Criticisms about the conviction rate of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s office have ended in a dispute between the incumbent and the democratic state’s attorney candidate.

Jerry Shapiro, democratic nominee for state’s attorney, said, “Between December 1986 and June 1988, the felony conviction rate of the office was about 45 percent. I don’t feel that’s acceptable.”

Shapiro said he blames the low conviction rate on a poor felony review system. He said the review system looks at the circumstances of the case, the victim and the offender’s record.

Many cases are filed as felonies and dismissed as misdemeanors after they have gone through the felony review system, Shapiro said. He said that if a felony charge is filed, then the case should receive a felony conviction.

Incumbent State’s Attorney Philip DiMarzio said, “He (Shapiro) grossly misrepresented the conviction rate. He has never prosecuted a case (and) I don’t think he understands the process. I think he is terribly confused or attempting to mislead people.

First Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Coghlan, Shapiro’s opponent in the state’s attorney’s race, said Shapiro is misrepresenting the prosecution effectiveness of DiMarzio’s office.

Coghlan said, “Personally, I have over an 85 percent conviction rate for felony jury trials. I haven’t lost a child offense case, (which) are very difficult to prove.”

DiMarzio said his office’s conviction rate on murders is 100 percent. More than 80 percent of sexual assault cases are convicted, he added.

Coghlan said, “The latest available information, from 1984, shows DeKalb County’s conviction rate is higher than the statewide average.”

DiMarzio said the county compares favorably with the rest of the state convictions as well.

“If Shapiro is criticizing our (county’s) conviction rate, then he is criticizing most of the state’s attorneys in Illinois,” DiMarzio said.

He said that four years ago, when he ran for the office, the conviction rate was an issue. He said he was not concerned with the statics of the conviction rate, but rather with people and how a felony conviction could ruin a person’s life.

If a person is a first-time offender and commits a non-violent crime, the case will be filed as a misdemeanor instead of a felony, he said.

It is hard for someone to be hired with a felony conviction record, DiMarzio said. Cases pleaded down to misdemeanors are punished in such a way that the felony conviction does not hinder a person from getting a job after graduation.