After Resounding Victory, District Attorney-Elect Xavier Solis, Shares His Vision For The Kenosha County DA’s Office

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Solis Smiles As He Watched Election Results Come In
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)

Kenosha County voters sent a stern message tonight – the status quo is no longer. Voters did this by electing local criminal defense attorney Xavier Solis to lead the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office. Solis is now tasked with leading a staff of about 40 men and women including nearly 20 prosecutors and 20 support personnel.

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Solis’ opponent, prosecutor Carli McNeill, has been plagued by controversy and allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. McNeill didn’t return KCE’s phone call or messages requesting comment. She also declined to contact and concede to Solis, as is customary.

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Solis was up the entire night and ended his evening with an over 2,000 vote lead, according to unofficial totals on the County’s website.

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District Attorney-Elect Xavier Solis
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)

Solis spoke with KCE exclusively after the results were final:

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“Thank You, Kenosha County!
I am deeply honored and grateful to be elected as your District Attorney. Thank you to everyone who supported this journey—from knocking on doors to sharing our message, and most importantly, casting your vote. This victory belongs to all of us who believe in a safer, stronger Kenosha County.
As your District Attorney, I am committed to working closely with Sheriff David W. Zoerner, Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton, Pleasant Prairie Police Chief David Smetana, and the various law enforcement agencies across our county. Together, we will strengthen our partnerships and bring a united approach to keeping our communities safe. Accountability, transparency, and justice will guide us in ensuring that every resident feels protected and valued.
Let’s get to work!”
– Xavier Solis, Kenosha County District Attorney – Elect

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Congressman Bryan Steil (R), DA-Elect Xavier Solis (R) and Sheriff David Zoerner (R)
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)

Solis celebrated his victory alongside supporters Tuesday evening, including Congressman Bryan Steil (R), Sheriff David Zoerner(R), and other supporters and volunteers. Solis celebrated at Birchwood Grill in central Kenosha County and later joined Congressmen Steil at his event. Steil said to Solis “This is big, Xavier!”

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Solis shared a snapshot of his vision for the Kenosha County DA’s Office with KCE Tuesday evening. “Under my leadership, violent criminals, child predators, and corrupt public officials will be held accountable for their actions to the fullest extent of the law. The days of sending serious cases to neighboring DAs for political purposes are over,” said Solis. “We have seen District Attorneys that are not held accountable by Kenosha County tax payers go easy on these offenders. If the crimes occur in Kenosha County, they will be prosecuted in Kenosha County, aside from obvious conflicts. Unlike my predecessor and opponent, I am not a life-long politician. I will not treat defendants differently based on their political beliefs or perceived social statuses.”

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DA-Elect Xavier Solis (R) and Former County Board Member Zachary Rodriguez (R)
(Kenosha County Eye)

“I want to warn those that sell poison, like fentanyl and other dangerous drugs to our children – your days are numbered. To the repeat violent and sexual offenders, you no longer need to wait for a generous plea offer – one isn’t coming,” added Solis.

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“I want to thank my opponent, Ms. McNeill, for her many years of service to Kenosha County. I look forward to District Attorney Mike Graveley’s cooperation during my transition over the coming two months.”

Kenosha County Sheriff David W. Zoerner
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)

“I am pleased to congratulate District Attorney-Elect Xavier Solis on his victory and am committed to supporting his transition into this crucial role for Kenosha County. I look forward to working together to create the safest community possible for all residents of Kenosha County,” said Kenosha County Sheriff David W. Zoerner.

Patrick Patton – City of Kenosha Police Chief (File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)

“Congratulations to new District Attorney Xavier Solis. The relationship between law enforcement and the DAs office is pivotal in ensuring the highest level of public safety for our community. I look forward to working with DA Solis and assisting in anyway I can to help him be successful and continue the great relationship our organizations have historically had,” said Kenosha Police Chief Patrick Patton.

District Attorney-Elect Solis will be sworn into office in January of 2025 at a public ceremony. Details of this historic ceremony will be forthcoming. Not only is Solis the county’s first ever Republican elected to this office, but he is also the first ever Mexican-American DA in Kenosha County.

Congressman Bryan Steil Congratulates Solis On Stage Tuesday Evening
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Congressman Bryan Steil Takes The Stage Tuesday Evening
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
District Attorney-Elect Xavier Solis and KCE Editor and Former Alderman Kevin Mathewson
(Photo by Zachary Rodriguez for Kenosha County Eye)

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        1. Yes, those are racist words. They are the same words used by the President-elect. Therefore, the President-elect is racist.

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  1. Congratulations Xavier. This couldn’t have been possible without your help Kevin. Carli showing she’s a true democrat by not conceding when it is obvious she lost.

