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Dan Mills, the former Sangamon County prosecutor
caught up in the notorious “cocaine ring” scandal that obsessed
the Springfield justice community for much of 2006, may lose his law
license for two years. The Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary
Commission last week recommended that the Illinois Supreme Court suspend
Mills’ license for two years and require a substance-abuse evaluation
and proof that Mills has complied with treatment before allowing him to
practice law again. Mills, 40, has never been arrested or charged with a
crime; he and another assistant state’s attorney, John
“Jake” Kelley, were fingered by a cocaine dealer who cooperated
with investigators. Both Mills and Kelley received letters of immunity and
cooperated with investigators, eventually admitting to buying and sharing
small quantities of cocaine and cannabis about nine times over a one-year
period while working as assistant state’s attorneys. At his October hearing, Mills tried to persuade the
ARDC to examine what he believed was a larger crime — the alleged
leak to the media of grand-jury testimony naming him and Kelley.
Mills’ father, U.S. District Judge Richard Mills, supported his
son’s assertion and testified on his behalf [see Dusty Rhodes,
“Blown away,” Oct. 25, 2007]. However, the hearing officers
called that argument irrelevant, instead focusing on the fact that Mills
knowingly and repeatedly broke the law while working as a prosecutor. “It seems self-evident that the citizens of
Sangamon County, as well as their elected State’s Attorney, should
expect and require Assistant State’s Attorneys to obey the law
themselves and to take affirmative action to disclose the acts of others
known to be violating the criminal laws,” the panelists wrote. At the hearing, Mills also refused to answer specific
questions about his drug use and his medical condition, saying he feared
such testimony might be handed over to a state prosecutor still threatening
to press criminal charges. The ARDC’s recommended suspension is double the
one-year term that its own prosecutor, Peter Rotskoff, had sought. To
explain the increase, the panel cited several aggravating factors,
including Mills’ lack of candor, cooperation, and remorse. Mills could appeal to the ARDC review board, which
could issue a different recommendation. The final decision will be made by
the Illinois Supreme Court, which isn’t bound by the recommendations
of either the Hearing Board or the Review Board. Mills could not be reached for comment.
Kelley’s case is scheduled to be heard April 17.
Contact Dusty Rhodes at drhodes@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2008.
