Office of the Will County Public Defender

Zack Strupeck graduated from Aurora University with a double major in History and Religion.  He then attended The John Marshall Law School, where he was the Executive Justice (Vice President) of John Marshall's Moot C...

Timothy McGrath has been a part-time Assistant Public Defender since 1987.  Mr. McGrath graduated from Providence Catholic High School in 1979.  He then attended Creighton University, graduating in 1983, and the John...

Timothy Doyle is a 2003 graduate of Northern Illinois University.  He attended John Marshall Law School, earning his Juris Doctor in 2009.

Mr. Doyle is currently handling juvenile ...

Tim Specht obtained his Bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997.  He graduated from Northern Illinois University Law School in 2001 and was admitted to the Illinois Bar.  Mr. Spe...

Stephen Whitmore attended Northern Illinois University College of Law to earn his Juris Doctor.

Mr. Whitmore has been employed at the Will County Public Defender's Office since 2004...

Mr. Gatses is a lifelong resident of Will County.  He attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale for his undergraduate studies, where he received his degree in Sociology.  He obtained his Juris Doctor at Cha...

Sara Dankowski graduated from Benedictine University in 2014 with a degree in Management.  She then attended DePaul University College of Law, earning her Juris Doctor in May of 2017.  Ms. Dankowski was admitted to t...

Samantha LaRowe Kerins originally hails from Hamburg, New York. She attended Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York where she graduated with Bachelors of Arts degrees in both Clinical Psychology and History. She th...

Mr. Durrenberger was raised in Kane County, Illinois.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and later his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.