To the Editor:
Madison County Republicans on Wednesday evening nominated Ronald Williams as their candidate for State’s Attorney in the November election.
In accepting the nomination, Williams noted that Madison County has a level of violent crime that is 30 percent higher than neighboring counties. And according to the Criminal Justice Information Authority, has a domestic violence rate six times higher than our neighbors. Williams also noted that while Madison County had 3,035 felony offenses filed in 2015, only five of those cases went to trial. He questioned whether there is a relationship between failure to try cases and the high crime rate.
Ronald Williams is a 32 year veteran of the Army, having entered West Point in 1961. He served two years in Vietnam, first commanding an engineer company and later as a cavalry pilot. He is a graduate of the Air Staff College, the Army War College and the US Navy Test Pilot School. He also earned a master’s degree in civil engineering. Ron has worked as both a registered professional engineer and an experimental test pilot.
After leaving the Army, Williams attended law school at Northern Illinois University, graduating at age 57, and subsequently worked as a Public Defender in Madison County, where he defended over 2,500 felony defendants and over 8,000 juveniles in delinquency court. He gained sufficient trial experience to meet the Illinois death penalty bar requirements.
Williams resides in Glen Carbon with his wife Mary Beth Williams, who is a Glen Carbon Village Trustee. His commitment to the people of Madison County is that he will reduce violent crime by 15 percent in his first year if elected as State’s Attorney and will reduce the average jail population by 20 percent, saving money for taxpayers and making the County a safer place to live. He is also dedicated to removing politics from the office of the State’s Attorney.
Don Weber
Edwardsville