A prosecutor in Chicago who had worked for the government for more than 20 years has already resigned.
Jason Poje, a criminal trial attorney with the Cook County State Attorney’s Office, reportedly wrote a note to 85 coworkers on Friday as he left.
He thanked several of his employees in his parting letter, but he also stated his inability to raise his child in a community that was undergoing what he perceived to be a failed social experiment.
In his letter, he claimed that his family had long since discovered a peaceful neighborhood in the suburbs.
Now, though, a drug dealer openly sells drugs in front of their house. The five-year-old child of the couple is now hearing gunshots while playing in the neighborhood park because it has happened frequently over the past two years.
He would have been content to put up with it if it had just been them, but the current administration’s negligence for carefully analyzing policy options has put their family in danger.
A 20-year veteran Chicago prosecutor quit his job and wrote a blistering letter to his colleagues on his way out Friday, blasting the city’s “stupid” leaders and declaring they set the city “on a course to disaster.” https://t.co/lIBo2CVHZP— FOX 32 News (@fox32news) May 10, 2023
As Poje stated, all parties should make an effort to defend their positions while finding a balance between defending rights and maintaining safety.
When the prosecution’s function is handled in excess, the balance is thrown off, which causes a rise in crime and a dearth of qualified prosecutors.
Poje decided against raising his son in the area due to their capacity to do so and intended to leave the state of Illinois.
“The simple fact is that this State and County have set themselves on a course to disaster. And the worst part is that the agency for whom I work has backed literally every policy change that had the predictable, and predicted, outcome of more crime and more people getting hurt,” Poje wrote
Poje didn’t mention Kim Foxx by name, but it is clear who he was alluding to.
He also expressed his belief that various reforms to the criminal justice system have had negative consequences.
Specifically, he mentions bond reform, which has led to fewer people being held in jail while their cases are pending, but also a potential increase in criminals on the streets. He also criticizes shorter parole periods and lower sentences for repeat offenders, which he thinks make communities less safe.
Additionally, Poje criticizes the malicious prosecution of law enforcement officers and the overuse of diversion programs, which he feels can let criminals off the hook too easily. He also argues that some prosecutors intentionally choose not to pursue cases even when laws have been passed to allow for prosecution.
Overall, Poje believes that these reforms have negative consequences that will last for many years.
