DuPage County State’s Atty. Joseph Birkett said Thursday that he will seek a fourth term as the county’s leading prosecutor.
Birkett, 52, a Wheaton Republican, said a recent controversy in his office involving a top county prosecutor who was killed in an auto crash while driving drunk and speeding after drinking with colleagues did not play a part in his decision to run. He also did not rule out any runs for statewide or other office in the future.
“I’m ending speculation for the foreseeable future and I hope to be the leader of this office,” he said.
Birkett, widely known as a tough-on-crime prosecutor and staunch death penalty supporter, has won three elections in the solidly Republican county since 1996 and was unopposed by a Democrat in 2004. But he failed in statewide bids for lieutenant governor last year with gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka and for Illinois attorney general in 2002, won by Lisa Madigan.
Birkett, who announced his re-election plans to his staff Thursday morning, said he has turned down offers for appointments to Circuit Court, appellate and federal judgeships as well as offers from private firms in order to focus on his work as state’s attorney.
“I want to continue to play key roles in developing both civil and criminal laws in the state,” Birkett said. “I’m very happy where I’m at. … This is all about the job. The GOP has given up too much ground on public safety issues and we have to put those public safety issues back on top of the agenda.”
Although some Republicans were considering bids if Birkett did not run again, they are unlikely to challenge him now, party leaders said.
Democrats in recent years have made a better showing as demographics change in DuPage, which now has nearly a million residents. But Republicans still hold every elected office in the county, and no Democrat has won a countywide election since at least World War II, election and party officials said.
DuPage Democratic Party Chairwoman Gayl Ferraro could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Birkett said the keystones of his re-election campaign will be working to keep communities safe and reorganizing the child-protection division of his office.
Noting that his office staff has decreased, Birkett said, “The county keeps growing, and we need to grow with it. “
Pat Durante, Addison Township GOP chairman, said Birkett’s law-and-order reputation gives him “probably the most favorable name recognition in DuPage County,” which would make it “foolish” for any other Republican to challenge him in a primary. All politicians have liabilities, but the controversy over the death of Jane Radostits and the resignation of Jeff Kendall, also a deputy chief prosecutor with whom she had been drinking, probably will not come back to haunt Birkett, Durante said.
Birkett’s office also suffered an embarrassment when Deborah O’Brien, a former state’s attorney coordinator who worked 13 years for the office, stole nearly $1 million from a crime victims restitution fund. She was sentenced in May to 11 years in prison.
“He had employees that did the wrong thing that shouldn’t have done what they did, and Joe has, I think, answered that in a responsible way and taken care of that and disciplined everyone accordingly,” Durante said. “When all is said and done, his office has a fantastic record of prosecution.”
Birkett had $134,121 in campaign funds available at the end of 2006, a filing with the State Board of Elections said.
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