Dear Community Leaders,
Welcome to another issue of "For the People".
I would like to invite our community leaders to the Lake County State's Attorney's Office's Children's Advocacy Center's fundraising event. The event is being held to fund the completion of the center's Healing Garden on December 3rd. Please read below to learn more!
This has been an exciting fall for the LCSAO staff. It is always a pleasure to participate in local events and we enjoy the time spent within our Lake County community. In this issue, you will find events where staff participated, as well as learn about an award that our facility dog, Mitchell received! Congratulations to Mitchell, James, and Jason on their award!
Finally, I would like to wish every family in Lake County a safe and Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!
If you have any suggestions, comments or concerns, please contact my office at http://lcsao.org/contact-us. It is my honor to represent the people of Lake County each and every day.
Thank you.
Yours truly,
Michael G. Nerheim
Lake County State's Attorney
Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the Children's Advocacy Center's Healing Garden. The Healing Garden will serve to comfort child victims of crime.
Lake County State's Attorney Michael G. Nerheim announced that the Lake County State's Attorney's Office's Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) is hosting a fundraiser for their Healing Garden. The fundraiser will take place at the Glen Flora Country Club 2200 N. Sheridan Road, Waukegan, IL 60087 on December 3, 2015 beginning at 5:30pm.
Nerheim summoned a group of caring and enthusiastic individuals to come to the table to learn about the needs of the Center and to help educate the community on its existence. As a result, the CAC Friends Committee was developed and have begun the process of helping to raise funds for the CAC Healing Garden. The garden will be located at the CAC in Gurnee, IL. It will allow children and their families to reflect in a safe space, free of shame and fear. The space will be available for children who come to the CAC to interact, as well as learn that they are not alone in their healing process. The goal of the CAC Friends Committee is to build a healing garden that will be enjoyed by children for years to come. In addition, the Healing Garden will symbolize the power of healing and give victims the strength to know that there is hope.
In June of 2014, the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) Friends Committee was created under the direction of State's Attorney Nerheim. The Lake County Children's Advocacy Center has been in existence since 1987 and it was founded by former Chief Judge Fred Foreman. The Center works in conjunction with the Lake County State's Attorney's Office and local Lake County Police Departments to investigate children who have been physically and sexually abused in Lake County. The CAC is a 501(c)3 organization. It provides a safe, friendly, less invasive environment to children when being interviewed. The CAC is also focused on creating fewer traumas for the child victim, and serves as the first step for children in their healing process.
All proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit the Children's Advocacy Center's (CAC) Healing Garden. Ticket prices are $40 and will include Hors d'Oeuvres. A silent auction will be held and will include hundreds of items that have been donated by local businesses, families and organizations.
For tickets and information, please contact the Lake County State's Attorney's Office, Carrie Flanigan at (847) 377-3000 or by email at cflanigan@lakecountyil.gov. The deadline for the purchase of tickets is on December 1st. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
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Click here to view the invitation
 Chicago Bears/United Way of Lake County Hometown Huddle
Unveils New Play Areas in Lake County
to Provide a Therapeutic Environment for Two Worthy Nonprofit Organizations
The Chicago Bears’ 2015 Rookie Class visited Lake County to take part in the transformation of two outdoor spaces into a tranquil, therapeutic place for children and adults who have suffered abuse. The 2015 Hometown Huddle project took place at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center and the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center, both in Gurnee. These ‘Chicago Bears Play Zones’ were equipped with new playgrounds and landscaping to provide a nurturing environment to support the emotional well-being of the victims of sexual abuse.
“We are extremely grateful for our partnership with the Chicago Bears and the National Football League (NFL). The Play Areas are going to make a big impact in the lives of victims suffering the trauma of abuse,” said Kristi Long, President and CEO of United Way of Lake County. “These projects really demonstrate our commitment to support organizations that are building safe and stable families in Lake County.”
The Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center (LCCAC) is a safe environment for victims of abuse to talk with law enforcement and the Department of Children and Family Services to help with the investigation and prosecution of offenders of child abuse. The center works with hundreds of victims who suffer from sexual, physical, or have witnessed abuse. This center had their unused outdoor space transformed into a play area with a new play structure and sensory garden to provide comfort and help reduce trauma for the children.
The Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center (ZCenter) has served as a community of healing and addressing the widespread crime of sexual violence. This organization provides free counseling, educational programs for survivors of sexual abuse, and mobilizes the community to take action against sexual violence. This center had their existing playground area revitalized with a new play structure to use for play therapy.
“As a community-centered organization, collaborations are critical to our success. Partnerships with organizations like the Chicago Bears, who have such tremendous reach and impact on our shared community, are vital to highlighting some of the many issues facing our children. We are deeply grateful for their investment in ZCenter and our clients,” said Amy Junge, CEO of Zacharias Center.
The NFL and Bears Care, the charitable arm of the Chicago Bears, have donated $20,000 each for the completion of the 2015 Hometown Huddle project. Additional partners involved include Bleck and Bleck Architects of Libertyville, The LCCAC Friends Committee, Manhard Consulting, Ltd., MJD Property Solutions, Rainbow Play Systems, and Wright Landscaping.
“On behalf of the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, I am extremely grateful for the donation received for the Chicago Bears’ Play Zones. A portion of the funding received will to help in completing our Victim’s Healing Garden at our Children’s Advocacy Center. The Healing Garden will be utilized by children for years to come and, in addition to providing a peaceful place of reflection for the children that visit our center, it will also symbolize the power of community collaboration to promote healing,” said Nerheim, Lake County State's Attorney. “Projects like this are not possible without our partnerships with the Chicago Bears, the United Way of Lake County, and the Zacharias Center. I also want to extend my gratitude to our community partners, donors, and the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center Friends Committee; it is a true demonstration of teamwork throughout Lake County.”
The Hometown Huddle kick-off took place today, players from the Chicago Bears spent their afternoon planting a tree and shrubs, laid down sod, and assembled a playground structure.
Hometown Huddle is a national day of community service when all NFL teams team up with their local United Way to promote volunteerism and community engagement.
About NFL PLAY 60 – United Way Hometown Huddle:
Designed to tackle childhood obesity, NFL PLAY 60 brings together the NFL’s long-standing commitment to health and wellness with partner organizations. PLAY 60 also is implemented locally, as part of the NFL's in-school, after-school and team-based programs. Since the program was launched in 2007, the NFL has committed more than $325 million to youth health and fitness through programming, grants, and media time for public service announcements. The NFL and its teams have built more than 200 NFL Youth Fitness Zones and integrated programs into more than 73,000 schools nationwide since the campaign launched. All 32 clubs activate PLAY 60 locally, with more than 2,000 NFL PLAY 60 events held annually. For more information, visit www.NFLRUSH.com/play60.
About Lake County Advocacy Center:
Founded in 1987 by the Honerable Fred Foreman, the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center is committed to providing a safe environment for child victims of abuse. The goal of the Center is to investigate and help successfully prosecute offenders of child abuse without causing further trauma to the child victim. Furthermore, the Advocacy Center is dedicated to approaching victims of child abuse in a sensitive, respectful manner. For more information, visit ww.lcsao.org/about-us/childrens-advocacy-center
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 Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of individuals whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.
The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30 day period.
The Lake County State's Attorney's Office was invited to Youth Build of Lake County's Hispanic Heritage month celebration. The students of Youth Build had the opportunity to meet with Hispanic local leaders and professionals to learn about the different cultures that surround them. The students presented to the leaders about traditions such as: the Mexican traditional dance, the pinata tradition, and introduced a variety of Latino traditional foods. The Lake County State's Attorney's Office was a proud participant of the event.
Thank you Youth Build of Lake County!
The Lake County State's Attorney's Office's Knowledge is Power Program has entered into a collaboration with the Mundelein High School's DOORS Program [Doors of Opportunity Relevant to Students]. Both programs share the same ideals in terms of reaching out to students to begin exploring career paths at a high school age. The DOORS program aims to bring real-world work skills and situations to students while still in high school. While the Knowledge is Power Program gives students throughout Lake County an insight of careers within the criminal justice system, the Doors program gives students the opportunity to experience a true work environment in an area that interests them.
