Violence Prevention and Public Safety
Prosecuting Crimes
Illinois Attorney General’s Office is responsible for bringing justice in several specific areas of serious criminal activity.
Investigating and Prosecuting Serious Crimes that Cross County Lines
The Statewide Grand Jury Bureau charges and prosecutes major multi-county drug, money-laundering, and gun crimes throughout the state. Many of these cases involve complex, long-term investigations, typically against mid- and high-level drug dealers. The Bureau has original jurisdiction over these offenses and its authority comes from the Statewide Grand Jury Act, 725 ILCS 215/1, et seq. Its grand jury sits in Dixon for eighteen months and hears nothing but SWGJ cases. SWGJ AAGs are active in courtrooms around the state. SWGJ cases are prosecuted vertically, which means the attorneys handle all aspects of a case, from investigative aspects and presenting the case before the grand jury to trial, asset forfeitures and post-conviction motions.
Prosecuting Murder Cases with our Law Enforcement Partners
The Criminal Prosecutions/Trials Assistance Bureau investigates and prosecutes criminal offenses throughout Illinois. The Bureau provides assistance to State’s Attorneys in two situations: when a conflict of interest exists that precludes the State’s Attorney from prosecuting a case, and when a State’s Attorney needs assistance due to the complexity of a case.
During 2022, the Criminal Prosecutions/Trials Assistance Bureau handled 186 cases in over 22 counties throughout the state.
Protecting Communities from Sexually Violent Persons
The Attorney General is authorized by statute to conduct Sexually Violent Persons prosecutions. The Sexually Violent Persons Bureau handles sex offender civil commitment cases and sexually dangerous persons prosecutions. Attorneys from our office review cases of violent sex offenders who may need to be in or remain in state custody. The Bureau prosecutes all SVP cases and assists with SDP cases throughout the 102 counties of this State.
In 2022 the SVP Bureau filed 29 new cases.