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June 2021
Dear Residents and Community Leaders,
June has been an extremely meaningful and exciting month.
I was proud to represent the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office at Waukegan’s 2021 Pride Drive in honor of LGBTQ+ Pride Month, the Mundelein High School Black Student Union 5K Race Against Gun Violence, and the Waukegan Park District’s 2021 Juneteenth Celebration.
Juneteenth was first celebrated in 1865 to joyously commemorate the freeing of the last enslaved people, and it represents one of our earliest nationwide celebrations of human equality and dignity. Pride month was recognized much later in our history but is part of the same long arc that passes through our national struggle to achieve equality for all. June is also National Immigrant Heritage Month. Our history and our fight for equality will forever be tied to the immigrant’s story of surviving and flourishing in a new home despite those who may try to stop her. Our office is dedicated to breaking down any and all systemic obstacles to equality in Lake County neighborhoods and in our courthouse.
I wish everyone a safe, happy, and meaningful Fourth of July weekend as we all reflect on the struggle for freedom before and after the Declaration of Independence. I believe that the lasting meaning of the Declaration is that we are all morally and legally equal and that the daily challenge of America is to live up to that ideal. Here, at our Office, we will work every day to meet that challenge in how we protect our communities, how we choose to fight crime in the long term, and how we administer justice.
Yours,
Spotlight Story
State's Attorney Comfort, Search Dogs Building Tenure and a Trailblazing Legacy
While some of their coats are showing a bit of white, and the initial novelty has worn off, the Lake County State’s Attorney‘s Office comfort and search dogs have exceeded expectations, broken barriers, and earned both respect and love from staff and clients.
The office has three dogs, Mitch and Hitch, who are trained comfort dogs, and Browser, an electronics search K-9 whose nose helps investigators find caches of child pornography or evidence of other crimes in hidden flash drives and other electronic storage devices when search warrants are served.
Browser
Browser is a trained K-9 search dog, who, when not out assisting on search warrants, is usually in the State’s Attorney’s Office Cyber Lab or the office of his handler, Cyber Crimes Analyst Carol Gudbrandsen.
Brower’s role is different from those of the two comfort dogs, and, while also very friendly, it’s his nose that makes his career.
An English Black Labrador, Browser holds the prestigious title of Digital Evidence K-9. His training by Jordan Detection K-9 of Indianapolis taught him to sniff out a specific bonding chemical used in electronic circuitry. The chemical is not detectable to the human nose, but clear as day to the trained K-9.
A valuable asset, Browser often assists the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and other local police on searches for hidden electronics, and by request, has worked with agencies including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
“Browser is in his prime, and he’s seasoned. He’s done approximately 100 search warrants with us,” Gudbrandsen said of the youngest of the office’s dogs. “Browser and I regularly assist other departments, but K-9s and handlers are always together.”
And in that spirit, all three current State’s Attorney’s dog handlers said they plan to bring their partners home when it’s time for the dogs to retire to a life of back yards, walks, and rest.
Hitch
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Victim Witness Coordinator Jenna Melloy with Lake County State's Attorney's Office comfort dog Hitch, who provides a calming presence during the Lake County Circuit Court's Specialty Court programs, including Veterans Court, Drug Court and Mental Health Court. In addition to her separate duties as a victim witness coordinator, she serves as Hitch's handler, takes him home and night and will be permanently adopting Hitch when it is time for him to retire. |
Hitch, a Black Labrador Retriever who was donated to the State’s Attorney’s Office by Duo Dogs, a national, non-profit organization, is assigned to the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court's Therapeutic Intensive Monitoring Program. The program includes Lake County Specialty Courts for qualified defendants accepted into Mental Health Court, Drug Court, or Veterans Court.
The Specialty Courts have reopened in Lake County and, while the overall court system is still mainly virtual proceedings, Hitch is back to work easing tensions for veterans who may be dealing with PTSD and other issues, those struggling with addiction that is disrupting their lives, and individuals with mental health issues. (These courts are a voluntary alternative for non-violent defendants who meet the proper criteria for entry.)
Specialty Courts require numerous appearances for defendants, many of whom get to know Hitch over their extended time in the program and find him a source of comfort and stress relief, according to his handler, Victim Witness Coordinator Jenna Melloy.
Melloy said that because the Specialty Court process can take over a year, clients usually get to know him well.
“Hitch is great because he builds a relationship with clients in the courts. He’s one of the first to play that role, if not the first.”
She said Hitch works in court three days a week. “He has free rein to hang out with the people in charge (of the program) and clients (defendants),” she said.
“This is not a good time for a lot of these people, and sometimes having a dog around is nice for them and something they can look forward to,” Melloy said.
Hitch follows defendants through the process, from start to finish, and is a welcome attendant at the Specialty Court graduation ceremonies for those who complete the program.
In his downtime, Hitch, now 7-years-old, pads along the hallways of the State’s Attorney’s Office, checking in offices and cubicles to say hello or lie down for a bit next to staff members, providing a mood lift to those who could use one.
“He instantly makes you feel good. It’s like instant joy,” Senior Legal Assistant Jennifer Couty said of Hitch.
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States Attorney's Office Legal Assistant Jennifer Couty gets a visit at her desk from Hitch, who occasionally pads around the office greeting his coworkers when he is not in court. Couty said she enjoys the visits from Hitch and that, true to his career, he can always tell when someone needs a lift. "He instantly makes you feel good," she said. |
Mitch
A large and friendly Yellow Labrador Retriever, Mitch, spends most of his time helping to provide solace and a welcome distraction to child victims and witnesses being interviewed at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center.
Mitch was the office’s first comfort dog, and was also donated by Duo Dogs.
Mitch works his magic under the guidance of Carrie Flanigan, his handler and executive director of the Gurnee-based Children’s Advocacy Center. The center assists with the investigation and prosecution of crimes involving the sexual and physical abuse of children.
About to celebrate his eighth birthday, Mitch, who is the oldest of the office’s dogs, plays an extremely important role by putting children at ease, often earning a smile and a hug from children at the center.
With a mandatory retirement age of 10, Flanigan said Mitch was “a hero” during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While most staff members and the office’s two other dogs were home, he was at the Children’s Advocacy Center every day, helping to calm traumatized kids, because child abuse took no pandemic days off.
“He provided comfort during a very traumatic time,” Flanigan said.
Flanigan said Mitch’s impact is hard to overstate. “He was the first state’s attorney’s comfort dog in the state,” and after his prowess at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center became public knowledge, several other advocacy centers in Illinois sought comfort dogs.
He may be hard to replace, but the good news is that when it’s time for Mitch to hang up his bandana, he will get to retire at Flanigan’s home, and the office will obtain a new dog for the center.
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Lake County State's Attorney Comfort dog Mitch, the first dog donated to the Lake County State's Attorney's Office. Now about to turn eight, Mitch provides a vital service to the office by providing a welcome diversion to child victims and witnesses being interviewed at the Lake County Children's Advocacy Center. His handler is the center's Executive Director Carrie Flanigan. |
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