Joseph E. Birkett grew up on Chicago’s West Side along with his
nine brothers and sisters. His father died when Joe was just
thirteen years old but with the strength and guidance of his
mother, the entire family worked hard to pull through the tough
times.
Following his graduation from St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary
School, Joe
attended
St. Phillip High School in Chicago which closed in 1970 after
his freshman year. Joe then accepted a football scholarship from
Aurora Central Catholic where he went on to become the Team
Captain and Most Valuable Player. He was also named to the
National Honor Society for his academic excellence. Joe accepted
another football scholarship from North Central College in
Naperville where he again was voted the Team Captain. During his
college days, Joe won the Chicago Golden Gloves and Chicago Park
District Light-Heavyweight Boxing Championships. In 1977, Joe
graduated with honors, earning Degrees in Political Science and
English.
Joe married his high school sweetheart Patti Hill who helped him
finance his law school tuition while she worked at AT&T Bell
Labs. While at John Marshall Law School, Joe placed first in the
Intramural Moot Court Competition and was named to the school’s
Constitutional Moot Court Team. Joe received his Law Degree in
1981 and was admitted to the Illinois Bar later that same year.
Joe became an Assistant State’s Attorney in DuPage County in
October 1981 and advanced rapidly through the Criminal Division.
In 1985, he was promoted to Chief of the Major Crimes Unit,
prosecuting drug delivery cases. The next year Joe was named
Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division. He served from 1991 until
October of 1996 as the Chief of the Criminal Division,
supervising more than fifty prosecutors, ten investigators,
victim/witness advocates, law clerks and paralegals. He has
tried over one hundred felony cases to verdict including death
penalty jury trials.
On October 1, 1996, Joe was sworn in as DuPage County State’s
Attorney, completing the unexpired term of Jim Ryan who was
elected Illinois Attorney General, and Anthony Peccarelli who
was appointed State’s Attorney in January of 1995. One month
later, Joe was elected to the position for a four-year term, and
in November of 2000 he was re-elected for another four-year
term. He was the Republican Nominee for Illinois Attorney
General in 2002 and won all 102 Counties in the Primary
Election. He was reelected to his third term as State’s Attorney
in 2004.
Joe is a teacher, a frequent lecturer across the nation, and an
award-winning administrator. He has been responsible for
initiating policy and procedures and for training junior
prosecutors. Throughout his career, Joe has received numerous
awards and commendations for prosecutorial excellence from
State’s Attorneys, law enforcement agencies and victims. He is a
Past President of the Association of Government Attorneys in
Capital Litigation, and is also a member of the American and
DuPage County Bar Associations, DuPage American Inns of Court,
Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity, the Illinois House of
Representatives Capital Punishment Task Force, the Illinois
Governor’s Criminal Code Rewrite Commission and is an adjunct
faculty member at National Louis University in Wheaton.
Joe donates time to coaching basketball, boxing and baseball. He
and his wife Patti have been residents of DuPage County since
1977. They live in Wheaton with their two children and are
members of St. Daniel’s Church.
Paid for by Citizens to Elect Joe Birkett.
P.O. Box 792, Wheaton, IL 60189
attended
St. Phillip High School in Chicago which closed in 1970 after
his freshman year. Joe then accepted a football scholarship from
Aurora Central Catholic where he went on to become the Team
Captain and Most Valuable Player. He was also named to the
National Honor Society for his academic excellence. Joe accepted
another football scholarship from North Central College in
Naperville where he again was voted the Team Captain. During his
college days, Joe won the Chicago Golden Gloves and Chicago Park
District Light-Heavyweight Boxing Championships. In 1977, Joe
graduated with honors, earning Degrees in Political Science and
English.
