about ending the methamphetamine plague in our area, we need to take a hard look at ways to shut down the supply of anhydrous ammonia, which is now just sitting out there ripe for the plucking in farmers' fields. If I am elected, I intend to name a committee composed of local people knowledgeable about farming and agricultural chemicals to develop a "farmland security" program designed to make anhydrous ammonia inaccessible to meth cookers.

Of course the methamphetamine problem isn’t going to be solved by politicians’ words. A solution will require a team approach. Everybody knows that meth is bad, but wishing won't make it go away. Nobody has all the answers. It's going to take clear thinking and hard work on the part of many people of good will including churches, community groups, police, prosecutors, judges, and the general public before the methamphetamine problem can be solved. But it can be solved.

3. Given the county's financial condition, is there any way the state's attorney's office -- other than what is presently being done -- can help improve the county's financial condition? Is reducing office costs a viable option?

There is no way that I can really know whether the costs of operating the state's attorney's office can be reduced significantly until I have the opportunity to observe day-to-day operations from the inside. The office has just taken a 15% reduction, and I have been told that all the current employees are diligent and hard-working. Of course it's a rare operation of any kind which could not be made more efficient.

Part of the state's attorney job is to recommend to judges the imposition of appropriate fines, depending on the circumstances of an offense and the ability of a defendant to pay. Larger fines could certainly be imposed in so-called white-collar or non-violent offenses in which a defendant is seeking probation or court supervision, rather than a jail term. And past efforts to collect back fines must be continued.

By law, the state's attorney not only prosecutes crimes, but represents the county in civil cases. According to figures I have obtained from the county treasurer, over the past 26 months more than $145,000 of taxpayers’ money has been expended on outside counsel representing the county in civil matters. (This does not include the highly publicized landfill matter.) I don't know the specifics of those particular cases, but it would seem on the face of it that most if not all of those expenditures could be saved if the state's attorney office did that work. I am confident in my ability as a lawyer to educate myself about just about any legal issue which might involve Saline County and its officers.

4. How do you see payment of your assistants? Through public funding or another method? If another method is acceptable, then please outline the other methods of payment you would use.

Assistant state’s attorneys and office personnel need to be paid by public funds budgeted for that purpose.

5. Plea bargaining is often a misunderstood concept and often becomes part of a campaign. What approach will you take in prosecution in cases?

Most cases (both in this county and everywhere else that I’m familiar with over my 27 years plus as a lawyer) end up with the defendant pleading guilty. Sometimes it is an “open” plea. That means the judge gets a report of a presentence investigation about the circumstances of this offense and the defendant’s prior life, hears arguments by the prosecutor and the defense lawyer, and then imposes a sentence permitted by law for that offense. A negotiated plea is a compromise. After the prosecution and the defense have enough information to evaluate the strength of the case and the other relevant circumstances (including the defendant’s prior record, ability and willingness to help with other cases, etc.), both sides agree to recommend a particular sentence to the judge. The final decision on a sentence is up to the judge.

My ability to evaluate cases, gained through many years’ experience in criminal court, handling hundreds of trials and negotiated pleas, will enable me to run a more efficient office. I will dispose quickly of the cases which can be pled out, and devote my time and energy to prosecuting the cases that have to be tried.

6. Are there areas where you would encourage stronger law enforcement?

In addition to the fight against narcotics and white-collar crimes, previously discussed, I will place primary emphasis on crimes of violence. Peaceable, law-abiding citizens should not have to put up with people who are a danger to others: those are the criminals for which prisons are designed. I also believe in taking a firm response to vandalism and malicious mischief and other crimes which take away from the quality of our everyday life. I intend to do everything in my power to bring to justice anyone who takes advantage of the most vulnerable among us: children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and battered partners.

I also have a very low tolerance for any offense which affects our system of government: election fraud, bribery, perjury, official misconduct, and the like.

7. In 500 words or less, how would you operate the office?

I would run an efficient, accessible, and professional state’s attorney’s office. I would insist on courtesy and professionalism on the part of the members of my staff. We would not play favorites or be under the control of any political faction. We would do everything in our power to make intelligent use of the people’s resources.

Of course a state’s attorney who tries cases, as I intend to do, cannot always be immediately available to come to the phone or speak with you in person. But I will make it a practice, as I have in my private law office, to get back to you as soon as possible if you leave me a message.

No one should hesitate to call me with information or questions pertaining to the duties and responsibilities of the state’s attorney’s office. I may not have an answer, or it may not always be the answer you would like to hear, but I will be available and accessible to all the people of Saline County.

The state’s attorney is charged with the responsibility of safeguarding everybody’s constitutional rights. Not just the members of one political party, or one family, or one social class, or one religion, but all the people of this county. And the paramount duty of the state’s attorney is to seek justice. I will operate my office with these principles in mind.

My opponent's misrepresentations about his record, trying to convey the impression to voters that he is experienced in criminal law, are turning out to be the central issue in the last days of the campaign.

Last week I published an ad in the Daily Register/Daily Journal entitled "Experience Matters--and So Does Telling the Truth," setting out the facts I have been able to ascertain so far, saying that the voters deserve to know the extent to which a candidate is willing to pad his record to try to win an election.

In response, Mr. Phelps charged that I was engaged in "politics of personal destruction," and that I had falsely accused him of lying about his experience. To demonstrate his experience, he quoted from a transcript of a case Rod Wolf was trying (while Mr. Phelps was in law school) in which Wolf introduced him as "my assistant Kelly Phelps." This he thought entitled him to be considered Mr. Wolf's "co-counsel."

As I say in my own response ("Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil") set to run in today's paper, that is like me claiming to have played on my Dad's baseball team because they let me be the batboy.

What next? Stay tuned--they're getting pretty desperate.

“You don't want your first jury trial to be a situation where someone's husband, or wife or child was killed.”–Kelly Phelps. [Harrisburg Daily Register and Eldorado Daily Journal, Sep. 23, 2003, “Kelly Phelps takes papers for run for state's attorney.”]

“A state's attorney cannot start to lie to the people or to himself.”–Robert Howerton. [Op. cit., Nov. 7, 2003, “Kelly Phelps is candidate for state's attorney.”]

"Tell the truth and shame the Devil."--Anon., old saying.

In ads which ran Friday and Saturday, my opponent responded to my ad entitled "Experience Matters--and So Does Telling the Truth." He is "deeply saddened" by my "negative, personal attacks," and says:"Now my opponent has falsely accused me of lying about my experience saying that I have never tried a criminal case."

Actually, what I've been claiming is that he has been attempting to mislead the voters into believing that he has ever tried a criminal jury trial. And as I've pointed out repeatedly over the past few weeks, the records in the courthouses where he has claimed to have tried cases cannot find even one criminal jury trial that he has had since he graduated from law school in 1995.

I believe, as I said in my ad, that the voters deserve to know the extent to which a candidate for state's attorney is willing to pad his record to attempt to win the election.

"The truth will out," they say. I hope it happens before the election, which is only nine days away.

