Former Grundy County State's Attorney Seeking to Recapture Role

Feb. 13, 2012 - PRLog -- Coal City attorney Dave Neal, who has previously been elected to two terms as Grundy County State’s Attorney from 1988 to 1996, has announced that he will seek the Democratic nomination for Grundy County State’s Attorney in 2012. “Since the resignation of our elected State’s Attorney in March of this year, I have been receiving a lot encouragement to return to public office,” said Neal. “For only the second time since 1984, the voters of Grundy County do not have an elected State’s Attorney on the ballot. This rare opportunity gives the voters a real choice regarding who should be our county’s top prosecutor, and I am excited to be a part of that choice.”

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As Grundy County State’s Attorney, Dave Neal handled many high profile jury trials. Neal personally tried bonfire murderer Edward Moore, Jr., which resulted in Moore’s conviction and death sentence. Neal also personally handled the first-degree murder jury trial of Danielle Struthers, resulting in a conviction for the murder of Struthers’ three-week-old baby.

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Neal, who has been practicing law for over thirty years, reminded voters, “This is a tough job that requires experience, training, fairness and a great deal of common sense. Our citizens need to know that their State’s Attorney has what it takes no matter how difficult the case. I am ready right now.”

As State’s Attorney, Dave Neal received statewide recognition for fairness and bi-partisan professionalism. Neal was elected by his fellow State’s Attorneys to lead them as the President of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association. Dave Neal was also named by his peers as the representative of all of Illinois’ State’s Attorneys as the Illinois Director of the Board of Directors of the National District Attorneys Association. Neal was also elected to be the statewide representative to the Board of Directors of the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor.

Neal stressed that the State’s Attorney has many challenging duties, both criminal and civil. “I bring real experience in all of the requirements of this office. I have taken on some tough issues, including a suit against Quantum Chemical following a deadly explosion.  Our lawsuit became the model in the industry, forcing a huge corporation to address worker safety. I took action to clean up a fire trap at the old paper mill, I sued environmental polluters, and I closed down a drug house, seized the building from the criminal operation running it, and I had the property donated to a local village. Most importantly, I believe a prosecutor can be tough yet compassionate. I promise to serve without bias against anyone and with fairness toward everyone.”

Dave Neal has practiced law locally since leaving the office of State’s Attorney. He was lead counsel and very instrumental in transforming the former Joliet Arsenal from an abandoned, polluted industrial site as well as creating the industrial parks that include the BNSF/CenterPoint Intermodal Yard in Elwood and the Operating Engineers Training Center in Wilmington. “I have learned how to create public/private partnerships that have resulted in thousands of good jobs. I want to take that knowledge and experience and work together with our local and state officials to finally make the most of our Economic Development Project Area right here in Grundy County. We are blessed with committed, hard-working legislators and county board members of both parties and a work force that is second to none. If we cooperate, we can bring jobs to our home county,” said Neal.

Neal is a strong advocate of women’s rights and of crime victims’ rights. As Grundy County State’s Attorney, Dave Neal was a co-author of innovative legislation, including the Illinois Crime Victim’s Bill of Rights, a law that made it illegal for criminals to contact their victims from prison, and a tough new stalker law. Neal has been appointed by former Governors Edgar and Ryan to be a member of statewide law enforcement commissions, including the “Illinois Violence Against Women Committee” and the “Illinois Truth in Sentencing Commission.” This past year, Neal served on the Illinois Disparate Sentencing Commission created to ensure fairness throughout Illinois’ criminal justice system.

In addition to his local law practice, Neal continues to serve as a prosecuting attorney, currently having been appointed by the courts to handle prosecutions throughout Illinois when the local prosecutor has been removed as a result of a conflict of interest. Dave Neal is licensed to practice in Illinois courts and the federal courts of the Northern District of Illinois and the United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Neal is one of the few local attorneys that has been admitted to practice in the prestigious United States Supreme Court Bar.

“When I was first elected Grundy County State’s Attorney, I think I was the youngest State’s Attorney in Illinois. Now I am returning with more than 30 years of experience and the perspective, and hopefully the wisdom, which is earned through that experience,” added Neal. “I chose to leave office after two successful terms because my children were very young and my wife, Dede, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The choice was clear; it was time to put family first. I am glad I made that choice then. Today, just as clearly, this is the right time for me to again offer my skills, experience and vision to the good people of Grundy County and to ask them if they would like me to represent them as their State’s Attorney.”

Neal, the first-ever Democrat State’s Attorney in Grundy County, was elected in 1988 and re-elected by a large margin in 1992. “I needed the support of Democrats, Republicans and Independents to be successful then, and I will need that type of support now as well,” noted Neal. “I’m ready and willing to work with everyone to get Grundy County moving forward again. We need to put differences behind us and find common ground as we work together for the people who elect us. I want to bring renewed respect and pride to our local criminal justice system, and I want to bring people together to encourage new businesses to come to Grundy County to create the good jobs we so desperately need.”

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