Former LaSalle County judge and public defender Dan Bute died Monday at age 69. He retired four years ago after being a judge for 11 years and a public defender for 18.
Bute was known for telling it like it is. He once told a judge his client didn’t call the probation office on time because the defendant is as dumb as box of rocks. Sometimes defendants didn’t like it when Bute told them they had a losing case, but he defended them fiercely anyway when they insisted.
His skills in the courtroom were on former LaSalle County State’s Attorney Brian Towne’s mind when Towne was accused of official misconduct and needed a defense team himself.
Towne won the case.
Bute said he never imagined way back when that he’d become a judge. But he knew he’d be a public defender and enjoyed it. He recalled his best defense case in an interview with WCMY at the time of his retirement in 2016.
Funeral arrangements for Bute are being made through Ottawa Funeral Home.
Brian Towne says more about Dan Bute in this interview: