Rep. James Durkin (R-Westchester) is my representative in the Illinois General Assembly, and I live one block from his office. Rep. Durkin and I have had numerous discussions regarding many issues, including prosecutorial misconduct and administration of the death penalty in Illinois.
I am in favor of abolishing the death penalty while Rep. Durkin supports retention of it.
As a matter of fact, Rep. Durkin and I disagree on numerous issues, but he certainly is not soft on crime, as implied in Cook County State’s Atty. Richard Devine’s June 21 letter to the editor. A former prosecutor, Rep. Durkin is very supportive of state’s attorneys, and to say anything else is not to know Jim Durkin.
Rep. Durkin is not soft on crime but is hard on facts. It is the facts of prosecutorial misconduct that resulted in the report prepared by the Prosecutorial Misconduct Committee chaired by Rep. Durkin. Until State’s Atty. Devine recognizes there is a serious problem involving prosecutorial misconduct, there is little hope for meaningful resolution to this problem in Cook County. The debate about elimination of prosecutorial misconduct must be based upon facts not personal attacks, innuendo and subjective observations.