The student interns are placed at their placement sites for a period of nine weeks (one semester) per year, a couple times a week for an hour and a half. This semester's SAO Knowledge is Power intern is Crystal Hernandez. She is a senior at Mundelein High School and is interested in pursuing a career in law.
To learn more about the Mundelein High School's DOORS Program, please visit http://www.d120.org/news/default.aspx?ArticleId=1012.
 From left to right: Mike Nerheim, Lake County State's Attorney and Cofounder of the Lake County Opioid Initiative; Andy Duran, Executive Director of Leading Efforts Against Drugs (LEAD); Chelsea Laliberte, Executive Director of Live4lali and Cofounder of the Lake County Opioid Intiative
LEAD, a Lake Forest based non-profit, is expanding its 24/7 anonymous Text-A-Tip program to include all communities in Lake County, IL. After successfully launching in Lake Forest/Lake Bluff the system has been extended to include towns along the North Shore and recently became available in McHenry County.
Text-A-Tip provides a 24/7 anonymous text-communication system to youth needing immediate mental health assistance for themselves or a friend. Members of the community can send a text message to a dedicated number and receive an immediate response from a licensed clinician while remaining completely anonymous. The anonymity makes it a comfortable place for students to share and provides a safe outlet for voicing concerns about themselves and others.
“Thanks to the efforts of LEAD, Text-A-Tip has been hugely successful in offering youth an innovative way to seek help,” said Michael G. Nerheim, Lake County State’s Attorney. “I am excited to bring this program to the entire county and provide the people of Lake County a vehicle by which they can get support anonymously. This will, without a doubt, save lives.”
“Text-A-Tip was created to give young people an outlet for anonymous, immediate help for themselves or their friends,” said Andy Duran, executive director of LEAD. “Whether struggling with depression, drug or alcohol abuse, bullying or challenging family issues, we allow them to reach out for help using their preferred method of communication – text messaging.”
How It Works:
Each community receives a unique ID which routes messages, in real-time, to a local on-call response team. All messages are sent through an offsite cloaking server that keeps the communication completely anonymous.
Anyone in Lake County wishing to use the system will simply text the phrase “LAKECO” to 274637.
Who Responds to the Texts?
The Response Team for Lake County consists of licensed/certified mental health professionals from Barrington Behavioral Health & Wellness who are on-call 24/7 to respond to messages. On-call clinicians from both their Barrington and Lake Zurich offices are responsible for responding appropriately to each communication and for following up whenever necessary. In the case of a life-threatening condition or criminal activity, emergency responders will be notified.
LEAD is proud to partner with the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center, Lake County Opioid Initiative, Lake County Regional Office of Education, Barrington Behavioral Health & Wellness and The Child, Adolescent and Family Recovery Center to bring this initiative to the whole of Lake County. Carol Calabresa, Lake County Board Vice-Chair, was responsible for securing funding for the expansion of Text-A-Tip into Lake County through the Lake County Board.
For more information, visit www.leadingefforts.org or call (847) 295-9075.
About LEAD
LEAD™ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to parents and other adults and their role in the promotion of healthy family relationships and the prevention of alcohol, drug use, and other risky behavior by youth. LEAD has served the Lake Forest, Lake Bluff and Knollwood, IL communities (population 30,000) for nearly 30 years, and now conducts trainings, workshops and presentations for both youth and adults all over the country.
 From left to right: James Magna, Special Investigator; Jason Grindel, Assistant State's Attorney; Mike Nerheim, Lake County State's Attorney; Mitchell
On Wednesday, November 4, 2015 the Lake County State's Attorney's Office's facility dog, Mitchell was awarded with the 'Paws of Distinction Award' by the Chicago Crime Commission.
The award was presented on Wednesday at the Chicago Crime Commission's Stars of Distinction Awards Dinner. The awards dinner took place at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. Approximately 200 dignitaries and corporate leaders from the Chicago metropolitan area attended the awards dinner. At the ceremony, awards are presented to individuals and task forces in local, state and federal law enforcement that have made significant contributions to crime fighting efforts.
"Last night the Chicago Crime Commission awarded Mitchell this year’s 'Paws of Distinction Award'. I want to thank the Chicago Crime Commission for the award given to Mitchell and his handlers," said Nerheim. He has been a wonderful addition to the Lake County State's Attorney's Office family and he is loved by many. He was also a huge hit at the ceremony."
