Joe_Birkett

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Joe Birkett Joe Birkett Joseph E. Birkett (born February 13, 1955) is the DuPage County State’s Attorney and former Republican nominee for Illinois Lieutenant Governor with running-mate Judy Baar Topinka. Birkett has been State’s Attorney since October 1, 1996 when he was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Anthony Peccarelli. 2006 run for Lieutenant Governor Judy Baar Topinka named Birkett as her running mate on 9 December 2005. On March 21, 2006, he defeated Steve Rauschenberger, Sandy Wegman, and Lawrence Bruckner in the Republican Party’s primary. Topinka also won her primary race. In the November 7, 2006 General Election, Democrats Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn defeated Topinka and Birkett, as well as the Green Party’s Rich Whitney and Julie Samuels. Biography Birkett is one of 10 children on Chicago’s West side. His father died when he was 13. He attended St. Phillip High School, and Aurora Central Catholic High School where he was football team captain and Most Valuable Player. He went on to attend North Central College, where he earned a B.A. in Political Science and English in 1977. He received his Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School in 1981, where he placed first in the Intramural Moot Court Competition. He was the Assistant State’s Attorney of Dupage County from 1981 to 1985, Chief of Major Crimes Unit from 1988 to 1986, Deputy Chief of Criminal Division from 1986 to 1991, Chief of Criminal Division from 1991 to 1996, and has served as DuPage County State’s Attorney since then. He was first elected in November 1996, then re-elected in 2000 and 2004. Birkett gained national attention when he prosecuted Marilyn Lemak in 1999 for the murders of her three children. Lemak is currently serving a life sentence. He has been married to Patricia Hill since July 9, 1977, and has two children, Nick and Jackie. He is a resident of Wheaton and attends St. Daniel The Prophet Catholic Church in Wheaton. His brother-in-law is George Wendt, who is married to Birkett’s sister Bernadette.[1] 2010 run for Illinois Governor Joe Birkett intends to run for Governor of Illinois in 2010.[2] Controversy Rolando Cruz case In 2002 Birkett’s role in the wrongful prosecution of Rolando Cruz, subsequently exonerated by DNA evidence in the murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico, was partly responsible for his loss to Democrat Lisa Madigan in the race for Illinois attorney general.[3] 2007-8 Prosecution of Iraq War protesters On July 18, 2007, The Naperville Sun published an editorial calling the state’s attorney’s disorderly conduct charges against two war protestors "heavy-handed". The editorial opined: It is hard to believe that the criminal charges against Sarah M. Hartfield, 45, of Naperville and Jeff Zurawski, 39, of Downers Grove are not at least to some extent politically inspired in nature...We also suspect that had the banner read "Support Bush and Cheney" instead of "Impeach Bush and Cheney - LIARS" the situation would have been viewed a little differently.[4][5][6] 2002 run for Attorney General In 2002, Birkett ran for Illinois Attorney General against Democrat Lisa Madigan. Madigan defeated Birkett in the November 7, 2002 General Election with 50 percent of the vote to Birkett’s 47%. 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Supporters of the defendants staged three rallies at the DuPage County courthouse. The charges were dropped when the chief witness failed to appear in court. Jeff Zurawski called the prosecution "vindictive" and requested a public apology.[7] Joe Birkett local&id=3728424. Retrieved on February 23, 2009. Charges too severe against those who hung banner July 18, 2007 The Naperville Sun 2 face new charges in political-banner case By Art Barnum July 17, 2007 "New charges in war protest arrests" Chicago Daily Herald, IL Jul 17, 2007 "DuPage judge drops charges in war protest" Chicago Tribune - Chicago, Ill. by Art Barnum Aug 21, 2008 Page 5 Metro [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] References [1] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083579/ bio [2] "Birkett gears up for 2010 statewide race" February 3, 2009 Steve Huntley Chicago Sun-Times [3] Shaw, Andy (December 15, 2005). "Topinka taps DuPage County state’s attorney as running mate". abc7chicago.com. http://abclocal.go.com/ wls/story?section=news/ External links • Joe Birkett’s Official Website • Box Rec bio of Joe Birkett Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Birkett" Categories: Living people, Illinois Republicans, People from Wheaton, Illinois, North Central College alumni, 1955 births, Politicians from Chicago, Illinois This page was last modified on 23 March 2009, at 15:30 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers 2