WOODSTOCK, Ill. (AP) – McHenry County taxpayers might foot the $150 hourly bill from a private attorney to represent the county’s former coroner facing felony charges after fetuses were discovered in her office. The (Crystal Lake) Northwest Herald reports that Judge Robert Wilbrandt stopped short of appointing Mark Gummerson to represent Marlene Lantz because he said he wants to notify county officials first. But Gummerson said he could continue to represent Lantz at a rate well below the $300 to $400 an hour he says he typically charges.
Lantz has pleaded not guilty to forgery and official misconduct charges after authorities discovered a decomposed fetus at the morgue where she worked until she left the job more than two years earlier. More official misconduct charges were added after another fetus was found.