The only jury cases he claims prove my point. The record is clear. He was not even a lawyer at the time. Rod Wolf was allowing him to work in his office during summer vacation from law school. Phelps was not "co-counsel" to Rod or Assistant State's Attorney Paul Myers, and he did not participate in the trials by examining any witness or otherwise.

Some people seem to think you can say anything in an election campaign, and the voters are too uninformed to know when you're lying to them. I hope that's not true.

We have the Lions Club facility in Harrisburg reserved Saturday morning (March 6th) for a "meet the candidate" event. Please come by, bring the kids or grandkids, have a doughnut and a cup of coffee, and/or a glass of juice or a bowl of fruit salad, and show your support for the campaign.

The Lions' Den is in the old operating engineers' building, at the south end of Main Street.

We'll be there from 6 until at least 10 a.m.

We'll also have campaign literature to be distributed and information about polling places. And for those who are interested, we'll talk about plans for getting out the vote on Election Day, a week from Tuesday, March 16th.

The Daily Register/Daily Journal has sent out the following questionnaire to the state's attorney candidates. Answers will be published some time between March 10th and Election Day, Tuesday, March 16th.

1. Please list your previous experience, if any, in elective office.

2. If elected, what would you do to deal with the methamphetamine problem in Saline County?

3. Given the county's financial condition, is there any way the state's attorney's office-- other than what is presently being done -- can help improve the county's financial condition? Is reducing office costs a viable option?

4. How do you see payment of your assistants? Through public funding or another method? If another method is acceptable, then please outline the other methods of payment you would use.

5. Plea bargaining is often a misunderstood concept and often becomes part of a campaign. What approach will you take in prosecution in cases?

6. Are there areas where you would encourage stronger law enforcement?

7. In 500 words or less, how would you operate the office?

A point to ponder. Your opponent has stated he is not a social worker. Isn't that an odd remark? Now it is my understanding he is planning to become a minister. Can't you just see him telling one of the flock, "Don't bother me, bud, I'm a minister not a social worker." . . . [W]hat he is really trying to say with the "social worker" remark is that meth users are part of "them" and thus not worth our extra attention. After all, we all know this side of heaven it is always a matter of "us" and "them." Heaven help us if we ever start thinking of "them" as those of "us" who have gone astray. . . .

According to information obtained from the county clerk's office yesterday, here is where Harrisburg voters in each precinct are now scheduled to cast their ballots in the upcoming primary (with the previous polling place in parentheses):

Davenport gym, at the high school:

Precinct No. 1 (Blackman High Rise, Skaggs St.)
Precinct No. 2 (Pruett-Patton building, Church St.)
Precinct No. 5 (Social Brethren rec building, Land St.)
Precinct No. 6 (County maintenance garage, Feazel St.)
Precinct No. 9 (ASCS office, Commercial St.)
Precinct No. 11 (Lions Club, Sullivan St.)
Precinct No. 13 (Lions Club, Sullivan St.)
Precinct No. 15 (Leo Jones's building, Missouri St.)
Precinct No. 16 (Social Brethren rec building, Land St.)
Precinct No. 17 (Nazareth activity center, McHaney Rd.)

McKinley gym, behind McKinley Ave. Baptist Church:

Precinct No. 3 (Sneed High Rise, McKinley St.)
Precinct No. 4 (Pruett-Patton building, Church St.)
Precinct No. 7 (Park office, Poplar St.)
Precinct No. 10 (Park office, Poplar St.)
Precinct No. 12 (Shriners' building, St. Mary's Dr.)
Precinct No. 14 (Sneed High Rise, McKinley St.)

(The polling place for Muddy voters, Harrisburg Precinct No. 8, is unchanged.)

My primary opponent, the man with the plan, has still not come forward with any evidence that he has ever tried a criminal jury case, anywhere, any time, since we began challenging him on this issue.

Last night at the Democratic Women's Organization meeting to which all candidates were invited, Mr. Phelps seemed to be claiming that he had helped State's Attorney Rod Wolf with trials when he (Mr. Phelps) was in law school. All present were too polite (or too embarrassed) to ask him to tell us all about one of his most memorable criminal trials.

The resume on his "website" continues to cite by name only two "slip and fall" cases in which he was the lawyer. And he continues to claim "Tried more than 25 criminal and civil jury trials."

I guess you could argue that 26 or more civil plus zero criminal equals more than 25 criminal and civil. This may be the new math. Or the new values.

In response to the comprehensive drug court proposal outlined by Judge Lockwood in Thursday's paper, and supported by David Nelson, Candidate Phelps stated:

"If prosecutors will do their jobs and aggressively prosecute these drug cases, there will be no need for a drug court."

Phelps plans aggressive prosecution of drug offenders if he is elected, no matter what the court system looks like.

"The way I see it, I am running for county prosecutor, not county social worker. I am not trained in social work. If someone has violated the law, I am going to aggressively prosecute them," Phelps said.

"I can say as a prosecutor I am going to prosecute these guys, whether it is in a drug court or a regular court."

As previously mentioned, we are continuing to search for one of the criminal jury trials my opponent claims to have tried. The latest report is from St. Clair County, where the clerk's office advises that my opponent's attorney registration number does not appear anywhere in their criminal system, meaning that he could have tried no criminal jury trial there, either.

Just about first among the "Saline County values" I learned when I was growing up, as anybody who knows my mom and knew my dad can imagine, was to "tell the truth and shame the Devil." Truthfulness is also an essential value for an attorney. And voters are entitled to insist on the truth from a candidate for office.

Maybe one of his friends should ask him: "Mr. Phelps, exactly what criminal jury trials have you tried?" When you get an answer, let me know, and I'll publicize it here.

In a prepared statement released Tuesday, Democratic state’s attorney candidate David Nelson pledged his support for a new “drug court” approach to methamphetamine cases proposed for Saline County by Judge Brocton Lockwood.

“If I am elected,” said Nelson, “my office will cooperate fully with Judge Lockwood’s new program. As the judge explained it in meetings with local law enforcement and attorneys last week, no defendants convicted of meth offenses–even if they are first offenders—will be sentenced to probation unless they can prove that they have the ability to stay drug free.

“The drug court team will include probation officers, counsellors, and other professionals. Before a final sentence is imposed, defendants seeking probation will be required to spend time in jail and then submit to in-patient treatment. After that, they will have to prove that they can stay drug free (as confirmed by frequent testing), and that they have a drug-free place to live before they can even be considered to be allowed to stay in the community, as opposed to prison.

“Defendants who clear these initial stages could then be sentenced to an intensive form of probation, under strict conditions including frequent testing and frequent involvement with the drug court team.

“If a convicted defendant isn’t willing or able to meet the program’s requirements, then my office will be back in court recommending prison,” Nelson said.

Nelson also thinks more can and should be done to control methamphetamine manufacture on another front—the supply side. “We have to recognize that the main reason meth labs get set up in rural areas like ours,” Nelson said, “is the ready access to essential ingredients, especially anhydrous ammonia.

