Chicago Criminal lawyer thinks there's a job opening at Cook County Jail

This Chicago Criminal lawyer can’t make this up. She’s posted here and here about other government employees charged with crimes. Now comes news of a Cook County former Cook County Correctional Officer charged with bringing weed to work.


March 16, Chicago, IL

A Cook County Jail correctional officer has been charged with bringing marijuana, a cell phone and several DVDs into the jail.

Dwayne Jones, 25, had 10 grams of suspected marijuana, a cell phone and charger, earphones and several DVDs, including episodes of last year’s Discovery Channel series “Cook County Jail,” when authorities stopped him Monday, according to sheriff’s spokesman Steve Patterson.

Also in Jones’ bag was the ongoing MSNBC series “The Squeeze,” which focuses on the roles of the sheriff’s gang intelligence officers inside and outside the jail, Patterson said.

Officers are not allowed to have electronics while at the jail. Authorities believe Jones planned to watch the DVDs on a computer used to track inmate information, Patterson said.

Mr. Jones was charged with two counts of possession of contraband in a penal institution and one count of officer misconduct.

This matter isn’t news because it’s a case of the fox guarding the chickens; no this is news because anyone who has ever visited the jail knows the list of what you can’t bring into the jail is long. You go through metal detectors, a pat down, provide proof of ID, and if you have something that is impermissible, but not contraband, you have to take it out of the jail; go to the back of the line; and go through the process all over again. This is unlike TSA where you are permitted to simply dump what’s impermissible, but not contraband.

In Illinois, possession of contraband in a penal institution (720ILCS 5/31A-1.1) can be a felony. Specifically, possession of cannabis is a Class 3 Felony (730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-40). Class 3 Felonies, while probation eligible offenses, carry a sentence of 2-5 years of incarceration.

Does anyone else see the irony of this? Here’s a guy who probably couldn’t get this job if he had any prior felony background. Now he’s out of work and facing criminal charges that will prohibit him from getting work as a prison guard if he’s found guilty.