By: Ashmar Mandou

Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper: Mexican Independence Day and Hispanic Heritage Month are times to reflect on those who have influenced our lives and impacted the Latino community. Do you ever find the time to reflect on those who have shaped your life? As we as how your position impacts the Latino community, in particular youth who aspire to follow in your footsteps?

State Attorney Anita Alvarez: Like all working parents, I have a very busy life in both my job and as the mother of four children. But I work hard to find those moments of reflection because they not only continue to inspire me, they are part of the fabric of my life. For me, the people and the circumstances that have brought me to where I am in my career are pretty simple — they are family, education and a strong desire to achieve my goals in a career in public service.

I was born and raised in Chicago in the Pilsen community. My father was a Mexican immigrant and worked as a waiter to support our family. My Dad passed away when I was 12 and my Mom had to find work to support our family so she became a seamstress. Despite the fact that she did not have a high school diploma, my Mom understood that education was going to be the ticket that would help me achieve my dreams and she supported me every step of the way in my education. She was my life’s first role model and her memory continues to inspire me as I raise my own children.

As far as how my position impacts the Latino community, we all know that it is not an easy road for our youth today because they face so many obstacles – from financial and family struggles to the crisis of gangs and gun violence. I know that we are all concerned about the level of violence that we see in our communities and working to combat these problems are my greatest goals as the Cook County State’s Attorney.

I believe that it is extremely important for Latinos to help and to support each other because by helping to make one another stronger on a personal level, we are building up our entire community in the process. And everyone has a role to play — from myself as the Cook County State’s Attorney, to educators, the business community and all of us as neighbors and friends.

You have had a long and outstanding career. Do you remember the moment when you decided to pursue a career in law?

I would not say it was a specific moment, I would say it was more of a process. I was actually a social work major in my undergraduate studies and for a brief time after college graduation I considered becoming a police officer. To be perfectly honest, I struggled with my decision to go to law school for several reasons, including financial reasons. When I was accepted and I enrolled at Chicago-Kent College of Law it became a turning point for me. As one of the few Latinas, and coming from very humble beginnings, there were definitely some difficult moments at the beginning of my law school career when I wondered if I had made the right decision.

But I hung in there and slowly but surely I began to realize that I had made the right decision. After my first Trial Advocacy Class I was hooked and I knew that I wanted to pursue a legal career. After law school graduation I knew that I had a passion for trial work and a great interest in public service, so I became an Assistant State’s Attorney. I have loved being a prosecutor since the first moment that I stepped into the courtroom and my career in the State’s Attorney’s Office has been a wonderful and amazing journey. I am very proud to lead the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and I continue to have great dedication and passion for the work that we do in this office on behalf of the victims of crime.

You are in a position that often times produces criticism. How do you manage to stay focused on the task at hand and create initiatives, such as the Human Trafficking Initiative or the Illinois Safe Children’ Act?

By the very nature of this job and the responsibilities that it holds, there are always difficult decisions to make and significant issues to tackle. When I was sworn in as State’s Attorney for the very first time I pledged to always do what is right and never compromise my integrity and that is what I have done without regard to any pressure or outside influence based upon the evidence, the law and the truth. I am able to stay focused on the work of my office in large part because I have excellent employees! I truly believe that my office has earned a reputation for excellence, reform and innovation that sets us apart from others and that has been a team effort.

We have dedicated ourselves to working non-stop at every level of the office to enhance and improve our operations and we have made tremendous progress in leading important efforts to increase penalties on illegal guns, to end wrongful convictions, to crack down on human sex trafficking and to break up violent street gangs. Most recently, we have begun a first-of-its kind drug policy across Cook County that will keep nonviolent low level repeat drug offenders out of the criminal justice system and steer them to treatment rather than traditional prosecution.

What have been the greatest lessons you garnered since becoming State’s Attorney?

As the State’s Attorney, I receive a lot of mail and one of the things that makes me most proud is the correspondence that I receive from citizens who write to thank me for the work that my Assistants have done on their behalf in courtrooms across Cook County. These are ordinary people — you would not recognize their names and you don’t read about their cases in the newspapers.

But they are the flesh and blood of our City and our County and the work that we do means so much to them and their families in the most difficult times of their lives. These letters always serve to remind me about the importance of our call to service and the critical role that my office plays within our criminal justice system. It has been an important lesson for me to remember that each day we have the opportunity to make our communities safer by bringing offenders to justice and giving comfort to victims and their families.

Having been born and raised in Chicago, I have always loved this city. But as I have worked and traveled across this very large county as State’s Attorney, I continue to be amazed and inspired by our communities and the hard working and dedicated citizens that they are made of. In my job, we often see the worst that society has to offer when it comes to violent crime and the impact that violent crime has on our children and families. But when I see the strength and the resilience of victims and families who have suffered unspeakable crimes, I am always amazed and humbled and my commitment to this job grows stronger each and every time.

You also spend a great deal volunteering your time at various bar associations and organizations. What compels you to give so much of your time to continue to help others?

Throughout my legal career I have always been interested in and motivated to be active in various bar associations and professional organizations and I think it is important for a variety of reasons. I was very proud to be a founding member of the National Hispanic Prosecutors Association and to be the first Latina to serve as the President of the Chicago Bar Association.

First of all, it gives you important opportunities to meet other lawyers outside of your specific legal profession and it broadens your legal thinking and experience. The bar associations that I have served on do important and wonderful work, not only for the lawyers who are a part of them, but also in our communities providing pro bono legal services, mentoring, and promoting educational programming and it has been great to be a part of those efforts as well.

What advice would you give to youth who want to pursue a degree in law and follow in your footsteps?

I would say to go for it! No matter what area of law you are interested in working in, you will be working to help people find solutions to the problems that affect their daily lives and that is a very important and special calling.

I like to remind young people that they should not be afraid to pursue goals that may seem out of reach. As I have learned at many points in my career, you cannot listen to those who would tell you no or those who tell you that you cannot achieve a goal that you have in our sights.

Had I listened to those who had their own set of expectations for me, I never would have gone to law school. I never would have become a prosecutor, and I would certainly never have become the Cook County State’s Attorney.

In my life, even though I came from very humble beginnings, education was always the greatest equalizer. My education put me on a level playing field with others and enabled me to pursue my career dreams. So our young people need to be supported and reminded that while it can be difficult, they need to continue their education and strive to pursue higher education because it will put them on that level playing field.