“If we are serious about ending the methamphetamine plague in our area, we need to take a hard look at ways to shut down easy access to anhydrous ammonia, which is now just sitting out there ripe for the plucking in farmers’ fields. Maybe we could start thinking of it as a ‘farmland security’ program,” Nelson said.

Nelson added that he did not think of methamphetamine as a campaign issue. “A solution to this problem really will require a team approach. Everybody knows that meth is bad, but wishing won’t make it go away. Nobody has all the answers. It’s going to take clear thinking and hard work on the part of many people of good will—including police, prosecutors, judges, and the general public—before the methamphetamine problem can be solved.”

The Code of Fair Campaign Practices, to which I have subscribed, is a purely voluntary statement of "basic principles of decency, honesty, and fair play that every candidate for public office in the State of Illinois has a moral obligation to observe and uphold, in order that, after vigorously contested but fairly conducted campaigns, our citizens may exercise their constitutional right to a free and untrammeled choice and the will of the people may be fully and clearly expressed on the issues."

I've had two calls from friends and relatives recently about false stories making the rounds about me.

The first had something to do with me supposedly taking a stand in favor of gay marriage. In fact, to the best of my recollection, I've never said a word about it, publicly or privately. And of course it's not an issue likely to come before the Saline County state's attorney.

The best I can figure, this story may stem from a conversation I had with former Republican legislative candidate Darla Partridge the other day at the counter at the circuit clerk's office. I was there to file a document in a court file for a client, and I arrived as employees were signing petitions Mrs. Partridge was circulating. She politely asked me if I would like to sign the petitions. When I saw that they were urging some kind of constitutional amendment, I said something to the effect of "No, I don't think so, I don't take amending the Constitution lightly." She responded, "I wish they would follow the Constitution," to which I agreed.

Story Number Two came yesterday. A woman saying good things about me was told that the reason I resigned as a judge was that I was about to be removed from office. That is totally untrue, as may be quickly confirmed by asking Saline County Presiding Circuit Judge Bruce D. Stewart or First Circuit Chief Judge Michael J. Henshaw.

What will they think of next?

As previously mentioned here, we've been trying, so far unsuccessfully, to find even one of the criminal jury trials my opponent claims to have had.

An examination of the circuit clerk's records in Williamson County reveals no criminal jury trials there, either. Mr. Phelps did appear as the attorney for a criminal defendant charged with methamphetamine manufacture, but that client pleaded guilty to possession of meth, and was placed on first-offender probation just last month, on January 30, 2004. (Williamson County Case No. 03-CF-326)

So, to recap: he claims as experience more than 25 "civil and criminal" jury trials. As to criminal jury trials, the scorecard so far is as follows:

---Saline County, zero.
---Williamson County, zero.
---Jackson County, zero.
---Southern District of Illinois (federal court), zero.
---Gallatin County, zero.
---Hardin County, zero.
---White County, zero.

Investigation continues into trials claimed in Mt. Vernon, Belleville, Springfield, and Chicago.

This coming Saturday, February 28th, from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m., the Committee to Elect David Nelson is hosting a Meet the Candidate event at the Community Center in Eldorado. This is not a fundraiser.

We'll have free doughnuts, coffee, and juice. Bring the kids! (We'll have milk, too.)

I'll be there all morning to meet people and find out their concerns about issues involving the state's attorney's office.

I hope everybody who is supporting me, wherever you live in the county, will drop by and show your support (even if you're not eating doughnuts). And I especially ask you to invite your family and friends who haven't decided who they're voting for, so they can get a look at me and see what I'm like in person.

If you need a ride, call Mona at 841-8787, and she'll take care of it.

(There will be a similar event the following Saturday, March 6th, at the Harrisburg Lions Club. More about that later.)

When I was a child, we were told the story about young George Washington chopping down the cherry tree, and then admitting it to his father upon interrogation, with the statement "I cannot tell a lie."

Nowadays, historians tell us that story itself was not true, but was an invention by a man named Parson Meems, attempting to make the Father of His Country (indisputably an admirable character) a less "bland heroic leader, embodying an eighteenth-century ideal of republican virtue that emphasized duty, sacrifice and honorable disinterest."

Isn't it too bad that the plain facts aren't enough in campaigns for public office, without the felt necessity to gild the lily?

In an Eric Fodor story in today's Daily Register, Monty Field is quoted as saying that Republicans may name a candidate by caucus, even though no Republican filed petitions to run in the primary. Field reportedly said that "several attorneys have expressed interest."

As diligent readers of this weblog know, I have emphasized repeatedly that it is very likely that whoever wins the Democratic primary nomination will be our next state's attorney.

My opponent has been running an endorsement from our former representative and former county clerk Jim Fowler touting his "values." I keep wondering if according to those values it's OK to stretch the truth a wee bit about your experience.

As previously mentioned, the Phelps campaign has been disseminating claims that he has “tried over 25 criminal and civil jury trials in State and Federal Court,” naming various jurisdictions.

No doubt he has sat at counsel table, either by himself or with a senior partner, during some personal injury or other civil cases since he graduated from law school in 1995.

What I wonder is where he tried any criminal jury trials? Not here in Saline County. No cases of any kind, much less any trials, in Jackson County. No criminal trials in Gallatin or Hardin counties, so far as the clerks' offices can find. Nothing criminal in federal court in Benton or East St. Louis. I'm still checking in Williamson and Jefferson counties. I haven't done any checking yet in St. Clair, Sangamon, or Cook, the other counties where Mr. Phelps's ads claim he has tried jury cases.

Maybe Mr. Phelps can make it easy for us and just tell us where and when he ever tried a criminal case to a jury, and what the outcome was.

Of course there's nothing shameful about a relative lack of experience. Everybody has to start somewhere, and some lawyers go through an entire career without ever trying a criminal jury trial.

But what the voters deserve to know is the extent to which a candidate for state's attorney is willing to pad his record to try to win an election.

State’s attorney candidate and former judge David Nelson was the speaker at the regular meeting of the Harrisburg Kiwanis Club Wednesday.

Nelson reminisced about the early days of the Kiwanis baseball program, run by his late father, Charlie Nelson. Speaking on what would have been his father’s 85th birthday, Nelson said his best preparation for being a judge was umpiring in the Kiwanis league, and watching the calm, fair way that his father dealt with disputes.

“Baseball was a very important part of my early education, along with McKinley School, and McKinley Avenue Baptist Church, and the Mitchell-Carnegie library, and all the great teachers that it seems in retrospect the Harrisburg school system was blessed with,” Nelson said.

Nelson recounted all the ways in which he has been fortunate in his life, and said “I think a person who’s been this fortunate ought to pay something back to the community. The way I think I can do that, here and now, is to be a candidate for state’s attorney.”

Nelson said he did not want to re-hash all the recent problems and controversies in Saline County, but that “Recent events made it appear to me that the county needs somebody without entanglements with any political machine who can represent the interests of all the people of the county and give independent legal advice to county officials.

“And I know from years of experience in the courtroom,” Nelson added, “that we need somebody at the prosecutor’s table who can hold his own with the best criminal defense lawyers. I think I’m qualified to fill that bill.”

