Human Rights Commission

The pledge signed by the candidates for Lake County State's Attorney to enforce victims' rights, uphold the Constitution, and adhere by the prosecutor's duty to seek justice, not merely to obtain convictions, will require the establishment of a Human Rights Commission.

Denise Rotheimer, founder, Mothers On a Mission to Stop Violence (MOMSV) requested the Lake County Board establish a human rights commission (HRC) to act as a liaison between a resident whose right has been violated and the State's Attorney who allegedly violated his or her right. The liaison will make recommendations to remedy the violation on behalf of the injured person. If the State's Attorney's Office is unwilling to remedy the violation, the HRC will present its report to Lake County Board members and recommend a denial of any grant requests by the Lake County State's Attorney's Office that are not mandated by state statute.

The people in Illinois remain vulnerable to 11th Amendment Sovereign Immunity enjoyed by prosecutors—even in cases of malicious prosecution. Furthermore, victims' rights are unenforceable and provide no penalty for criminal justice authorities to adhere to the law. Since victims' rights laws deny victims a cause of action for damages and appellate relief, victims are deprived of access to the courts and have no remedy to seek a for redress their grievances.

The Pledge and Human Rights Commission are logical steps toward protecting citizen's rights and limiting unjust spending of taxpayer dollars.

Mothers On a Mission to Stop Violence is a grass-roots organization dedicated to strengthening and enforcing laws that protect victims and survivors of violent crime and working to create a fair, just, and equitable court system.