Special Prosecution Unit

The Special Prosecution Unit of the Agency consists of five experienced trial attorneys who assist in prosecuting criminal cases when requested to do so by and at the direction of the State's Attorney and solely prosecute criminal cases when duly appointed by a court having jurisdiction. The Administrator of the Unit is Charles R. Zalar, former State's Attorney of Grundy County. The other prosecutors are also former State's Attorneys. They are: Edwin Parkinson (Morgan County), Michael Vujovich (Assistant State's Attorney - Sangamon County), David Rands (Richland County), and Charles Colburn (Morgan County).

 

If a conflict of interest arises in a State's Attorneys office, and the State's Attorney wants an independent, detached review and prosecution by an outside person, or if special assistance is needed due to the complexity of a case, the Agency makes the services of the Special Prosecution Unit available.

 

The Unit has been particularly active in downstate Illinois, where personnel and financial resources are more limited than in the more populous counties. Trial assistance has been provided in numerous murder cases, cases dealing with official misconduct of public officials, as well as numerous other criminal and civil matters when the State's Attorney was unable to prosecute. During FY08, the Unit provided assistance to State's Attorneys in 358 cases in 69 counties.

 

The State's Attorneys have found the services of the Unit to be particularly helpful to them. Frequently, when the Unit is asked to assist, the cases involve complex issues and trial experience is a absolute necessity. The five prosecutors have over 115 years of combined prosecutorial experience.

 

The Special Prosection Unit has become a valuable resource to the State's Attorneys of Illinois. The combination of a unit of experienced trial prosecutors with legal and technical expertise and the Agency's appellate staff attorneys provides the trial courts with needed expert assistance in complex cases.

 

Special Prosecution Unit : (Administrator)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles Zalar
crzalar@ilsaap.org

 

 

Special Prosecution Unit:

 


Steps to obtain an order to secure the appointment of a special prosecutor, please:



1. fill out the request form (below) and email or fax back to our office,


REQUEST FORM .PDF ***right click "save as"

2. obtain approval of your request from the Director,

3. complete the Motion for Appointment (below) and file with the Circuit Clerk,

MOTION FORM.PDF ***right click "save as"

4. complete the Order of Appointment (below) and obtain Judge’ signature,


ORDER FORM.PDF ***right click "save as"

5. return a copy of the approved Motion, Order and case materials to the Unit Administrator,

Chad Hilligoss
725 S. Second Street
Springfield, Il 62704
chilligoss@ilsaap.org
217-782-6305 (fax)

 

During FY10, the following counties utilized the Special Prosecution Unit:

 

Adams Alexander Bond Brown Calhoun Carroll
Cass Champaign Christian Clark Clay Clinton
Crawford Cumberland DeWitt Douglas Edgar Effingham
Fayette Ford Fulton Greene Grundy Hamilton
Hancock Hardin Iroquois Jackson Jasper Jefferson
Jersey Johnson Kane Kankakee Knox Lake
LaSalle Lawerence Lee Livingston Logan Macoupin
Madison Marion Marshall Mason McDonough McLean
Mercer Montgomery Morgan Moultrie Piatt Pike
Putnam Richland Rock Island Sangamon Shelby Stark
St. Clair Union Vermilion Warren Washington White
Will Winnebago Woodford