He appears to be a cuddly, bear-like figure, but when Commissioner Larry Suffredin starts talking about guns, he growls.

“I’ve spent too much time with the 32 children’s families that were killed (by guns) from the Chicago Public School system in the last 12 months,” said Suffredin, the 13th District Cook County Commissioner. “We’ve got to go to the source of this evil, and that’s the source of the guns.”

Gun control is among the top priorities for Suffredin, who is running for Cook County State’s Attorney in the Feb. 5 primary. Suffredin faces five other Democratic candidates for the State’s Attorney position. In November, the winner of the Democratic nomination will run against Republican Tony Peraica, who is running unopposed in her party.

Suffredin has earned the endorsement of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.

“I have the broadest experience of any of the candidates running, having practiced at every level and every kind of courtroom you can imagine,” he said.

Suffredin was born in Evergreen Park, Ill. and grew up in Westchester, Ill., about 25 miles from Evanston. He received his bachelor’s from Loyola University of Chicago in 1969 and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1972. He spent 35 years as an attorney in Cook County courts, arguing cases in front of the Illinois and U.S. Supreme Courts.

Since 2002, Suffredin has served as commissioner for the 13th district in Cook County. The 13th district includes Evanston, Skokie and Wilmette. His district office is on Davis Street fewer than one mile from Northwestern University.

Suffredin is also an active lobbyist for a number of organizations, including non-profit groups and his law firm, Shefsky and Froelich, of which he is a shareholder. He has sat on the board of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence since 1981.

In addition to taking on gun traffickers who supply Cook County criminals with weapons, Suffredin said that if he were elected, he would diversify the State’s Attorney office and fight corruption.

“My first action would be to reorganize the upper staff and immediately bring in diverse lawyers and lateral transfers who would give me lawyers of color,” Suffredin said.

Suffredin said better minority representation would help bring about justice, an idea he emphasized Sunday at a candidate forum at the Trinity United Church of Christ, an Afrocentric church in Chicago.

Out of about 900 Assistant State’s Attorneys, 64 – or 7 percent – are black and 43 – or 4.7 percent – are Hispanic, said Alderman Howard Brookins Jr. (21st), during the forum.

The two groups combined accounted for almost half of Cook County’s population in 2005.

“What we’ve got to do is add uniformity … to all these court systems,” Suffredin said. “We’ve got to make sure that every program that exists is available to everybody so that no matter where you live, if your action is the same as another, you’re going to get the same opportunity.”

The drive for uniformity would also help allay corruption within the county.

“A hundred percent of the public defenders, 20 of 21 judges and 44 percent of the state’s attorneys all said there is perjury in the cases that are tried, perjury putting innocent people in jail, and we’ve got to stop it,” Suffredin said at the candidate forum, citing a recent study by the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice.

But Suffredin’s side job as a lobbyist leave some detractors questioning his commitment to fairness.

“I get a sense that Mr. Suffredin has been just a little bit tainted by his association and affiliation with lobbyists,” said Donna Garvin, a social case worker from Chicago. “I don’t know if he’s ever going to have people forget about his associations.”

But Suffredin disagrees.

“Nobody can point out a conflict of interest that has occurred that I have not dealt with in an ethical manner in the past,” Suffredin said. “I don’t know why they would expect it to be a problem in the future.”

Critics also say he seems more like a politician than an attorney. This position is “a rung on his political ladder,” said Robert Milan, another State’s Attorney candidate.

But Suffredin says he’s not into climbing.

“My wife wants to know what rung in the ladder he thinks I’m going to – this is the last office I’m running for,” Suffredin said. “There is no other office that I want.”

Reach Brittney Wong at [email protected].

——The Competition: Suffrendin’s Democratic Opponents In The Race For State Attorney General

Tom Allen, alderman of 38th Ward of Chicago since 1993. _Ѣ In public service for 30 years. Created a task force to identify and shut down illegal rooming houses. His model was used throughout Chicago. _Ѣ Issues: bolstering law enforcement, removing child predators, cracking down on drugs, taking guns off the street and protecting seniors from fraud.

Anita Alvarez, attorney for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office since 1986._Ѣ Has worked for the Attorney’s Office since 1986 in many units including narcotics, organized crime and financial crime. _Ѣ In 2001, Alvarez tried and won the People of the State of Illinois v. Patrick Sykes, commonly referred to as the “Girl X Case.” Sykes was convicted of sexually assaulting a then-9-year-old girl in 1997

Howard B. Brookins, Jr., alderman of the 21st Ward of Chicago since 2003. _Ѣ Has been Asst. Public Defender, Asst. State’s Attorney and Special Asst. Attorney General. Formerly a prosecutor. _Ѣ Issues: gang warfare, fighting corruption, making the office more efficient.

Robert J. Milan, First Asst. as First Assistant to Cook County State’s Atty.’s office since 1987_Ѣ Endorsed by outgoing Cook County State’s Atty. Richard Devine. _Ѣ Issues: reduce county-wide homicide rate to fewer than 300 per year from more than 500 per year, pursue cases of police brutality and police corruption.

Tommy H. Brewer, has headed his own criminal defense firm since 1996. _Ѣ Served in the offices of the Cook County State’s Attorney, Cook County Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. _Ѣ Issues: prosecution of hate crimes, mending the rift between communities and police, increased diversity in State’s Attorney Office.