Sangamon
County state’s attorney John Milhiser has been nominated to become U.S.
attorney in Springfield.
Meanwhile,
Robin Schmidt, widow of the late John Schmidt, who had just been appointed a
state appellate court judge when he died unexpectedly in December, confirms
that she’s interested in becoming the county’s top prosecutor.
The
county Republican Party would nominate a replacement for Milhiser, with the
Sangamon County board making the final call. Milhiser hired Schmidt as an
assistant state’s attorney in March.
Schmidt
noted that Milhiser, while nominated by the White House today, must still be
confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
“I’ll
let the process play itself out,” Schmidt said. “I’m most certainly interested
in seeking the nomination.”
Today’s
announcement that the White House has picked Milhiser comes as the local U.S.
attorney’s office finds itself in the midst of controversy surrounding U.S.
District Court Colin Bruce, who sent emails to a paralegal in the U.S. attorney’s
office during a 2016 trial. In the emails, Bruce criticized the performance of
government prosecutors and also criticized the defendant in apparent violation
of ethics rules that bar judges from making ex parte statements about matters
pending before them. The defendant in the 2016 case was convicted of kidnapping
and has asked for a new trial in light of the judge’s emails.
Via
a spokeswoman, the U.S. attorney’s office on Thursday declined to comment on Bruce’s
emails, nor would the office say what steps, if any, have been taken to
determine whether the judge might have sent other emails to office personnel
about pending court cases.
Milhiser
also declined comment on the emails sent between Bruce and Lisa Hopps, a
paralegal in the U.S. attorney’s office.
“I
have no comment, other than I am honored to be nominated to the position,”
Milhiser said.
Contact Bruce
Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2018.
