NE Native Leaves IL Bench to Become State’s Attorney
A Nebraska native is now the first female state’s attorney in Peoria County, Ill.
In a move that baffled some, Jodi Hoos stepped down from the judge’s bench to take the role as a county attorney.
The decision to leave the bench was difficult, Hoos told The Daily Record. She replaced Jerry Brady, the previous state’s attorney in Peoria County, after he passed away. She had been a judge for the 10th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois, a trial court serving Peoria County.
“When Jerry died, he was a very close friend,” Hoos said. “I felt a strong duty to return and carry on the torch of everything he put in place.”
For Hoos, it was difficult being on the other side of the desk where her predecessor and friend sat.
“I feel his presence,” she said. “I loved being a judge. It was a great experience and an experience I am forever grateful for to the Illinois Supreme Court and the Peoria County voters. I will always cherish it. It was not easy to walk away, but under the circumstances I felt like it was the right thing to do.”
Hoos said she feels fortunate that, at age 45, she’s been a judge and a state’s attorney – career achievements that many legal professionals never reach.
She was sworn in Sept. 1 by Judge Kevin Lyons, who actually hired Hoos straight out of the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2000. Hoos became chief of the felony division in 2007 prior to becoming a circuit court judge.
“Kevin swore me in, hired me from Nebraska and we were on the bench together as circuit judges,” said Hoos. “I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason and it felt like all the cards were falling into place, like it was meant to be.”
So, why would a person leave the salient position of judge to take on the gritty, demanding role of elected prosecutor – especially one who oversees more than 50 county employees?
“Because Jodi Hoos is about doing the right thing at the right time – and being in a ‘lofty’ position may be a goal for some people but she’s just thrilled to be from Nebraska,” Lyons said.
Lyons added that state’s attorney is clearly a more rigorous job than being a judge. As state’s attorney, Hoos oversees more than 50 county employees and acts in the interest of a county of more than 180,000 people.
Hoos has taken risks throughout her career. There were a lot of unknowns when she moved to Peoria, joining the state attorney’s office under Lyon’s leadership.
She knew if she didn’t pass the bar exam, she wouldn’t have a job – despite signing a one-year lease before taking the test. She went on to work in the office for 14 years before being named a judge in 2014.
“My whole career I was taking risks,” Hoos said.
Her transition to state’s attorney has been busy. In her first two weeks as state’s attorney she was involved in two murder cases, an officer-involved shooting and an attempted suicide by an inmate with a razor blade.
Her experience as a judge is not going to waste in this new role.
“It is extremely helpful,” she said. “When I was an assistant I dealt with criminal and I didn’t have much experience on the civil side. Now that I’ve been a judge, it was predominately civil, so I have gotten to see the whole other side of the law that I had never experienced before.”
She sees this role as the best of both worlds.
“It gives me a different perspective,” she said. “I see things now from the bench that I would have never otherwise be able to see.”
Hoos’ experience working with Brady as an assistant state’s attorney has also been enlightening.
It was during that time that NBC’s “Dateline” filmed an episode about a case that Hoos and Brady prosecuted: the first-degree murder conviction of Nathan Leuthold, who killed his wife on Valentine’s Day 2013.
Hoos said that was her favorite case as a prosecutor. As a judge, it was a medical malpractice case that drew a deluge of testimony.
“All these experts were in my little courtroom and it was fascinating,” she said.
Sometimes, an event can change the course of our lives.
In Hoos’ case, it came when she was a 12-year-old girl. The tragic loss of her father, and her testimony in court two years later, started Hoos on a journey to practicing law.
“That event completely changed my life,” she said. “I knew from that day on I was supposed to be in the courtroom. I knew in law school I wanted to be a prosecutor and be in the courtroom.”
Hoos followed that knowledge to a career in law in Illinois.
As an undergraduate at University of Nebraska at Kearney, Hoos was a four-year starter at third base for the softball team. She was a bit superstitious when playing, and she would wear a shirt under her uniform with bugs on it, asking her fellow teammates if it bugged them.
Hoos graduated from UNK manga cum laude in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She said that she met wonderful people along the way through softball.
“I don’t think I would be the person I am today without those experiences,” she said.
Hoos compares her softball experience with that of the courtroom.
“You meet people from all walks of life, everyone has a story and background,” she said. “It’s the same thing in sports. There is the same type of interaction and you learn as a person how to handle all those personalities.”
In her spare time, Hoos spends time with her family: three older brothers, her husband and two girls, age 3 and 17 months.
“My big passion is bowhunting for deer,” she said. “I played sports and hunting with my big bothers and hopefully I will get to go bowhunting this season.”
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