The Village Board is expected to decide Monday whether the municipality will take over prosecuting its misdemeanor court cases for violations such as retail theft and traffic offenses currently handled by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
Village attorney Richard Williams and his two assistants would serve as prosecutor, rather than a state’s attorney.
The measure would give the village better control over the court cases and would limit police overtime costs, since the village would be able to dispose of cases more quickly, Williams said.
The village would continue to receive a portion of the fines generated by convictions.
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Last month Arlington Heights prosecutor Ernie Blomquist described the advantages of prosecuting misdemeanor violations.
Although most board members said they favor the measure, trustees Karen Mills and Susan Kenley-Rupnow asked during this week’s Finance Committee meeting that they be allowed to review Blomquist’s presentation before making a decision.
If trustees move forward with the plan, it would take at least three months to begin. Officials said that if they don’t like the new system, they could hand back their cases to the state’s attorney’s office.