Attorney
If you’re facing criminal charges in McHenry or Lake County, you want an attorney who knows this community and understands how prosecutors think. Someone who has actually stood in a courtroom to fight for results and won. Criminal defense lawyer Marc A. Kranz brings all of these qualities to the table.
A lifelong Illinois resident, US Army veteran, and former prosecutor, Marc combines his deep local roots with hard-won legal experience to defend clients at every stage of the criminal process.
Marc grew up in Ingleside and has spent his entire life in McHenry and Lake Counties. He knows the local communities, courts, and prosecutors, not as an outsider who set up shop here, but as someone who has always called this area home. Any time he takes on a criminal defense case, he thinks of himself as a neighbor serving a neighbor.
Before he ever set foot in a courtroom, Marc spent more than 12 years in the US Army. He started as a Military Police officer and then advanced through increasingly specialized roles, including Military Police Customs Investigator and Military Police Investigator.
That progression gave him a strong understanding of how criminal investigations work, which he puts to work for his clients today. He knows how to read a case file, identify weaknesses in its version of events, and follow the facts wherever they lead.
After his active duty service, Marc earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, with a criminal justice minor, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He graduated with high honors. Then, he went on to earn his law degree from Northern Illinois University College of Law, where he graduated cum laude.
While in law school, Marc interned with the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office and established a clerkship with the 23rd Judicial Circuit, where he supported the judiciary with legal research. By the time he received his law license, he already had meaningful exposure to how Illinois courts work in practice.
One of the things that sets Marc apart as a criminal defense lawyer is his clear understanding of how prosecutors operate. After law school, he accepted a position as an Assistant State’s Attorney for the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he spent a year prosecuting cases firsthand.
Thanks to his background, Marc knows how prosecutors evaluate evidence and where the pressure points are in building a criminal case. That knowledge didn’t disappear when Marc switched sides. Instead, it continues to inform how he approaches every case he handles. His experience has sharpened his ability to identify weaknesses in the state’s cases and advocate for his clients with precision.
Following his time at the State’s Attorney’s Office, Marc joined the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as an Associate Attorney. In that role, he analyzed case files for veterans’ disability claim appeals and assisted in drafting legal decisions for a Veterans Law Judge. That work deepened his attention to detail and his ability to work through complex legal records systematically, both of which are qualities that serve his defense clients well today.
Marc joined Donahue & Kililis, P.C. in October 2023. Since then, he has defended clients across McHenry and Lake Counties in a wide range of criminal and traffic matters. His caseload spans petty traffic tickets, DUI charges, general misdemeanors, and domestic violence cases. He handles each case from initial appearance through resolution, including at trial when necessary.
Marc has handled bench trials and jury trials across all of these case types. He’s comfortable in the courtroom, whether the matter is a straightforward traffic citation or a serious offense with significant consequences on the line.
Marc is licensed to practice law in Illinois and holds active memberships in the McHenry County Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. If you’d like to discuss your case with Marc, contact Donahue & Kililis, P.C., now to arrange your free consultation.