Local attorney Tom Haine has announced that he will be a Republican candidate for Madison County State’s Attorney in 2020.
He is the son of long-time Democrat state senator Bill Haine, who retired in January after serving as a state lawmaker for 16 years.
“I’m running for State’s Attorney because I want to bring energy and leadership to Madison County’s justice system,” Haine said in a press release. “Madison County has been my family’s home for generations. I want to make it the safest and best place to raise my own family. I’m running to apply the lessons I learned as a military prosecutor to make our justice system tougher, faster, and more efficient. If given the honor to serve, we will bring cases to trial swiftly and successfully. We will run an accessible and responsive office. And we will ensure crimes are prosecuted, justice is served, and the law is equally and fairly applied to all the citizens of Madison County.”
Incumbent State's Attorney Tom Gibbons has not yet declared whether he will seek re-election to the post he's held since 2010. Gibbons was appointed to the seat to fill the remainder of William Mudge's term, was elected circuit judge that year. Gibbons was first elected State's Attorney in 2012, and re-elected in 2016.
According to Haine's announcement, he grew up in Alton, where he went to St. Mary’s Grade School and Marquette High School. A graduate of Princeton University with honors, Haine was in Army ROTC and was the president of Princeton’s Senior Class of 2008. He earned his juris doctor from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, graduated in the top 10% of his class, and was awarded the Order of the Coif.
He then served in the Army as a member of the 10th Mountain Division, where he completed Air Assault School. As a captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, he was the primary legal advisor for over a dozen commanders on both criminal and civil matters and personally prosecuted many military criminal cases. He also prosecuted civilian crimes in federal court as a special assistant U.S. Attorney in both Baltimore and upstate New York.
He would go on to serve as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and is now in private practice in Edwardsville. He continues to serve in the Army Individual Ready Reserve, is a board member of Riverbend Head Start, and a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Alton.
“This is a critical time for Madison County,” Haine said. “Jobs are coming back and our economy is picking up steam. To keep this momentum going we need to actively promote a culture of safety and stability. If elected, I will bring a fresh outside perspective to the State’s Attorney’s office. I will look at old issues with new eyes. And I will provide strong non-partisan leadership to fairly enforce the law.”
Haine said he knows the importance of law enforcement for our future success.
“For years I worked very closely with the military police and the Army investigators to resolve cases and make their hard work pay off with convictions. Our police officers are on the front line, and now more than ever they need our support. They always have our backs, we need to have theirs.”
Haine and his wife, Eva Marie, live in Alton where they are raising their three boys. His home is just doors away from his childhood home where his father still lives.
“My dad is my hero and I want to follow in his footsteps,” said Haine. “Like him, I want to pursue local solutions that work for the people of Madison County. His leadership and integrity built an assertive, fair, and effective team that made Madison County a safer and better place to raise a family. If given the honor to serve, I will build on his legacy and make justice work better for everyone in this county.”
The primary election will be held March 17; the general election will be Nov. 3, 2020.