DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin announced a new team that will review domestic violence deaths across the county and look for warning signs that were missed.
The Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team brings together prosecutors, police officers, advocates and representatives from the coroner's, public defender's and probation offices, Shaw Local reported. The team will operate within the 18th Judicial Circuit, which covers all of DuPage County, including Glen Ellyn and Lombard.
Members will meet at least four times a year to examine how the criminal justice system handled fatal or near-fatal domestic violence incidents, according to the Daily Herald. The team will reconstruct events leading up to each death, identify missed intervention opportunities and draft reports with policy recommendations.
Three domestic violence-related deaths were reported in DuPage County in 2025, according to the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence's annual homicide report. The municipalities where those deaths occurred were not identified in the report.
"We've made a lot of progress on domestic violence, but it still remains a huge issue in the community," Berlin said, as reported by the Daily Herald. "Anything we can do to improve our response, we should be taking advantage of."
The team includes officers from the West Chicago, Wheaton and Willowbrook police departments. Advocacy organizations on the team include Family Shelter Service of Metropolitan Family Services DuPage, the Center for Advancing Domestic Peace, the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services, Document the Abuse and the DuPage Family Center. All members are volunteering for the work, Berlin said.
Berlin also thanked Tessa Kuipers, project director of the statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review initiative, for guiding the effort, according to Shaw Local.
Statewide context
Domestic violence-related killings in Illinois dropped 26% in 2025, according to the coalition's homicide report. The state recorded 101 deaths tied to 72 cases that year, including 83 homicides and 18 perpetrator suicides. That followed 137 deaths in 2024, the peak of a three-year surge the coalition said represented a 140% increase.
Gunshot wounds accounted for 68% of the killings statewide, the Daily Herald reported. About 69% of homicide victims were female, and 95% of perpetrators were male, according to the report.
Local resources
Family Shelter Service of Metropolitan Family Services DuPage operates a 24/7 domestic violence hotline at (630) 469-5650. Walk-in hours are available at 605 E. Roosevelt Rd. in Wheaton.
