Using office for political gains

If ever there was a good example of taking politics out of the role of certain currently elected governmental positions, DuPage County's State's Attorney Joseph Birkett's office would be it. For the most part, most elected state's attorneys do a good job of drawing the line between prosecutorial professionalism and political aspirations. In DuPage County, the office has evolved into a stump for higher statewide elected office. Using this office in a numbers game to attempt to impress prospective voters with their prosecutorial prowess via convictions isn't much different from a CEO of a company manipulating company performance figures for their personal gain. What can be derived, when this office goes unchallenged in an election, as it has in DuPage? There comes a time when a position becomes too powerful; that is why there are checks and balances in our system of government, right? As in business and the financial sector, savvy operators are good at manipulating the system to suit their needs. Where will this end in our so called criminal justice system, without the intervention of a healthy functioning elective process? At this time, the DuPage County Board is in its budget process. The board has been presented with a demand by Birkett for an 11 percent pay raise for his assistant state's attorneys. The board is currently awaiting the results of a study comparing pay scales with adjoining counties, but Birkett has publicly stated that he won't wait. So what can we expect to do next? In the past he has threatened to sue the county and its taxpayers. How can Birkett be both a professional prosecutor and an aspiring politician at the same time, without it being at the expense of his current office? I can only hope to expect this will someday end.

Paula McGowen

Glen Ellyn