The Jefferson County Board is expected to appoint a new Jefferson County State's Attorney today.
On the agenda for tonight's meeting is to accept the resignation of current State's Attorney Nicole Villani and appoint the next.
Jefferson County Board Chairman Robert White declined to say who the Republican Party's candidate for appointment to the position of State's Attorney will be.
"I don't want it in the media before the board has a chance to meet (him or her) and talk," he said.
White said when he was notified of Villani's resignation, he notified the Democratic and Republican party chairs in Jefferson County for them to present a candidate.
"We hope whomever they choose is a quality person," he said. "You want to pick someone who can withstand the election fight."
He said the appointment process in Jefferson County is considerably less intense than at the federal level. While County Board members may question candidates, he said it is hard for county board members to make the judgment for a nominee, and that's why the respective parties are required to provide an appointee.
He added that whoever is appointed will have less than a year to make themselves known and campaign to be reelected. The appointee will face reelection Nov. 6, 2012.
Villani announced her resignation in early November after she was appointed as the resident circuit judge by the Illinois Supreme Court effective Jan. 1. Villani will replace Judge Terry Gamber, who served 19 years and announced his retirement in September.
Villani became the Jefferson County State's Attorney in July of last year after winning a lawsuit that challenged the results in the Nov. 4, 2008, election.
Prior to serving as the Jefferson County State's Attorney, Villani was the assistant state's attorney in Franklin County from March 1996 to March 1998; the first assistant state's attorney in Jefferson County from March 1998 to August 2004; and in private practice with her husband, Hank Villani, from Aug. 2004 to July 2010. http://bit.ly/vLPQZE
