Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs asks Appropriations for funding to ease caseloads and curb transport overtime

The Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs told the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 12 that rising violent-crime filings and chronic staffing pressures require targeted FY27 funding changes.

"About $35,000,000 budget, 4 different budgets," said Tim Liebers Dumont, executive director of the Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs, introducing the department's request and staff. He said pending criminal cases statewide fell from about 26,000 to 22,000 over three years — a roughly 15% reduction — but that the department still faces heavy workload pressures, including a roughly 23%–24% increase in filed homicides and 111 pending homicide matters as of the presentation.

Why it matters: The department said high homicide filings and a small group of repeat defendants are consuming disproportionate prosecution resources, limiting the office's ability…