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  2. As a deputy, I am overjoyed and I stnd with our Sheriff. It’s time for a change. And I pray there will be justice for Baby Doe (River)

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          1. Agree, we NEED Change in Unpleasant Prairie!!!! Two headed monster starts with Fat daddy and tag along Polloncoff wish we could learn about back room deals.

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  3. Pack your bags Carli , Take your corruption and your mis leading backstabbing, unethical ways home ,
    Congrats Kenosha we have a new beginning and hopefully with the New DA and a great police chief and sheriff we
    can also Make Kenosha Great again !!!!

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    1. Lmao that will never happen the local Italians running Kenosha wont let it happen but the illusion is beautiful 🤣🤣🤣

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  4. So super proud of you Xavier, you worked so hard and I am eager to watch you in this roll. Enjoy the victory but prepare for the hard work ahead,

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  5. I have a really good feeling about this.
    The people deserve better for their tax dollars and
    Kenosha will be a much safer place.
    Congratulations, Xavi!

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  6. Congratulations Xavier Solis. Can’t wait for the law to clean up our city finally. Time for the garbage to take the trash out!

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  7. This is such great news !!! Gravely retiring , and his protege defeated . This in combination with Trump’s victory , makes this a beautiful day !
    Too bad the completely useless Tammy Baldwin won. Congrats Xavier !!!

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    1. I’m getting conflicting stories on Tammy Baldwin. Google says she won but another website says she didn’t. Only 99% were in when Google posted her winning.

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  8. What do Carli McNeill, Alexandra Smathers and Emily Gaertnerin all have in common? All of them woke up this morning and are updating their resumes and sending a copy to Zeke Wiedenfeld in Walworth County and Patricia Hanson in Racine.

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    1. Yuck, we don’t want them in Racine.

      We don’t want Pat Hanson either, but no one else wants the job, so we’re stuck with Mr. Piggy.

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  9. This is going to be a disaster. I feel very sorry for those families that will be looking for justice when they are a victim of a crime.

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    1. Victims like Baby River? Or, the Taxpayers of Kenosha who fell victim to A. Berg? Or A. Berg’s donors, who were victims of theft?

      Or, the sexual assault victims who have been let down recently & repeatedly? Or how about those who have been prosecuted unjustly, recently?

      Or the countless others who have been let down by the losers in the Kenosha DA’s office? More have been disappointed than properly served. It’s time for that to change! Go, Mr. Solis ♥️🤍💙

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      1. It doesn’t matter who the DA is. There are going to be people who don’t get justice regardless of who won, be serious.

        It’s actually pretty sad how many of you think the DA’s office is going to change overnight. It won’t. It shows how clueless most people are in terms of how this stuff works.

        I’m glad Trump won but, to be honest, 99 percent of the citizens aren’t important enough to actually experience any type of life change due to who the President is. Short of you being one of the one percenters, your life isn’t going to change regardless if they vote Cardi B as President or Reagan comes back from the dead to be President.

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  10. Kevin, thanks for supporting the right choice. Change is good, let’s see what a republican can do to this office. Congrats to Mr. Solis. Last night’s message to the liberals was, NO MORE!! time for change.

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  11. You can take a good amount of credit here, Mr. Matthews. A job well done. Wow, the first republican DA in Kenosha’s history.

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    1. This has no relevance. A candidate’s political affiliation in the DA race had little to no value to voters until 10 years ago. They mostly voted on merit.

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  12. If only the City voters could follow along with the County voters we might be able to clean some things up. Get rid of these established dems, anti-family school board, and things would be even better.

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  13. Congrats to Xavier who worked hard on his campaign. The same process happened in 1989 when Robert Jambois came in from the outside and defeated Robert Zapf who was supported by the entire DA’s office staff. Xavier does not have the authority (nor did Jambois) to just go in and fire people as some of the posters above have suggested. He does have the authority to select a deputy (the office now held by McNeill) and, of course, he can and likely will change how the office is run. I suspect there will be some changes once he gets the lay of the land.

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  14. Kenosha experienced a giant red wave yesterday!!! What a day for Kenosha Republicans!!! Being on the right side and working hard pays off!

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  15. Congratulations on your achievement, Mr. Solis. Your success signifies a new era in the local judiciary. It is our hope that all defense attorneys receive equal opportunities without preferential treatment for deal makers like Parise or Kmiec.
    We, the people, have voted for you and will stand by your side to ensure that the outdated establishment does not interfere with your duties.

    By the way Mr. Donald Mayew, do you have anything else to say about Mr. Solis now?

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  16. Again, the city doesn’t win here. You guys lose regardless. McNeil was part of the problem before.

    However, Solis doesn’t have much experience trying cases….and he just isn’t a very good litigator. End of story. It’s an experience thing, nothing against him personally.

    I cringe thinking of him having to try a high profile case…..

