The Illinois Supreme Court is suspending Peru attorney Julie Ajster’s law license for 30 days starting June 8. The court says she made false statements three times to a judge and gave legal advice to someone whose interests conflicted with her client’s.
The accusations come from a 2015 harassment case against Ajster’s fiance, according to Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission documents. He died in 2017, but a complaint that she under-reported his income when asking a judge to lower his bond continued until the high court’s announcement Monday. Ajster told the ARDC that she understands what she did was wrong. She said, at the time, she believed disability income didn’t need to be counted because it wasn’t taxable.
Ajster was also accused of saying more than she should have to someone else she knows who was being asked to provide police with information they could use against her fiance. The same incident led to a lawsuit Ajster filed against Peru police and former LaSalle County State’s Attorney Brian Towne, claiming they eavesdropped on her without a proper warrant. That case was settled, partly in 2018 and partly in 2019.
WCMY News has offered Ajster the opportunity to comment. We have not heard from her.