Winnebago County State’s Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross is defending her decision to dismiss an assistant state’s attorney who is also a current candidate to succeed her in the office.
Hite Ross removed Assistant State’s Attorney Paul Carpenter from his post over the weekend. She said all employees in her office are employed "at will" which means they can be dismissed at her discretion at any time.
“I’m not going to speculate as to what someone may or may not do on their own time," she said. "I can tell you that all systems are an extension of the state's attorney they serve at will -- all of their conduct is a reflection of the state's attorney.”
Carpenter reportedly contributed $25 to a crowdfunding effort for local photojournalist Albert Riley, Jr. Riley was raising the money to replace equipment that had been broken during his arrest at the last Rockford City Market protest. Carpenter issued a statement that his donation did not violate any policy at the State’s Attorney's office.
Hite Ross is not on the ballot in November. Carpenter is the Democratic candidate running for Winnebago County state's attorney seat.
- Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco is a 2020 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project which is a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms.
