Rockford conference aims to remind prosecutors of ethical duties

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The Winnebago County State’s Attorney hosted a conference to remind prosecutors of the importance of ethics on Friday.

The conference was called “Ethics 101 for Prosecutors.” The event was held at the Hoffman House Banquet Center.

The training was open to any state or federal prosecutor in Illinois. The conference was primarily focused on criminal law.

While all attorneys in the state must receive a minimum number of hours of ethics training, State’s Attorney J. Hanley feels ethics alone are not the only reason to attend the session.

“There are certain ethical requirements that we have as prosecutors that other attorneys don’t,” Hanley explained. “So one of the primary focuses of this seminar is to educate prosecutors on what those additional duties are and kinda what some recent developments might be, and just a reminder that we have a tremendous amount of responsibility in the in which we prosecute cases.”

Hanley continued by saying it is needed for prosecutors to get a refresher.

“Because of that grave responsibility that we have, constant reminders and very specific training are really important,” Hanley said. “It’s one thing to acknowledge that we have that increased responsibility; it’s another to educate ourselves and train each other on what exactly that responsibility is and how it applies to our everyday jobs.”

This was the 16th year Rockford hosted the ethics conference.