Nelson said he did not have any ambition for higher office, and no interest in founding a political dynasty.

The program closed with questions from the members. To a question about methamphetamine, Nelson said that it was a serious problem which should not be reduced to political sloganeering. He is of the opinion that a good deal can done on the supply side by making the essential ingredients ammonia and pseudoephedrine less accessible to meth manufacturers.

In response to a remark from a Kiwanian, Nelson recounted an incident which occurred in Hardin County a few years ago, in which he was asked by authorities to go into the woods near the Garden of the Gods and surrender a surrounded suspect.

Next week the speaker at Kiwanis will be Judge Brocton Lockwood.

I really appreciate the kind comments from Judy Cape and Roy Small in their letters to the editor, and similar expressions of support from many others over the past 10 weeks. But as Roy said:

". . . the most qualified person does not automatically get the job. He has to get the most votes in the primary election."

If you know anybody who is not registered to vote, today is the last day to get the job done. The county clerk's office will be open an extra hour, until 5:00 p.m., for last-minute registrations.

The Daily Register ran the following two letters about the election on Monday, Feb. 16, under the headline "Final day: Political candidate letters reach end." The newspaper had indicated earlier that publication of letters about the election would cease 30 days prior to the election. As a practical matter, this policy of the paper means if something important comes up in the last 30 days which is not dealt with in news coverage, you'd have to buy advertising space to respond to it. "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

Letter No. 1

To the Editor:

On March 16, voters in Saline County have a real choice in the Democratic candidates for state's attorney. David Nelson has the requisite life experience and the practical work experience to meet the demands of this office. He has lived the justice system on both sides of the bench, as a seeker of justice and a dispenser of justice.

The state's attorney decides which defendants should be brought to trial, which should be plea bargained out and which cannot be successfully prosecuted. Who better than a former judge would know the level of proof required to successfully convict a criminal defendant?

Saline County also needs an independent state's attorney who is not associated with a political machine in order to ensure that equal justice for all is a reality and not just a phrase. In my opinion we have that in David Nelson.

Judy Cape
Harrisburg


Letter No. 2

To the Editor:

As a lifelong Saline County Democrat and former member of the Illinois General Assembly, I was pleased to see that David Nelson is running for state's attorney of Saline County in the Democratic primary coming up on March 16.

We could not ask for a more qualified state's attorney to succeed Rod Wolf, who has decided not to run again. David Nelson is an experienced criminal lawyer, and he was a judge for many years. He has tried many criminal cases, and has presided over many more. I have known him and his family for many years. His honesty and integrity are unquestioned.

But the most qualified person does not automatically get the job. He has to get the most votes in the primary election. Judge Nelson's opponent is a young member of the politically potent Phelps family --- which includes our current state representative, Brandon Phelps; David Phelps, our former Congressman and now an employee of the Blagojevich administration; the newly appointed manager of the Saline Valley Conservancy District, Larry Phelps; and the current state's attorney of White County, David Phelps's son-in-law, Kerry Sutton.

Saline County Democrats --- and citizens of all persuasions --- need to ask themselves whether this one family should also control the all-important Saline County state's attorney's office.

Fortunately, in my opinion, there is a better choice. I think David Nelson would be an outstanding and truly independent state's attorney.

I'll be voting for him on March 16.

Roy Small
Harrisburg

I see the other candidate for state’s attorney, in a letter mailed out to my mother and no doubt others, claims that he has “tried over 25 criminal and civil jury trials in State and Federal Court.” May be. But I don’t think he has ever tried a criminal case to a jury in Saline or Williamson county since his graduation from law school in 1995. And I’d be interested to hear if he has ever won a criminal jury case anywhere. (I expect that if he had, we would already have heard about it.)

As for the implication that I would not be an aggressive prosecutor, but would just “slap the wrists” of convicted criminals, let me just say this: I have actually been involved in real criminal trials. I have had many years’ experience as a lawyer and judge handling actual criminal cases. I have examined hundreds of witnesses in criminal trials. I have argued, and ruled on, motions raising complex issues of constitutional criminal law. I have tried criminal cases to jury verdicts. I have successfully defended people who were falsely charged. And I have sentenced deserving offenders aplenty to prison. In one case a few years ago here in Saline County, I gave a killer even more time than the state’s attorney asked for–and I believe the defendant deserved every minute of the 105 years I gave him.

One thing in my opponent’s letter is rather disturbing. That is the assertion that “every law enforcement agency in Saline County is supporting” him. I hope this was simply the over-exuberance of a zealous political operative, and not the considered statement of my opponent, who is after all a member of the bar and a General Baptist clergyman. Obviously, it would be improper for a law enforcement agency to take a position for or against a candidate in a political contest, and I rather doubt that my opponent intended to make such a charge against the heads of the local police departments.

I certainly don’t quarrel with the fact that meth is a serious problem, and our police officers are justifiably concerned about it. The question for the voters is which candidate is most likely to do something effective about meth and the other problems facing our county, not just talk about them in a political campaign.

No doubt on-the-job training is best. But a trainee shouldn’t start at the top of the totem pole. Anyone asking you for your support for state’s attorney should have demonstrated by his or her past behavior an interest in and an aptitude for criminal law. If not, Saline County could be in for a long four years.

Sincerely,
David Nelson
Democratic Candidate for State’s Attorney

Absentee voting has started; 119 Saline County voters had requested absentee ballots by Friday afternoon: 97 D, 21 R, 1 non-party (presumably so as to vote only on the proposed "safety tax").

I was asked at the chili supper Thursday evening what is the last day to vote absentee: by mail, it is not less than 5 days prior to the election, that is, by March 11th; in person, you can vote absentee at the county clerk's office up to the day before the election, or March 15th.

Born and raised in Harrisburg.
Harvard College, A.B.
Peace Corps volunteer.
Teacher, editor, social worker.
SIU School of Law, J.D.
Illinois bar, 1976 to present.
Judicial clerk, Appellate Court of Illinois.
U.S. Supreme Court bar, 1979 to present.
Fellow, Illinois Bar Foundation.
Law enforcement instructor, SIC.
Illinois Judges Association.
Associate Circuit Judge, 1984-1999.
Member, Campaign for Equal Justice.

Experience. Integrity. Independence.

Paid for by the Committee to Elect David Nelson

Thanks to Christy Stewart, HHS Class of '07, for the photography (although I don't know why she had to make me look old, fat, and bald!).

According to information appearing in Friday's Daily Register/Journal, here are the polling places for the March 16th primary (all of which are handicapped accessible):

Brushy: Town House

All Carrier Mills precincts: New Carrier Mills Grade School

Cottage: SIC Building C

Rector and all Eldorado precincts: Eldorado High School cafeteria (Illinois Ave.)

Both Galatia precincts: New Community Center

Harrisburg 8: Muddy Village Hall

All other Harrisburg precincts: Harrisburg High School Davenport Gym

Independence: Town House

Long Branch: Town House

Mountain: Camp Oxford

Both Raleigh precincts: Community Center

Stonefort: New Village Hall

Tate: Town House

All polling places will be open from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on March 16.