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    1. He can have someone else try the case. Just like Gravely did. If XS were smart and self-aware, he would focus on the administration side of the position and leave the trials to the staff. Lots of big city DAs do not try cases.

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    1. Bell chose to take the settlement.

      He SETTLED.

      Now he needs to settle down and STFU. His son was a drunk, drug-using shitbag who bragged about his delinquency. Mike Jr. played the world’s worst game of FAFO, and Gonzales won.

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      1. A civil settlement means nothing.
        3 grown men can’t handle one teenager without shooting him dead?
        Weak shit from weak pussies.

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        1. One could argue that the younger Bell’s lifestyle directly led to this result, and that the weak one was the individual who chose the life of delinquency, when following the law is so simple, that most people do it on a daily basis.

      2. The officers and leadership of the Kenosha police committed numerous serious crimes in the investigation into the death of Bell jr. Their actions are a cancer on this city. I waiting to see if the new DA will actual order a real investigation to rid Kenosha of this cancer.

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        1. You can fuck off, too. Try doing the job and dealing with a drunken asshole trying to take your gun away and kill you.

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  17. I’ve never been so nervous regarding an election; both locally and nationally. Given the past election, I couldn’t bear to hear bad news last night. Needless to say I was very happy this morning. But there’s a long way to go. Xavier winning by only 2000 votes points to the institutionalized corruption of the mainstream media. If they would have publicized his opponent’s poor record and overt corruption, the way the KC Eye did, it wouldn’t have been even that close. The KC Eye is vital to our community. If you believe in freedom of speech, and in something called objective truth, then we have work to do. Support the Eye and other outlets who are working to expose the constant lies of the MSM. If you still doubt the honesty of the legacy media, all I have to say is “nine barrels? Are you sure the stories they push down your throat are really what they say they are?”

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  18. Guess what courthouse establishment?
    Xavier didn’t attend your lame candidates debate and still won!
    The 98% democrat Bar Association has no power or influence.
    I hope you wasted a lot of time preparing gotcha questions for Xavier that you never got to use.

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    1. You know, I thought it was a bad look that Xavier didn’t show up to the debate. But now, and to your point, I could see that it was setup for his failure, and it seemed it was packed with her cronies (fellow attorneys). So looking back Xavier did the right thing, by not falling into a local “establishment” trap, and took his message directly to the people and the people have spoken!

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  19. I couldn’t be more proud to vote for Xavier Solis! A true God loving Patriot! Let the house cleaning begin! 🙏❤️🤍💙

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  20. Start with John Morrissey, No real college degree, huge cover up on Bell case, if nothing to hide why not release the file? Huge salary we already have mayor to make decisions why double cost ?

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    1. Wait until he runs for County Exec and wins 😬

      RPKC needs to find a good, strong candidate, because that race is coming hard & fast.

      1. Morrissey is convinced he can trick enough stupid people to vote for him. When Kenosha people learn just how corrupt he really is, they will send him packing.

  21. He needs to start with the victim witness people who are really advocates for getting their way. They add charges in hopes of a plea!

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  22. Let’s see how Xavier Solis prosecutes Trenton Kmiec and his dirt bag father Ted. Hoping and wishing justice to be served.

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Burlington Man Accused of Meth, Bail Jumping, and Multi-Vehicle OWI Crash That Injured Four

Austin Riley Prinn, 28, of Burlington(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — A Burlington man is facing multiple felony and misdemeanor charges after authorities say he caused a violent multi-vehicle rollover crash while allegedly under the influence and in possession of methamphetamine, all while out on bond in two separate cases. Austin Riley Prinn, 28, of Burlington(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) You must

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135 MPH I-94 Chase, Lights Off, Gun In Car: Waukesha Man Held on $25K Cash Bail

Najee Deon Baham, 28, of Waukesha(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) BRISTOL, Wis. — A Waukesha man is being held on a $25,000 cash bond after authorities say he led Wisconsin State Patrol on a high-speed chase reaching 135 mph on Interstate 94, drove with his headlights off at times, and had a passenger armed with a handgun inside the vehicle. Court Commissioner William “Bargain

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Drunken Punch Leaves Man With Facial Fractures; Kenosha Man Charged With Felony Battery

Robert J. White, 34, of Kenosha(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. — A Kenosha man accused of violently punching a friend during a late-night visit is now facing a felony charge after appearing before Court Commissioner William “Bargain Bail Billy” Michel II, who set bail following arguments from both prosecutors and defense. Robert J. White, 34, of Kenosha(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) You

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Illinois Woman Accused of High-Speed Police Chase, Drug Possession After Twin Lakes Stop

