Anna has been an Illinois attorney for 24 years, and has lived in DeKalb County for over fifteen years.  Originally from Joliet, IL,  she now lives in unincorporated Earlville, IL.    

Anna went to undergrad at NIU, obtained her Bachelors degree, graduated  Summa Cum Laude in Sociology with Emphasis in Criminology, and graduated with Upper Division Honors after participating in the Honors Program, with her Honors Thesis focused on rape shield law. She also received Departmental Honors in Sociology, and  further did extensive ethnographic research on Community Policing, and did  ride-alongs with police on active duty. 

Anna was also co- author with James Massey and  Susan L. Miller, both past Professors at NIU,  to a published article called “Civil Forfeiture of Property: The Victimization of Women as Innocent Owners and Third Parties” within the book called “Crime Control  and Women” edited  by Susan Miller.  

Anna attended Law School at NIU College of Law and graduated Cum Laude in 1996.  When she entered NIU College of Law, she already had a keen sense of justice and fairness. During her second  year of law school, she obtained her 7-11 license to practice, and worked in the Kane County Public Defenders office, where she learned criminal defense and worked with and across from  some of the best savvy and skilled lawyers. Anna also learned from Judges rich in knowledge of the criminal law.   She learned that our U.S. Constitution plays a fundamental role in every day workings of the court house, down to the very last traffic stop.  After graduating law school, the Public Defenders Office hired her to work full time.  There, she did her best to honor and protect the 4th Amendment of the Constitution, which was on trial almost every day due to illegal stops and searches. 

In 1998, Anna had a brush with ovarian cancer that left her wanting a life change. She left the Public Defenders office in 1999 and opened a private practice and partnership that was short lived. She soon went out into her own law practice, and she has had her law practice since 2000 (20 years). Anna has handled a variety of cases, and has represented both Plaintiff and Defendant.  She has practiced years of criminal defense and has honed her Motion skills to a fine point.  She has extensive criminal law experience over the years as a public defender and private attorney, both felony and misdemeanor, including Class X felonies.  The last several years Anna has focused her practice upon real estate transactions. 

Anna wants to serve in the position of the DeKalb County State's Attorney  because she feels that is where she can do the most good for the most people in these tumultuous yet exciting times.   Women, people of color, LGBTQ2 and others are still, in 2020, vulnerable to abuse and victimization not only by others, but by the criminal justice system and the courts.  We can do something about it right now.  Anna is here to do her part, and ensure that our State's Attorney's Office is honorable and fair and  true to all people in DeKalb County.  She will honor others before her who have done great things for the people of  DeKalb County ( ie Mental Health Court and Drug Court), and do what she can to make even better those programs. Criminal Justice Reform, including ending money bail and ending mass incarceration are at the forefront of her passion, and she is here to ensure that our Criminal Justice System is fair and just to all, regardless of race, gender, religion. 

Truth, Integrity, Justice. That is what Anna stands for.  

Anna is a Member of the DeKalb County Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Kane County Bar Association,  American Bar Association

​​Criminal Justice Reform

• Criminal justice reform: Anna is very passionate about criminal justice reform because our system of justice is broken. We have massive incarceration rates that discriminate along racial lines.

• ​Police accountability and Building Community Trust:Anna truly  believes that the way to build community trust of the justice system is to hold the police accountable for their actions, while supporting a community based collaborative integration of community and those that serve so  bravely to protect it.

• End Cash bail: Money bail has long been determined to be punitive in nature and unfair. For example, people of humble means can lose their jobs after missing even one day of  work, housing, and/or disrupt their family because they cant post a $500.00 or $750.00  bond for a low level crime. On the flip side, for example, a person of extraordinary means can post a $30,000 bond for a high level crime without spending one night in jail.  There are other means than discriminatory cash bail to ensure someone comes to court or will not flee or cause harm.  There is a signature bond, electronic monitoring, etc.       

• End Mass Incarceration: The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, yet incarceration is very costly individually and at societal level. Further, statistically the US incarcerates black men at a far higher rate then their white counter parts, due to institutional level racism built into our system and the war on drugs. Drug treatment for users and mental health treatment for those struck with illness is far less costly than incarceration, and so beneficial to the individual, their family, and the community. 

• Alternate dispositions, ie deferred prosecution, alternative sentencing, diversion programs: Felony convictions forever alter a person’s life and livelihood. After obtaining a felony conviction, not only is there a criminal label, but it can be incredibly difficult to get a job, housing, and even family support. It is important to put programs in place that give individuals the opportunity to stay out of the criminal justice system by employing alternative dispositions in certain cases warranting such disposition.

• Restorative Justice; There are ways that the justice system can assist to repair the harm caused to victims, and parties involved can decide with the help of the community as to how to go about that attempt to restore justice. This type of restorative justice can have profound impacts on all parties and the community.