If you have any question about your polling place, or about voting by absentee ballot, call the Saline County Clerk, Willie McClusky, at 253-8197.

We had a good turnout for our chili supper last night. Thanks to everybody who came and enjoyed the good food and fellowship and the great music by keyboard player Jim Smith, saxophonist Greg Hodson, and vocalist Melinda Tolley--in fact the music was so good that I didn't even interrupt them to make a political speech.

Thanks to everybody who contributed money toward the campaign.

And special thanks to Mona and Roger and Susan and Shelby and Heather and Butch and Jim and everybody else who helped make things run smoothly.

Monday is a state holiday, so after today there's only one more day to register to vote in the March 16th primary: Tuesday, February 17, is the last day to register. If you know anybody who's still not registered, let them know right away.

We're expecting a nice crowd, and Jim Smith has promised to be there and play some music for us.

Speaking of the arts, I received a bit of verse today from a poet who wished to remain anonymous. I told him or her that some discerning reader would probably figure out his or her identity from the style and choice of words. A selection:

"In a way it's kind of funny
Ole Dave should lend his name
To the race for state's attorney
In the county of Saline
Where decorum's on the gurney
And the politics are mean . . . ."

You can find the entire work here.

Since no Republican filed petitions for state's attorney, it is very likely that whoever wins this Democratic primary nomination 40 days from now, on March 16th, will be our next state's attorney, to take office for a four-year term commencing December 1, 2004.

To have a say in your county government, you have to put aside whatever reluctance you have to vote in the primary.

Why should I go out of my way to vote for David Nelson as the Democratic nominee for Saline County state's attorney?

--Because he has 27 years' experience in the courtroom, as lawyer and judge.

--Because he is a person of integrity who cannot be bought.

--Because he is independent of any political faction, and can make decisions in the best interests of all the people of Saline County. As he said when he announced his candidacy:

"At this stage of my career, I’m not looking for a stepping-stone to higher office, and I’m not looking to create a political dynasty. I’m a Democrat. But I never let politics interfere with any judicial decision I made, and I was careful to follow the rules of judicial conduct which forbid political activity. I don’t think we need a partisan approach to county government from the state’s attorney, who is supposed to be the attorney for all the people. And, for that matter, we don’t need a respecter of persons for any reason—race, religion, gender, social class, or personal or family ties.

"If I am elected, my only agenda will be to uphold the constitution and laws, and to do my best to make the citizens of this county proud of their state’s attorney’s office."

According to County Clerk Willie McClusky, the ballots for the primary election are in the final stages of proofreading, approval, and printing. Once that process is completed, applications for absentee ballots will be distributed to those requesting them, starting some time next week.

Because of the anticipated consolidation of polling places, it is reasonable to expect that many people will be confused about what precinct they are in ("I know where I've always voted, but I don't know what number it is"), and that confusion may lead to a reduced turnout for the March 16th election.

If you know any older or disabled people who have difficulty getting to the polls, suggest that they call the county clerk's office (253-8197) to find out about voting by an absentee ballot.

The Illinois Election Code permits a registered voter who expects to be absent from the county on election day, or who is unable to be present at the polls because of a physical incapacity, to apply for an absentee ballot.

Also, now is the time to be making sure that every eligible voter you know is registered in time to vote in this primary. See this earlier post for details.

A letter to the editor from a Republican about the Democratic primary race for state's attorney in Monday's Daily Register stated that "Our current County Board is still struggling with the financial disasters of the prior party's longtime control."

Without getting into things I don't know anything about, I do know that last September, before I had decided to run for state's attorney, I wrote a letter to the county board (this current county board) questioning their authority to pay outside attorneys for work which by law the state's attorney is supposed to do. I had no response from any board member, Democrat or Republican. [I have added my letter here.]

According to an article in Saturday's Daily Register/Daily Journal, plans are underway to change polling places for the March 16th primary: all Harrisburg, Eldorado, Galatia, and Carrier Mills precincts are expected to vote at the towns' respective high schools.

The Committee to Elect David Nelson has planned a fundraiser in the form of a chili supper for Thursday, February 12, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the Harrisburg Lions Club (which is located at the end of South Main Street).

If you want to help, or if you have any questions, call Mona Nelson at 252-8555.

If you can't come to the chili supper but would like to make a contribution, you may send a check made payable to The Committee to Elect David Nelson to Mona Nelson, 540 Womble Road, Harrisburg, IL 62946.

To the Editor:

I read with interest an article in Tuesday's Daily Register [Jan. 20] with the headline "John Rhoads is Innocent."

It sounds from the article as if the judge was forced to release Rhoads because the state's attorney did not meet the burden of proof. I know nothing about this trial except what I have read in the paper, my concern is that a man was accused of murder but was released because the state's attorney did not do his job.

As a matter of fact, at the beginning of the trial Judge Lowery was quoted in the Daily Register as saying that this trial is a serious matter with a man's liberty at stake.

He pointed out that this trial is not the time to be screwing around like a bunch of amateurs.

If we in Saline County need proof that experience is indispensable, I think we have it. We are fortunate that a man like David Nelson who could retire and sit back on his laurels has offered to serve Saline County as state's attorney.

I have been a registered Republican all my life but in local politics, I will always vote for people of quality and experience. I will vote for David Nelson for state's attorney.

Patty Carlson
Harrisburg

Postscript from David: I sure appreciate the vote of confidence from Patty Carlson. In all fairness to our incumbent state's attorney, Robert "Rod" Wolf, it should be pointed out that the Rhoads case took place in Pope County, not Saline. That would have been clear to anyone who had read the article referred to, or any of the series of articles in the Register about the Rhoads trial, but perhaps not to someone who had not. Pope County Circuit Judge Lowery was referring to the Pope County state's attorney, not Rod Wolf.

I lifted my reference to redemption and rehabilitation in my previous post from a letter my friend Butch McSparin submitted to the Daily Register the other day. They haven't run it yet, so I'm posting it here:

To the Editor:

Kelly Phelps is good at getting his picture in the paper. David Nelson knows what goes on in a courtroom.

It is obvious that methamphetamine is a big problem. The question for Saline County voters is who is better qualified to do something about it as state’s attorney.

Mr. Phelps is full of words about his supposed “plan,” but I’d feel a lot better about him as a candidate if I thought that he had ever actually tried a criminal case.

The voters have a chance this year to elect a state’s attorney with a wealth of experience in real-life criminal cases. And David Nelson has shown over the years, as a lawyer and judge, that he has the integrity and independence to make us proud of our state’s attorney.

Mr. Phelps’s idea that “it’s already too late” for meth addicts who are involved with the criminal justice system is defeatist and simply not true. My father, the late Paul “Blackie” McSparin, spent a good part of his life helping people with addiction problems. He knew first-hand of the possibility of rehabilitation and redemption.

For me, the choice in this election is clear. I’m voting for David Nelson.

Sincerely,

Ken “Butch” McSparin

Thanks, Butch. I sure thought a lot of your dad.

