Personal life: I was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon. I attended college and graduate school at Iona College in New York where I was a Division I two-sport athlete. I was one of two Iona students selected to attend Oxford University, where I studied medieval history. After graduating with a bachelor of arts and master of arts in history, I moved to Chicago and attended law school at DePaul University College of Law. I graduated from DePaul and married my college sweetheart, Chris Przekota. We now have three children (ages 8, 6 and 3) and live in Park Ridge. I am active in the community. Most notably, driven by a love of sports, I transitioned from athlete to coach, and I enjoy nothing more than giving back and teaching important life skills to young people as an age-group and high school coach. I have coached for nearly 20 years.
Professional career/qualifications: I am lawyer and a career public servant, with over 15 years of hands-on courtroom experience. As a prosecutor, I advocate on behalf of the people of Cook County. I am currently a “first chair” in a felony courtroom at 26th and California. Over the past two and a half years, I litigated more than 10 murder trials, the majority of which were juries. In that same time frame, I was part of an all-female team of prosecutors that litigated a high-profile triple murder jury (one defendant ended up pleading guilty on the last day of trial and testifying against his two co-defendants) involving the murder of a retired Chicago Fire Department Lieutenant. It is important to note that I am also a firm believer in problem solving courts, specifically those geared towards helping individuals who struggle with addiction and mental illness.
During the course of my legal career, I worked in various different courthouses across the county, such as 26th Street, Skokie and numerous city branch courts. As a result, I have handled multiple different types of cases in a variety of different procedural stages, such as traffic, domestic violence, misdemeanors and felonies, as well as bond hearings, preliminary hearings, grand jury lock-ins/indictments, pre-trial motions, post-trial motions, and sentencing hearings. I have been fortunate to appear before qualified, experienced and knowledgeable judges, each with their own unique backgrounds and abilities, who provided a wonderful example of what it is to be a great judge. I experienced firsthand the important role judges have on the administration of justice. I recognize the positive impact judges can have on people’s lives when they are not only experienced, hardworking and knowledgeable, but also when they treat people with respect and fairness, and when they rule based on the law and the evidence.
Campaign supporters: I have worked hard and am grateful for all of my campaign support. I am proud to have earned positive bar ratings from all evaluating bar associations. As the endorsed democratic candidate in the race, I have support from notable 11th subcircuit political figures including but not limited to: Senate President Don Harmon, Senators Laura Murphy and Rob Martwick, Aldermen Jim Gardiner and Chris Taliaferro, and Committeepersons Joe Cook, Frank Avino, Jr. and Barrett Pederson. Additionally, I have received endorsements from Personal PAC, the Coalition PAC, the Italian American Political Coalition, Chicago Federation of Labor and individual labor unions including Chicago Fire Fighters Local 2, IBEW Local 134, IUOE Local 399, Plumbers Local 130, Teamsters Local 700, IUEC Local 2 and Ironworkers Local 63, to name a few. And, last but certainly not least, I have the unending and unwavering support of my family, friends and co-workers.
In closing, within the context of my personal life, professional career/qualifications and campaign supporters, my experience, work-ethic and desire to always be fair, make me qualified serve as a judge. What is more, I have a desire to continue to serve the public—to me public service is about working hard and doing the right thing. I have based my entire legal career on those two principles. If win this election, I will continue to serve the public proudly by working hard and doing the right thing from the bench.
Thank you.
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