By: ANITA ALVAREZ and JENNIFER GREENE When the United Nations passed the Palermo Protocols in 2000, combatting trafficking in persons became a...
Anita Alvarez
Anita Alvarez is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Disputes & Investigations in Chicago. She specializes in leading complex criminal investigations in the areas of public corruption, financial fraud and violent crimes.
Alvarez brings more than 30 years of legal and consulting experience including serving as the Cook County State’s Attorney (Chicago, IL) for eight years. In her tenure as State’s Attorney, Alvarez opened the first-ever Human Trafficking Unit focused on combatting human trafficking both in the sex trade and the labor market. This led to the creation of the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force which is a comprised of both local and federal law enforcement as well as social service providers. This task force has become a model for the country. Additionally, she created the Cook County Regional Organized Crime Task Force (CCROC) as a public/private partnership to combat financial schemes such as fencing, identity theft, money laundering and bank fraud. This task force was the first of its kind in the nation and created a unique collaboration between law enforcement and retailers.
Alvarez earned a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.