Update: The Register ran the letter in Monday's paper, along with a note saying letters about the election would not be run within 30 days of the election. I can understand a week, so as to rule out last minute bombshells that can't be answered, but 30 days?

I have several responses to the media event staged by Kelly Phelps at the courthouse the other day when he announced his supposed plan for dealing with the methamphetamine problem against a backdrop of police officers in uniform.

First, I sure can’t quarrel with the fact that meth is a serious problem around here, as it is in rural areas throughout the midwest, and our police officers are justifiably concerned about it. The question for the voters in the upcoming election for state’s attorney is simple: which candidate is most likely to do something effective about our crime problems, not just talk about them?

I have many years’ experience as a lawyer and judge in actual criminal cases. I have examined hundreds of witnesses in criminal trials. I have argued, and ruled on, motions raising complex issues of constitutional law. I have tried many criminal cases to jury verdicts. I have defended people who were falsely charged. And I have sentenced deserving offenders to prison. In one case a few years ago here in Saline County, I gave a killer even more time than the state’s attorney asked for–and I believe the defendant deserved every minute of the 105 years I gave him.

So yes, meth is a bad problem, but it bothered me–and other people have told me it bothered them, too–to see our county’s sheriff and police officers appearing, in uniform, during the work day, at the courthouse, in an apparent attempt to promote the private interests of a political candidate during a contested election campaign. The last time I looked, we have a provision in our constitution that says that public funds and public property may only be used for public purposes. I guess you can come up with some kind of rationalization that makes it okay for those officers to do what they did, but I believe that public officials and would-be public officials have a duty to set an example. That “it’s always been done this way” or that “everybody does it” doesn’t necessarily make something right.

Finally, and maybe most important: I profoundly disagree with the idea that “it’s already too late” when a drug offender is apprehended and charged. Sure, it would be a nice world if everybody was perfect, and addiction didn’t happen, and people didn’t violate the law. But that’s not the real world we live in. I was taught from childhood, and experience has confirmed, that “all we like sheep have gone astray.” It’s a dangerous fantasy to think that we’re ever going to have a bored state’s attorney because taking a get-tough stance has caused the crime problem to go away.

Education and prevention are crucial in reducing the impact of meth and other drugs, and police and prosecutors can do some good in that regard. But our police officers have the duty to investigate all kinds of crime–homicide, child abduction, drunk driving, domestic violence, sex offenses, unlawful use of weapons, elderly abuse, burglary, deceptive practices, arson, perjury, bribery, environmental offenses, fraud–the list goes on and on.

Based on the information he receives from investigators, the state’s attorney has the duty to decide, in the interests of justice, which offenders should be charged, with what offenses, and what dispositions should be proposed. In some cases, either because of the severity of the harm caused by the offense, or because of the seriousness of the defendant’s prior criminal record, it is clear that only a prison sentence would be right. In many cases, the law favors a sentence of probation, which can be subject to a requirement that the offender undergo treatment for addiction to drugs or alcohol or comply with other conditions appropriate to the crime. If I am elected, I will make full use of the resources of the probation office, the health department, and other helping agencies and resources to attempt to reduce the number of repeat offenders.

They say Calvin Coolidge was asked whether he believed in baptism by total immersion, to which he responded “Believe in it? I’ve seen it done!”

I’m that way about redemption and rehabilitation. I believe in it because I’ve seen it done. I have seen criminals turn their lives around and become productive citizens. And I think with the right approach, with a sound exercise of discretion, with a sense of justice tempered with mercy, the state’s attorney can be an important force in reducing crime in the community, and making Saline County a better place to live.

A small ad began running yesterday in the classified section of the Daily Register and the Daily Journal, as follows: "Help elect David Nelson state's attorney. Get registered now & vote March 16th! cdavidnelson.com."

For new on-line readers brought here by the reference to this site in the ad, welcome! This is my attempt to communicate with Saline County voters about my campaign for state's attorney. If you have any questions, or want to help, please call me at 253-3127 (my office), 252-8555 (home), or email me at nelson@accessus.net.

There are only 63 days, nine weeks, until the primary election. For all practical purposes, this is likely to amount to the general election, since no Republican candidate filed for the office. I think it is crucial to get the word out to all voters--not just those who usually vote in the primary--that anyone who wants to have a say in who will be the next state's attorney needs to ask for a Democratic ballot in this primary election on March 16th.

Every year one hears stories about improprieties involving absentee voting, although no one ever seems to be prosecuted. Here's the Illinois statute (10 ILCS 5/29-20):

"A person is guilty of a Class 3 felony who knowingly: (1) Solicits another person, knowing that the person is not legally qualified to vote as an absent voter, to apply for an absentee ballot; (2) Solicits another person, knowing that the person is not legally qualified to vote as an absent voter, to cast a ballot as an absent voter; (3) Intimidates or unduly influences another person to cast an absentee ballot in a manner inconsistent with the voter's intent; or (4) Marks or tampers with an absentee ballot of another person or takes an absentee ballot of another person in violation of Section 19-6 so that an opportunity for fraudulent marking or tampering is created."

(Section 19-6 severely restricts the circumstances under which anyone other than the absentee voter may legally handle an absentee ballot.)

Here's a link to the section of the Election Code called "Prohibitions and Penalties."

My opponent's family has been much in the news lately. For example, in the Thursday, January 8th, issue of the Daily Register, State Rep. Brandon Phelps was in the headlines about his eye surgery (and of course we all wish him well). Assistant Secretary of Transportation (and former Congressman) David Phelps also made the front page that same day with the article about his reported challenge of the Saline County Democratic chairman. And the attentive reader of the legal notices would have read that Larry Phelps (Eldorado Township Supervisor) is now also the manager of the Saline Valley Conservancy District.

Not in Thursday's paper, but worth noting, Kerry Sutton (David Phelps's son-in-law) is the state's attorney of White County.

Note about the Daily Register: Archived articles are now available for free only for the first 14 days. If you want to access older articles, you have to pay: $5 for one day, $10 for 7 days, $20 for 30 days.

There are 64 days until the March 16th primary. Registration ends February 17th, so now is the time to make sure all your friends and neighbors are registered to vote.

There are three words that summarize for me what we should insist upon from anybody who is seeking to be elected state’s attorney of Saline County:

Experience.

Integrity.

Independence.

First, experience.

The Illinois Constitution requires that a state’s attorney must be a citizen of the United States and a licensed attorney-at-law of this State. But simply having a law license does not make one qualified to be a state’s attorney. I don’t mean to say that only old guys like me should ever be considered qualified to be state’s attorney. That would be ridiculous, and it won’t happen very often. Most people with my years in the profession either have no interest in practicing criminal law, or no inclination to give up a comfortable practice to take on a sometimes stressful public position.

But a legitimate candidate for state’s attorney, in my opinion, should have at least some experience in trying criminal cases: either some years as an assistant state’s attorney, or (maybe better in my opinion, because of the different perspective it gives one) some years in doing criminal defense, either as a public defender or as a private attorney for people accused of crimes.

