Prosecutors in traffic and misdemeanor courtrooms hold offenders accountable for misdemeanor offenses, advocating for victims of misdemeanor offenses and advocating for traffic safety through enforcement of traffic laws.
Offenders in these courtrooms face many sentencing options in addition to fines and jail: alcohol monitoring, victim impact panels, substance use counseling, chemical testing, deferred prosecution, and community service. In addition, new prosecutors gain experience in these courtrooms developing litigation skills with guidance and supervision from veteran prosecutors.
Assistant State’s Attorney Kinsella supervises nine prosecutors and six administrative personnel. Offenses are addressed in four courtrooms in 2023: Courtroom 203 at the Kane County Judicial Center, along with Aurora Branch Court, Elgin Branch Court, and Kane Branch Court. These courtrooms see the greatest volume of cases.
Misdemeanors
Our office in 2023 charged 2,040 new misdemeanor cases, down nearly seven percent from 2,176 new misdemeanor cases in 2022. Among the 2,040 new cases were 484 misdemeanor DUI cases. Misdemeanor cases have been on a steady decline for more than a decade as a result of changes in numerous laws and growing local DUI prosecutions.
Most Common Offenses
The most common misdemeanor offenses in 2023 not involving drugs, DUI, or domestic battery were resisting a peace officer (357 counts), disorderly conduct (218 counts), battery involving physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature (200 counts), driving while license suspended (1,785) and battery involving bodily harm (119 counts).
Traffic Court
We prosecuted 12,129 new traffic citations. This does not include 16,972 traffic citations that were prosecuted by the municipality in which they occurred. Our office may allow individual municipalities to prosecute traffic and misdemeanor DUI cases upon request. Traffic citations continue to decline due to fewer police interactions during the COVID-19 crisis.
