Lake County Gazette

Mary Cole recently appeared on the Lake Forest Podcast to emphasize her candidacy for Lake County State's Attorney, focusing on her aim to rebuild a team of elite prosecutors who had departed from the office during Eric Rinehart's leadership.

Cole pointed out the low morale among attorneys currently working under the incumbent, Rinehart.

“...when you go into that type of organization, you're not taught anything,” she said on an Aug. 25 episode of the podcast. “There is no morale. People laugh at you because you don't know what you're doing. You're trying your hardest to learn how to be a good attorney, and there's no actual way for you to be trained because the person training is never prosecuted. Then you just have a poor paying job. There's a ton of really good people who've come through that office and said, ‘I'm sorry, I'll just go elsewhere.’”

She feels she can get a better team of prosecutors in place “without question,” Cole said.

“Because I know why I was there. I know why the people I still practice law with are there. So many of the defense attorneys in the area, they're Dems too, but they're heartbroken. This is their office. They came up through that office. If you talk to some of the attorneys in the area who used to work there 20 years ago, they're sad.”

According to Daily Herald, Cole, a Gurnee Republican, has declared her candidacy for Lake County state's attorney in the upcoming November 2024 election. She previously worked as a Lake County assistant state's attorney. Cole cited incumbent State's Attorney Eric Rinehart's extreme ideas and lack of focus on residents' safety as her motivation to run, while Rinehart argued that Cole's campaign was supported by individuals connected to wrongful convictions during prior administrations and that her policies would jeopardize public safety in Lake County.

Cole is a partner at Brady Cole Trial Lawyers. She has a background in both prosecution and defense, boasts extensive experience in cases related to DUIs, Domestic Battery and Orders of Protection.

“Mary comes to the bench with an honest and aggressive approach to fight for you. She will walk you through every part of the process to ensure you understand what is happening. She will do everything she can to protect your rights and allow you to be heard,” Brady Cole Trial Lawyers notes on her bio. 

Cole takes aim at Rinehart on her campaign website.

“The incumbent State's Attorney is failing. Prosecutions are down, crime is up, and the office is in chaos,” her campaign website reads. “Mary will work to remove the extreme political agendas and bring stability to the State's Attorney's office.”