The two obvious candidates here in Saline County right now, in terms of experience, are Paul Myers and Jim Rodgers–long-term chief assistant state’s attorney and public defender, respectively. But for their own reasons, neither of them has chosen to run.

No doubt on-the-job training is best. But the trainee shouldn’t start at the top of the totem pole, in my view. Anyone asking you for your support for state’s attorney should have demonstrated by past behavior an interest and an aptitude for doing this kind of work. If not, Saline County could be in for another long four years.

Next, integrity.

I don’t know my primary opponent well. So far as I can remember, he never appeared before me in any case when I was a judge, and we have not been involved in a case together since I returned to the practice of law. From all I’ve heard about him, he is a fine young man.

By integrity, what I mean is that voters should satisfy themselves–as well as we can in these matters, of course there can be no assurances–that the person they’re electing state’s attorney has the character to make his or her decisions for the right reasons. A state’s attorney has choices to make all the time, and almost unbridled discretion. What I mean by discretion is that almost all the time the state’s attorney’s decisions as to whether a charge should be filed and what charge should be filed, and whether to discontinue a prosecution already commenced (a so-called “nolle prosequi”), can never be reviewed or reversed by any court or any other person or agency.

In many ways, the state’s attorney is the most powerful position in county government. If the state’s attorney is not a person of integrity, if he or she makes a decision for reasons of his or her own personal gain, it can be very difficult for the voters to find out about it, or to do anything about it.

Finally, independence.

Integrity and independence go hand in hand. To fulfill his or her duty to represent all the people of Saline County with integrity, the state’s attorney (whatever the party label) must truly be independent.

The state’s attorney has the duty to represent Saline County in civil matters. The citizens of this county deserve a state’s attorney who is capable of giving independent advice to the county board and the other county officers, regardless of politics or personal considerations.

As I said when I announced my candidacy, we don’t need a state’s attorney who is a respecter of persons, for any reason—race, religion, gender, social class, or personal or family ties.

The people of this county deserve a truly independent state’s attorney.

This will run several times in The Harrisburg Daily Register and the Eldorado Daily Journal:

Be a Citizen: Get Registered and Vote in the Primary March 16th

In this country, “We the People” are supposed to govern ourselves. That’s what democracy is all about.

If you want to have a say in your government right here in Saline County–if you want to help change the way things are done around here–you have to be registered to vote, and then you have to get out and vote.

The more people who vote in the primary election, the more democratic our government will be.

When a few professional politicians are allowed to control the primary elections in March, then ordinary citizens don't have any real choice in November.

If you don't vote in the primary, you're giving up your equal right as a citizen to choose your public servants. You are making the people who do vote more equal than you.

Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent, if you want to have a voice in who is going to be the next state's attorney of Saline County, you have to vote in the primary on March 16th.

Exercise your rights as a citizen. Register and vote!


Paid for by the Committee to Elect David Nelson. cdavidnelson.com

. . . is accessible on the website of the State Board of Elections.

According to the Southern Illinoisan's online edition, no one filed for the Republican nomination for state's attorney of Saline County, so it looks more and more as if the race will be decided in the primary.

Here are the filings (again according to the Southern Illinoisan):

Circuit Clerk: Democrat, Phyllis Ferrell, 2 Dogwood Place, Harrisburg. Republican, Norma J. Gibbs, 850 Taborn Lane, Carrier Mills. Randy Nyberg, 109 Williams Drive, Harrisburg.

Coroner: Democrat, Incumbent Kenneth M. Sloan, 200 E. Lincoln St., Galatia. Republican, Randy Reed, 503 E. Sloan St., Harrisburg.

State's Attorney: Democrat, David Nelson, 540 Womble Road, Harrisburg. Kelly Phelps, 610 Agin Road, Harrisburg.

County Board at-large seats:

Democrat, Reggie A. Cook, 4295 Raleigh Road, Eldorado. Incumbent Georgia Cowger, 5780 U.S. 45 S., Harrisburg. Danny W. Gibbs, 1095 Feazel Road, Harrisburg. Incumbent Chuck Ingram, 32 Redbud, Harrisburg. Steven L. Jones, 1808 W. Robinson, Harrisburg. Jeff McClusky, 235 Coffee Road, Harrisburg. H.E. (Ron) Mitchell, 249 Saint Mary's Drive, Harrisburg. Incumbent Charles R. (Bob) Oglesby, 2780 Hamburg Road, Galatia. Mike Sumner, 530 Zola Road, Harrisburg. Jay D. Williams, 620 Williams Road, Harrisburg.

Republican, Kevin Dowdy, 8585 Illinois 13 West, Carrier Mills. Chris Field, 113 Lori Ann Drive, Carrier Mills. Thomas Daniel Gore, 85 Pin Oak Lane, Harrisburg. Joseph M. "Joe" Jackson, 402 N. Webster St., Harrisburg. Incumbent Ryan Lambert, 85 Dallas Drive, Harrisburg. Jack T. Nolen Jr., 4665 U.S. 45 S., Harrisburg.

. . . encourage them to call the county clerk (253-8197) to find out about voting by an absentee ballot.

The Illinois Election Code permits a registered voter who expects to be absent from the county on election day, or who is unable to be present at the polls because of a physical incapacity, to apply for an absentee ballot (no earlier than 40 days prior to the election, which for this upcoming primary would be about February 6).

The more people who vote in the primary election, the more democratic our government will be.

If a few professional politicians are allowed to control the primary elections in March, then ordinary citizens won't have any real choice in November.

Some people don't like to vote in a primary. They don't like having to ask for a Democratic or a Republican ballot. They may think, since who they vote for is nobody's business, that they shouldn't be limited to voting for one party's candidates in the primary.

There's a lot to be said for that point of view. But the system we have is the one that we have, and it will not be changed this year.

If you don't vote in the primary, you're giving up your equal right as a citizen to choose your public servants. You are making the people who do vote more equal than you.

Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent, if you want to have a voice in who is going to be the next state's attorney of Saline County, you have to vote in the primary on March 16th. And it looks as if you will only have a voice if you ask for a Democratic ballot, since no Republican candidate has announced.

If you want to help me get elected state's attorney, then one of the best ways you can help right now is to make sure that everybody you know is registered to vote. They have until February 17th to register. I'm planning on running ads in the Daily Register and the Daily Journal, along these lines:

How to Register to Vote

If you are a United States citizen, are at least 18 years old, and have lived in Illinois and in your election precinct for at least 30 days, you are eligible to register to vote.
The primary election is on March 16, 2004. The last day to register for the March 16th primary is February 17th.
If you have never registered, here’s how:
Go to the County Clerk’s office, which is located in the Saline County Courthouse, in Harrisburg. Bring your driver’s license or other identification with you. Tell them that you would like to register to vote. You will be asked to fill out a form which asks your name and address (and former name and address if either has changed), date of birth, and sex, and to swear or affirm that
• I am a citizen of the United States;
• I will be at least 18 years old on or before the next election;
• I will have lived in the State of Illinois and in my election precinct at least 30 days as of the date of the next election.
It will only take a few minutes, and you’ll never have to do it again unless you move or change your name.
If it’s difficult for you to get to the Courthouse, you can call the office of the Saline County Clerk, at 253-8197, and they will tell you how you can register by mail.
Exercise your right to have a say in your government.
REGISTER AND VOTE!

