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July 2021
Dear Residents and Community Leaders,
In this issue, I’m excited to introduce you and Lake County to our new Chief of Victim Services and Outreach, Jackie Herrera Giron.
One of this office’s most important missions is to support the victims of crime -- regardless of the type of crime or the community in which the victim resides. To achieve this critical goal, I created a new legal position tasked with building a cohesive, office-wide strategy regarding victim outreach and to ensure that our office follows the Victim Bill of Rights.
Jackie Herrera Giron has been fighting for victims for years. As the leader of our victim outreach and the architect of our new victim-focused policies, Jackie is an outstanding attorney and advocate. Please read more below about her work with our equally excellent victim witness coordinators.
Yours,
Spotlight Story
Victim Witness Coordinators: Guiding Crime Survivors Through a Trying Process with Compassion
 Chief of Victim Services and Outreach Jackie Herrera Giron (left) and bilingual Victim Witness Coordinator Cynthia Vargas.
They usually work outside the spotlight of the courtroom, but Lake County State's Attorney’s victim witness coordinators often get closer to survivors of crime than most other employees of the office.
Violent crime can strike anywhere, launching residents right into the midst of a world of attorneys, legal hearings, and trials. For individuals who have never had experience with the court system, it can be frustrating and difficult to understand.
Whether someone is the victim of domestic violence, a random attack, or the family member of someone who has been murdered, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office is committed to supporting the survivors of crime.
The office employs 12 victim witness coordinators, who can provide victims with an understanding of what to expect after a crime has been committed against them. These 12 critical members of the 140-person office provide a road map to the legal process ahead, and a list of services ranging from a safe place to stay to counseling options.
Chief of Victim Services and Outreach Jackie Herrera Giron, hired in April, is now the leader of the victim coordinators. An attorney who previously worked as an immigration attorney and as a lawyer with Prairie State Legal Services, Herrera Giron is no stranger to helping those with limited access to resources.
Many of the victims, especially those of domestic battery, can find themselves suddenly without income or even a home, and possibly children to care for as well.
“Every crime has a domino effect,” Herrera Giron said.
Jackie Herrera Giron
Coordinators can help ease the impact on victims and their families by acting as a compassionate and knowledgeable partner rather than a lawyer.
“Victim witness coordinators are not attorneys or therapists, so they have to walk a fine line,” she said. “Their role is to accompany someone and to work with them toward their goals.”
Part of the process is making sure that victims are aware of the Victims Bill of Rights, which, in many cases, includes the right to make an impact statement in court, to be present at all hearings, and to seek restitution, among other points.
Herrera Giron said that the job is challenging with respect to workload and the emotional impact of dealing with traumatized clients. But she said the group is doing well and working as a team.
“We have a group of hard workers. They have a huge caseload, but we are reaching out to every victim,” Herrera Giron said. “It’s really important for victim coordinators to do some self-care and get separation from the cases. Coordinators need opportunities to separate a bit from the cases. Their passion for the victims really shows each day.”
State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart echoed Herrera Giron’s praise for the coordinators.
“One of the best things about the office has been the strength of the coordinators’ work. My job is to expand their ability to reach victims and to make sure we have up-to-date case management systems in place to ease the flow of information to all parts of the office,” he said. “I will be asking the Lake County Board for more coordinators in order to decrease caseload.”
Herrera Giron is bilingual and joins five other Spanish-speaking coordinators. Prior to 2021, the office only employed three full time Spanish-speaking coordinators.
“Doubling the number of victim-support professionals who speak Spanish demonstrates our office’s new commitment to helping victims in all communities,” Rinehart stated.
“I enjoy finding what has worked and what we need to improve on,” Herrera Giron said. “We have kept many components that have been successful, but we must also have the courage to challenge ourselves to improve each and every day.”
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