From a friend of Abraham Lincoln to a German-born blacksmith to modern-day legal professionals, the job of top prosecutor for Kane County has been held by a variety of community builders and colorful figures — and that’s not just a reference to Norman Purple.
Recently, Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon — the 42nd to hold the post — formally announced the online launch of a history project completed by his office to tell the stories of his predecessors dating back to Alonzo Huntington in 1837. The presentation, available on the state’s attorney’s office website, features short biographies that detail war service, political careers and an insight into how the job changed over the last 178 years.
“Public service was a theme throughout,” said Chris Nelson, public information officer, who helped spearhead the project.
McMahon said the overall goal was to “get an understanding of the history of the office” from the days when prosecutors oversaw multiple counties and went after horse thieves to the more recent era of elected state’s attorneys navigating an often complex legal realm.
Huntington, who never actually lived in Kane County upon its formation in 1836, was the first state’s attorney overseeing the area when it was part of what was then the 7th District. Huntington was present for the county’s first day of court in Geneva in June 1837. In 1839, Purple took over as state’s attorney as part of a legal career that eventually saw him appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Many such tidbits fill the history outlined by the project. State’s attorneys fought in the Civil War, served in Congress and played prominent roles in the formative years of Kane County. Benjamin Fridley was elected as Kane’s first sheriff in 1836, eight years before he became state’s attorney. In addition to being state’s attorney, Col. Edward S. Joslyn also served during the Civil War and later spent two terms as Elgin’s mayor. Burton C. Cook, state’s attorney from 1847-51, was considered a “good friend” of Honest Abe and twice nominated Lincoln for president at Republican National Conventions.
The state’s attorney wasn’t elected by voters until 1872, and it was another 100 years before Gerry Dondanville served as the first full-time Kane County state’s attorney. He was followed in 1976 by Eugene Armentrout, who is credited with hiring the first female assistant state’s attorneys. More recently, in the early 2000s, Meg Gorecki became the first woman elected to the office.
Among other facts:
*Two state’s attorneys were born outside the United States: Charles Metzner (Germany) and Terrance E. Ryan (Ireland). Metzner was a blacksmith in Aurora before an eye injury prompted him to study the law. Ryan’s family settled in the Elgin area during his youth. He later worked for a St. Charles law office and served as an alderman.
*Frank Joslyn served as state’s attorney 31 years after his father left office, marking the only father-son duo to hold the position.
*Albert J. Hopkins, the first state’s attorney to be elected by residents, spent eight terms in Congress and is credited with helping secure the building of Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Lake Bluff.
McMahon expressed his appreciation to Nelson and staffer Linda Scham for their work, much of it off hours, on the project. He also credited the Geneva History Center and longtime Kane County attorney Van Richards for contributing.
See for yourself
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Find the Kane County state’s attorney history project online at http://saopublic.co.kane.il.us/Pages/History.aspx.
Dan Campana is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.