The State Board of Elections has a downloadable registration form on line. It can be filled out and mailed in to Willie McClusky, County Clerk, Saline County Courthouse, Harrisburg, IL 62946. Mail-in registrations must be postmarked by February 17th.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Thanks,
David

Please call me at my office (253-3127) or home (252-8555) or send me an e-mail at nelson@accessus.net. Or you can write me at P.O. Box 386, Harrisburg.

There are only about 100 days between now and the primary election. I will be trying to meet everybody, and I would like to concentrate on getting voters registered. If you have friends or family who don't usually vote, or who haven't ever registered, or don't like to vote in the primary, talk to them and explain why they should vote in this primary.

If you have particular skills, contacts, or resources that you think would be helpful, please let me know.

Thanks,
David.

I am announcing today that I will be a candidate for Saline County state’s attorney in the upcoming election. After 27 years as a lawyer—15 of them spent as a judge—I would like to put my experience to work for the people of this county.

For those of you who don’t know me, let me give you a little autobiography. I was born and raised in Harrisburg, the first of five sons born to Charles and Virginia Wiggins Nelson. My Grandpa Wiggins was a coal miner, and my Grandpa Nelson was a teamster—back when that meant somebody that drove a team of mules. My brothers are Roger, Ron, Don, and Steve. For 28½ years I have been married to the former Mona Adams, the daughter of Thomas and Joan Carnahan Adams. For the last 15 years we have lived out in Mountain township on Womble Mountain Road. We have three children, Heather, Jesse, and Kate, and one granddaughter, Heather’s daughter Cassie Rea.

I grew up on the west side of Harrisburg, went to McKinley School, the junior high, and what was then Harrisburg Township High School. In my memory, most of my childhood outside of school was spent at McKinley Avenue Baptist church, the Mitchell-Carnegie Library, and the ball park. When I was a junior in high school, I was awarded a scholarship to the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and I left Harrisburg at age 17. When I graduated from Exeter, I was awarded a scholarship to Harvard, where I received a bachelor of arts degree.

I was out of college for nine years, and mostly away from Southern Illinois, before I decided to go to law school. During what I look back on now as my wandering years, I was a graduate student at New York University and SIU, served in the Peace Corps in Nigeria, and traveled around a lot, both in this country and in several countries overseas. I worked at various jobs including teacher, welfare case worker, and editor. Shortly before I went back to law school, I helped start and run a drug crisis intervention center here in Harrisburg.

I did not always want to be a lawyer. I thought I would probably be the great American novelist. But when the law school opened at SIU in 1973, I decided to apply, and I was admitted to the first class. My classmates, no doubt in honor of my advanced age, elected me president of the student bar association. While I was in law school, I was the research assistant for one of our professors, Ted Kionka. Immediately after graduation, I went to work as a law clerk for a judge of the Illinois Appellate Court, the late John Marshall Karns, Jr., in Belleville.

In 1977 I came back to Harrisburg and opened a law office. I was asked to continue to clerk for judges who were appointed temporarily to the Appellate Court. I was fortunate in this connection to work for the then highest-ranking woman in the Illinois judicial system, Judge Dorothy Spomer of Cairo.

I guess my most newsworthy cases as a lawyer were those here in Saline County in which I defended several coal miners who had been charged with mob action in connection with the protests surrounding the opening of the non-union Kerr-McGee mine near Galatia.

When Judge Brocton Lockwood—who had been working undercover for the FBI to expose corruption in the Cook County court system—resigned from his position as an associate judge, I applied to fill the vacancy. The circuit judges from the nine counties of the First Circuit chose me to succeed Judge Lockwood, and I turned our practice over to my law partner, Bruce Stewart (who is now the presiding circuit judge here in Saline County).

I took office in April 1984. For the next 15½ years, I presided over thousands of cases of all kinds, from small claims and traffic tickets to complex civil litigation and murder. Like all Illinois judges, I was subject to assignment by the supreme court to serve anywhere in the state, and I was assigned from time to time to courts from Cairo to Chicago. For most of my tenure as a judge, I was in Williamson County.

Four years ago, I felt like I needed a change, and decided to give up my judgeship and go back into private practice. (Coincidentally, Judge Lockwood was then re-appointed to fill the seat he had held 16 years before, and he has now resumed his distinguished judicial career here in Saline County.) My law practice has been concentrated in criminal defense, civil litigation, and appeals.

Now I have decided to run for state’s attorney. I think Saline County needs somebody who is capable of stepping in and taking over the controls in the state’s attorney’s office. I also think we need a state’s attorney without any political entanglements who is able and willing to take a non-political approach to the legal problems facing this county.

It should go without saying that this county needs a state’s attorney who is experienced in criminal law. We don’t want somebody to get his or her first experience in a criminal jury trial in a case where someone’s husband, wife, or child was killed. Our police officers deserve to have an able advocate on their side of the courtroom. And all of us need a prosecutor who is committed to the rule of law and to upholding the Bill of Rights.

I think I’m qualified to fill that position.

The state’s attorney also has the duty to represent Saline County in civil matters. The citizens of this county deserve a state’s attorney who is capable of giving independent advice to the county board and the other county officers, regardless of politics or personal considerations. I think I’m qualified to do that, too, and I pledge to do it if I’m elected.

At this stage of my career, I’m not looking for a stepping-stone to higher office, and I’m not looking to create a political dynasty. I’m a Democrat. But I never let politics interfere with any judicial decision I made, and I was careful to follow the rules of judicial conduct which forbid political activity. I don’t think we need a partisan approach to county government from the state’s attorney, who is supposed to be the attorney for all the people. And, for that matter, we don’t need a respecter of persons for any reason—race, religion, gender, social class, or personal or family ties.

If I am elected, my only agenda will be to uphold the constitution and laws, and to do my best to make the citizens of this county proud of their state’s attorney’s office.

If you want to help, or if there are issues which you think ought to be discussed, let me know. I’m in the phone book.

You have the power to make a change. In this country, “We the People” are supposed to govern ourselves. That’s what democracy is all about. But if you want to have a say in your government right here in Saline County, if you want to help change the way things are done around here, you have to do something yourself. You have to get registered to vote, and then you have to get out and vote. And if you feel strongly about it, you need to get involved in getting other people registered and out to vote.

The person who is going to be our next state’s attorney will be decided in the primary election on March 16th. That’s just three months away. You have to vote in this primary to have any say in choosing the next state’s attorney for Saline County.

Working together we can make a difference. I sure will appreciate your help. As President Kennedy said, “Here on earth, God’s work must surely be our own.”

David Nelson
117 W. Poplar St., P. O. Box 386, Harrisburg, IL 62946
253-3127 (office) 252-8555 (home) nelson@accessus.net

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