Prosecutor's Relationship With Cop Gets Her Suspended
A veteran prosecutor in suburban Chicago has been suspended without pay for a month, starting yesterday, after her boss learned of her alleged undisclosed relationship with a police officer who has testified in her cases.
John Barsanti, who serves as Kane County state’s attorney, says he learned two weeks ago of what the Chicago Tribune describes as a “personal relationship” between Elizabeth Lovig, an assistant state’s attorney in his office, and an unnamed police officer.
She allegedly has been seeing the officer since late 2001, in a relationship which violates the office conflict-of-interest policy, according to Barsanti. Prosecutors also are required to disclose at trial any significant relationship with a witness, according to David Kliment, the county’s public defender.
Barsanti says Lovig, 43, who has been with his office since 1992, is “very committed” to her job. He is apparently allowing her to take the four unpaid weeks throughout the year, to make the financial impact less burdensome.
Although Barsanti says Lovig, who is divorcing, didn’t intend to violate any defendants’ rights, the undisclosed relationship calls into question the outcome of at least six cases in which both she and the officer were involved. One conviction has already been vacated, due to the relationship between Lovig and the officer, and other cases are being reexamined.
Lovig declined to comment.
