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Public defender reports rising hearings, high appointment rates and staffing losses
Summary
Kevin Lowe, chief public defender, reported a 56.4% year-over-year rise in detention hearings and high appointment rates across case types; he flagged staffing losses and the workload strain this creates for the office.
Kevin Lowe, chief public defender for Peoria County, presented the office’s quarterly caseload and staffing report and described “a significant burden” on public defenders because of rising hearings and case activity. “In the 1st quarter of 2026, we had 237 felony cases filed; of those, 181 were moving forward and the public defender was appointed 161 times,” he said, adding that misdemeanor filings and juvenile matters also showed high appointment rates.
Lowe told the committee the office handled 507 detention hearings year-to-date in Courtroom 321 — up from 330 by the same point last year — a 56.4% increase that he called “eye opening.” He reported juvenile delinquency filings of 126 with 104 moving forward and public defender appointments in 100 of those cases (96.2%). Lowe also said the office lost two attorneys since the last quarter, including a first assistant whose last day was June 2, and has added short-term contract help through the end of August.
Board members asked whether departures reflected pay differences or caseload difficulty. Lowe said departures are individualized but noted Peoria County has a “competitive disadvantage” compared with nearby jurisdictions, in part because some counties can offer benefits to contractors and because caseload composition in Peoria includes more serious cases. The committee did not take a formal action on the report; the item served as an informational update and prompted a discussion of retention and workload.