Mitchell joined the Lake County State's Attorney's Office in April of 2015. Mitchell is a yellow Labrador Retriever born July 19, 2013. Shortly after his birth, Mitchell was selected for training as a service dog based upon his temperament, attitude, and interaction with people. Mitchell was donated to the State’s Attorney’s Office by Support Dogs, Inc, a national not-for-profit organization accredited by Assistance Dogs International. Mitchell went through an extensive series of trainings, including a formal program at the Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center (SWICC). While at the SWICC program, inmates of the facility actually aid in the early training stages of these facility dogs. After the trainings concluded, Mitchell graduated from Support Dogs, Inc., and became a professionally certified and trained assistance dog. In April of 2015, Assistant States Attorney Jason Grindel and Investigator James Magna became designated handlers for Mitchell.
Since 1919, the Commission has worked towards improving the criminal justice system in Chicago by finding and supporting solutions tocurrently existing concerns. Through innovation, research and education, the Commission works to give criminal justice and public safety agencies more effective practices, and thereby helping to make Chicago an even greater city.
Lake County State's Attorney, Michael G. Nerheim was invited by the Northern California Innocence Project to speak at their conference on Friday, September 25, 2015 in Santa Clara, California.
Prosecutors from more than 15 jurisdictions across the country have taken the laudable step of creating “conviction review programs”. A groundbreaking symposium offered by the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) at Santa Clara University School of Law aims to take these efforts to the next level: sharing best practices for expediting reviews and exonerations; discussing the need for even more such programs; and analyzing what works well and areas of potential improvement in currently-implemented programs.
At the conference, Nerheim participated on a panel of speakers that addressed 'the need for conviction review'. The panel of speakers included: Kenneth Lynch Asst. Head Deputy District Attorney in Los Angeles, CA; Jeff Adachi, Public Defender at the San Francisco Public Defender's Office; Jeff Rosen, District Attorney in Santa Clara County, CA; Mark Hale, Deputy District Attorney in Kings County, NY; and Chris Mumma, Executive Director at the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence.
Nerheim also participated in a second panel of speakers addressing the “nuts and bolts” of model Conviction Review Programs employed across the Nation. Nerheim was joined on this panel with David Angel, Assistant District Attorney, Santa Clara County, CA; Russell Wilson II, Former Director, Conviction Integrity Unit, Dallas County, TX; Brent Thomas Neck, Deputy District Attorney, San Diego, CA; Catherine Kobal, Deputy District Attorney, Alameda County, CA; and Mark Hale, Assistant District Attorney, Kings County, NY.
Lake County State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim has created a case review panel that consists of Special Assistant State’s Attorneys separate from the State’s Attorney’s Office. As an independent review board, their duty is to review cases that have triggered questions regarding actual innocence, and to identify and implement best practices to help prevent wrongful convictions. The Case Review Panel works in conjunction with, but independent from, an in-house Conviction Review Team.
"Tackling the wrongful conviction issue has been one of my top priorities. The Case Review Panel is currently being recognized as a national model due to its effective and innovative way of addressing wrongful convictions. I firmly believe that the job of a prosecutor to seek justice does not end upon a conviction,” said Nerheim. "I appreciate the work of the Northern California Innocence Project has done to effectively promote solutions. By working together with various innocence projects and with other prosecutors from across the U.S. we will collectively come up with the most effective solution to this important issue."
The Mission of the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) is to promote a fair, effective and compassionate criminal justice system and protect the rights of the innocent.
The Lake County State's Attorney's Office is always working with other not-for-profit and private sector organizations to educate and answer relevant questions. The staff has conducted presentations that touch on:
- The prevention, education and dangers of sexting among youth
- Cyber Safety
- Teen Dating Violence
- Domestic Violence
- Elder Abuse
- Sexual Assault
- Identity Theft
- Anti-Bullying
- Gang and Narcotics
Please, feel free to contact Cynthia Vargas or Carrie Flanigan at 847.377.3000 or http://lcsao.org/contact-us for more information.
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