DIXON – The office of the Will County state's attorney will represent the state in the prosecution of Lee County State's Attorney Anna Sacco-Miller, who is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The case is being heard by Judge Val Gunnarsson. A pretrial hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. Jan. 15, Lee County court records show.
The state’s appellate prosecutors office has taken over the duties in the Lee County State's Attorney’s Office while the case is pending, according to Charles Pelkie, spokesman for Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow. The office agreed “strictly as a courtesy" to the appellate prosecutors office, he added.
“That office felt it would be a conflict for them to handle this particular prosecution while serving in this roll,” Pelkie said. “An assistant from the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office will assume prosecution of this case as a courtesy to the appellate prosecutors office.”
Sacco-Miller, 48, is representing herself, she has said.
She is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a blood alcohol content above 0.08 and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, all misdemeanors. Police say she fell asleep at the wheel and struck a parked car about 7 a.m. Nov. 15 in the 500 block of East Fellows Street in Dixon. No one was injured.
Sacco-Miller admitted publicly that her blood alcohol content was 0.1, apologized for her actions and said she will not seek re-election.
She took a leave of absence and entered a rehab program during the first week of December, and has not yet told Lee County Board members if she will resign when her treatment ends, presumably sometime the first or second week of January, board Chairman Rick Ketchum said.
Assistant state's attorney Matthew Klahn of Sterling is handling her duties in the interim, and has filed to run for the office, as has Michael Downey of Nachusa and William Brozovich of Dixon. All are Republicans, as is Sacco-Miller.
• Herald-News Editor Kate Schott contributed to this report.