And then there were three

STERLING - The race for Whiteside County state's attorney has become very hot, very fast: Monday, another local attorney added his name to the running. Elwin Neal, a 61-year-old Sterling resident with a 16-year tenure as an assistant public defender in Morrison, said he will seek the office in an effort to block newcomer Amy Huffman's write-in campaign to unseat incumbent State's Attorney Gary Spencer. Spencer is a Republican; so far neither Huffman nor Neal has aligned with a political party in this race. "If the public believes Mr. Spencer has indeed been prosecutor for too long," Neal said, he will serve one term "to give the community a chance to heal - and [for] time to pass so the community can find a new prosecutor." Neal's write-in campaign promises to further complicate an already unusual race that is being fueled by public outrage over Spencer's refusal to discuss the criminal past of Nicholas T. Sheley, the Sterling native who stands charged and suspected of a total of eight homicides during a six-day, two-state killing spree in June. Monday was a busy one: Not only did Neal announce his candidacy, but Huffman held a campaign kickoff in Rock Falls, and Spencer explained his reasoning for not returning phone calls about Sheley. Spencer released a statement welcoming Huffman to the race and challenging her to recognize the specific set of Illinois Supreme Court rules he has cited in declining to discuss Sheley. "While every action that I take as state's attorney is made for valid legal reasons and with the goal of seeking justice and of effectively representing the people of this county, I understand the need for public review and comment on each of those decisions," Spencer wrote. "Unfortunately, I am unable to defend those decisions publicly when charges are pending against a defendant." Neal said his desire to run started "when I saw Huffman was running" because of an e-mail composed by Huffman and cited in Spencer's release. The correspondence from Huffman to Spencer, her former boss, was a note of encouragement sent July 2, the morning after Sheley was arrested in Granite City. "You are a good lawyer and a great prosecutor, and I, more than most, know how seriously you take the responsibility the people have given to you to keep our community safe. You do a good job. I imagine you aren't hearing that much right now and thought maybe you might need to," Huffman wrote. Neal said he considered Huffman's bid "insincere" and "a chance to take advantage of someone while he's down." Huffman countered that she "wrote that while the community was going through a crisis, because I thought it would help. I'd like to think [Spencer] would do the same for me," she said. Spencer's statement also welcomed Huffman to the race and revealed some of the rationale for his prolonged silence. "I am confident that as an assistant state's attorney herself, Ms. Huffman understands, and will publicly confirm, that the rules of ethics under which public prosecutors must conduct ourselves require that we decline to make any statements outside the courtroom which would pose any threat to the fairness of a trial. "Any violation of those rules could potentially result in any convictions on the first-degree murder charges against Nicholas Sheley being overturned and reversed." Huffman acknowledged the state's legal requirements but also promised to explain any rationale for withholding details. "Mr. Spencer and I are obligated not to discuss the terms of an ongoing investigation because it could jeopardize the fairness of a trial ... but I promise you that I will explain, to the best of my ability, exactly why I cannot talk about cases," she said. Huffman got her feet wet in Whiteside County as an assistant state's attorney, a position she now holds in neighboring Lee County, and her campaign centers on bringing back some of the programs developed during her tenure in Dixon. "I have worked closely with my colleagues to not only put violent criminals in prison for lengthy terms, but have also worked hard to develop innovative ways to tackle the revolving door that has become our criminal justice system," Huffman said. She cited alternative justice programs, such as the mental health and drug courts that Lee County State's Attorney Paul Whitcombe has credited her with developing, as pulling at the root of criminal behavior. "In the end, we are reducing the repeated criminal acts committed by the drug addict and the mentally ill." Despite the differences bound to arise between a man with a reputation as a tough prosecutor and an attorney appointed to represent the indigent, Neal expressed respect for Spencer and defended his office. "This [race] isn't about money, and this isn't about ego," Neal said. "This is about fairness."