URBANA – Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz, who handily defeated a 10-year incumbent in 2004, is facing a different contest this year: one from within her own party.

The 39-year-old Democrat is being challenged for her party's nomination by Alfred D. Ivy III, 36, an Urbana attorney with four degrees but fewer years of legal work experience.

The winner of the Feb. 5 primary will face Republican Janie Miller-Jones, an assistant public defender in Champaign County, in the November election. The position pays $161,156, a salary set and paid by the state. The term is for four years and will begin Dec. 1, 2008.

Rietz, a married mother of two daughters, got her undergraduate degree in business administration and international relations from Boston University in 1990 and her law degree from the University of Illinois in 1993. Except for a brief stint with the DuPage County state's attorney's office in 1999, Rietz has practiced in Urbana since 1993 as an assistant Champaign County state's attorney, a defense attorney in the firm of Beckett & Webber in Urbana, and as state's attorney.

Ivy, who received degrees in speech communication and rhetoric from the UI in 1995, also got a law degree and a master's in business administration from the UI in 2002. He has had a general law practice in Urbana since then and currently works alone in an office at 202 W. Green St., U. A Chicago native who's lived in the community since 1989, he is engaged, with plans to be married in June.

On the record

Rietz is proud of the accomplishments she and her assistants have made in the last three years and two months.

"I'm proud of bringing the state's attorney's office back to a place where the office is respected in the criminal justice system and in the community," she said. "Specifically, I'm proud of mending relationships, of creating processes, and of personally handling significant cases involving children as victims.

"I'm proud of innovations such as the collections program and our drug asset forfeitures. I'm proud that we have used our resources wisely even though we've lost grant funding over the years. We've been able to maintain our staffing and stay within our budget."

Ivy thinks the person holding the job could do more.

"I haven't seen the level of progress in change in the state's attorney's office that I think many people would like to see in terms of fairness in charging, creation of more opportunities for alternative sentencing options, and just getting back to representation of the people of Champaign County," he said. "It's a tough job, thankless. Definitely, the connection with the community needs to be maintained. I think the state's attorney could do more to galvanize the community and be more of an agent of change rather than just a prosecutor."

"We have to have leadership committed to crime prevention as much as committed to prosecution."

He plans to work on "repairing the community, being more visible and present."

Rietz says that she is, foremost, the county prosecutor.

"Over the years, the prosecutor's role has expanded to include not just prosecuting crime but attempting to reduce crime in the community," she said.

Toward that end, she regularly addresses community groups, especially middle school, high school and college students.

"I always tell them that when they turn 17 they become adults in the eyes of the law. The vast majority don't know that," she said, adding she tries to stress the consequences of bad choices that result in criminal convictions.

"If there's going to be change in the community, it's got to come from the community. I can't do that myself," she said.

Juvenile cases

Ivy maintains there are "great disparities" in terms of who is charged and how juvenile delinquency cases are handled.

"(Juveniles) don't have the same access to bail as adults do. They can be continued out for a couple of months before moving a case forward," he said. "We want to see a more fair and conscious handling of juvenile matters and not simply holding these children in limbo."

Rietz said the Juvenile Detention Center is able to provide many services to troubled adolescents that they might not have access to in the community.

"Our detention center has never been more than 50 percent full in seven years," she said. "We don't hold them in limbo. Police often express frustration that we don't detain the minors they arrest. It's very difficult to get detained. You have to have a significant history of criminal behavior in addition to committing a serious offense in order to reach the point score to be held."

She said she's been active in creating consistent station adjustment policies for police departments countywide and working with social service agencies to increase the number services for young people.

Charging decisions

Ivy believes there is also "great disparity" in the way adults are charged with crimes.

"There are certain state's attorneys who charge more harshly than others," he said, adding he would call for a "dual layer review of charges."

Rietz said she has made "significant changes in the charging process," including implementing Ivy's suggestion long before he made it.

"All charges and decisions not to charge have to be approved by me or my first assistant. That gives us the opportunity to make sure things are consistent and that everyone is on the same page," she said.

The diversion program, a regimen of public service in lieu of criminal charges for first-time, nonviolent offenders, has been expanded during her tenure, she said, "to give people the opportunity to move forward without criminal records."

Negotiated pleas

As for Ivy's complaint that different assistants handle plea bargains differently, Rietz said she trusts her staff.

"They all work in front of judges who ultimately approve or disapprove (plea agreements). I'm sorry if a defense attorney doesn't like the outcome of a criminal case," she said.

Rietz cited the following changes between the previous administration of John Piland and herself:

– In 2003, under Piland, the office charged 660 burglaries. (The practice was to charge shoplifters with burglary for entry with intent to steal.) In 2006, under Rietz, 210 burglaries were charged while misdemeanor and felony theft charges went up.

– In 2003, the office charged 528 obstructing justice cases. (Those generally included anyone giving false information, such as a name or date of birth, to police.) In 2006, the number of obstructing cases filed was 98.

"A lot we don't charge or we prosecute the underlying offense they were being arrested for," Rietz said. "Many people give a fake name when arrested on a warrant. We will use those actions as aggravation in an existing case as opposed to filing a new charge.

"At the same time, we have increased the number of felony DUIs and have been able to focus our attention away from minor situations and on to more serious cases involving drugs, sex assaults and guns."