A grand jury on Tuesday indicted a former LaSalle County State’s Attorney on 17 felony charges.
LaSalle County Circuit Court records show that the grand jury examined 25 felony counts before returning indictments on 13 charges of official misconduct and 4 charges of misapplication of funds. All are Class 3 felonies subject to 3 to 5 years of prison or probation.
Towne was LaSalle County State’s Attorney from 2006-2016, before being defeated by Karen Donnelly.
Published reports of earlier court documents quote Donnelley as accusing Towne of misusing money from drug forfeitures through the LaSalle County State’s Attorney Felony Enforcement, or SAFE, anti-drug unit. It was formed by Towne in 2011 but was ruled illegal by the Illinois Supreme Court this summer. Donnelley disbanded the SAFE unit after she took office.
The dates listed with the indictments suggest they stem from the unit’s activities from 2012-2014.
Towne filed a motion to dismiss the charges on Wednesday. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Sept. 21. Towne remains free while the case is pending.