Kenzey L. Cooke, 21, of Antioch, Illinois(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) TWIN LAKES, Wis. — A 21-year-old Illinois woman is facing multiple felony and misdemeanor charges after authorities say she fled from a traffic stop, sparked a late-night police search, and was later found hiding inside her apartment with drugs and paraphernalia. Kenzey L. Cooke, 21, of Antioch, Illinois(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) You must

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Illinois Man Accused Of $42,000 Rampage Through Kenosha Apartment Complex, Smashing Gates And Dog Park Fencing

Dustin Tyler Lewis, 32, of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) KENOSHA, Wis. — A 32-year-old Illinois man is facing a felony charge after prosecutors say he tore through a Kenosha apartment complex with his pickup truck, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance May 21 before Court Commissioner William “Bargain Bail Billy” Michel

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Thanksgiving Fire Horror: Father Charged After Three Children Died in Kenosha Blaze, Complaint Alleges He Left Them in Burning Apartment, Faces 75 Years in Prison

Rylee Levi Kannin, 10, Joshua P. Kannin, 39, Connor Liam Kannin, 9 and Alena Ellen Kannin, 7 Graphic details below. KENOSHA, Wis. — A Kenosha father whose three young children died in a horrific Thanksgiving night apartment fire last November has now been charged with three felony counts of neglecting a child causing death after investigators concluded he failed to protect the children

Nordigian Wins County Board Chairmanship After Tie Vote, Political Horse Trading Alleged

KENOSHA, Wis. — Supervisor Mark Nordigian was elected chairman of the Kenosha County Board Tuesday night after a dramatic and unusual vote that many insiders say was decided by behind-the-scenes political dealmaking. The night began with outgoing Chair Monica Yuhas officially leaving the board after eight years of service. Supervisors gave Yuhas a standing ovation as she concluded her tenure. Vice Chairman Daniel

Kenosha Aldermen Sworn In as New Common Council Begins Two-Year Term

KENOSHA, Wis. — Kenosha’s aldermen officially took office Tuesday night during the Common Council’s organizational meeting, beginning a new two-year term for the city’s legislative body. The meeting featured the swearing-in of representatives from all 17 districts across the city following the recent spring election. Julia Metallo was the only truly new member of the council. Daniel Prozanski also joined the council this

Monica Yuhas Leaves County Board After Eight Years of Service

KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — Monica Yuhas will chair her final Kenosha County Board meeting Tuesday night, bringing an end to eight years on the board and the last two as its chairwoman. Before joining the County Board, Yuhas served as a trustee in the Village of Pleasant Prairie. Over the years, she became known as a steady and generally low-key presence in county

Nordigian Could Capitalize on Absences in Surprise County Board Chair Race

KENOSHA, Wis. — A pair of expected absences at Tuesday night’s Kenosha County Board organizational meeting could create an unexpected opening for Supervisor Mark Nordigian to become the next chairman, despite Democrats maintaining a strong majority on the board following the April election. According to multiple sources familiar with behind-the-scenes discussions, Supervisors Laura Belsky and William “Bill” Grady are both expected to be

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Kenosha Man Accused of 80 MPH Chase With No Headlights Refuses to Appear in Court as Michel Sets $10,000 Cash Bond

Riley M. Hansler, 31, of Kenosha(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) KENOSHA, Wis. — A Kenosha man accused of leading police on a dangerous nighttime chase through city streets at speeds reaching 80 miles per hour refused to leave his cell for court Tuesday, prompting Court Commissioner William “Bargain Bail Billy” Michel II to adjourn the hearing until later this week while setting a $10,000

Gateway’s Sabrina Morgan Honored as Distinguished Alumnus at Leadership Kenosha Graduation

KENOSHA, Wis. — Leadership Kenosha will celebrate its 2026 graduating class next month while also honoring one of the community’s most active and respected leaders, Gateway Technical College’s Sabrina Morgan. The annual Leadership Kenosha Graduation Celebration is scheduled for May 14 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Circa on Seventh in downtown Kenosha. The event will recognize the 2025-2026 cohort, made up of

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Man Charged With Sexual Assault Released on $400 Cash Bond by Court Commissioner William “Bargain Bail Billy” Michel II

Charles L. Jimenez, 33, of Kenosha(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) KENOSHA, Wis. — A Kenosha man accused of forcing a woman to strip and touching her without consent was allowed to remain free Tuesday after Court Commissioner William “Bargain Bail Billy” Michel II continued a $400 cash bond, despite prosecutors asking for much more. Charles L. Jimenez, 33, of Kenosha(Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office) You

Kenosha County Offering Free Well Testing After Flooding Concerns

KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — Residents whose private wells may have been affected by recent flooding along the Fox River and in other parts of Kenosha County can now receive free well-testing services through Kenosha County Public Health. County officials announced Monday that residents in flooded areas are encouraged to pick up test kits at several municipal buildings and government offices throughout the county.

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