Embrace GRAYce

I’ve linked content for context throughout this post. I can’t shut up & love people. Like that. If you’re new here, Hi I’m Jackie! This blog revolves around unheard stories, like Jaron, Mady, Anthony & Rob, that all have a common theme of (in)justice. It’s been a rough, dark storm. I’m hopeful for sunshine sooner than later. These unheard stories are those rays of sunshine that keep me dancing in the rain. For now, I’m embracing my gray.

I was recently a guest host on the podcast That Face You Make Joliet TFYM with my new friend Justin & bestie Rob. The wide eyes of public perception combined with the safety net of a keyboard can be extremely vulnerable.

“Our” Truths – TFYM #5

I speak a lot of facts. If you doubt em, check out the Will County budget for yourself 🤷‍♀️ It’s a quick 533 page read..

Welp. Good thing I lost most of my ego in New County & built a strong reputation for myself over the past 13 years in the legal field.

I’m just a tax paying citizen who’s funding those elected officials’ six figure salaries… I, a constituent, am frustrated and tired of not being heard over how my money is spent.

Is it good money after bad or are we getting our tax dollars’ worth?

The abysmal budget allotted for “social” issues i.e. health department, housing, mental health and substance abuse resources in the community would say the former.

Suggestion. We could use a small fraction of the Sheriff’s 35 million dollar budget for the community resources we desperately need.

Don’t be blinded by the shiny exterior of Old County’s Sheriff & his toxic administration. I learned that the hard way. There is so so so much more…

Easy to coast by on six figures when you spend a lot of your time drinking on Lockport St instead of community caretaking. Campaign expenditures tell the tales. The culture of unaccountability starts at the top in administration, Sheriff.

Another suggestion… we need term limits so local elected officials don’t become celebrities… even if it’s only in their own overinflated head… where does that sound familiar?

That’s two separate departments where I’m confident we could be spending money more efficiently. If there was a full audit done, we could likely lower taxes as a whole for everyone while also providing resources. Foreign concept I know 🤭

Then again what do I know…

Justin & Rob know all too well how public perception holds you accountable in a court of law…… and then follows you every day as you try to move forward…. They wear the invisible badge of dishonor of criminal case numbers. The public & the law won’t let them leave their past where it belongs.

Ladies and Gentleman of the Embrace GRAYce jury, I seek to publish Jackie’s Exhibit A:

Justin’s Bills of Indictment are from almost 2 decades ago…. Only one speeding ticket since….

Sent to government officials all across the lands of the County of Will in the hopes to dissuade anyone from associating themselves with such tomfoolery.

Eloquently drafted and signed by a fake alias that is a character from Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. Abe Froman the Sausage King. I like that pseudonym better, more descriptive of the individual(s) behind the letters.

Other officials received letters that were allegedly signed by the victim’s father…. That’s impossible, he’s deceased… Takes a special person to impersonate him…

The Sausage King’s letter is why I agreed to be vulnerable.

Justin isn’t a fake alias and he doesn’t get to hide from the public spotlight. Let’s be honest, he doesn’t want to hide, he’s a host on a podcast…

And Rob. It’s unfair he lives with that “dirtbag” stigma when our government provided the literal prescription to his trauma.

They have both been held more than accountable for their actions and their pasts don’t define them. Made them into the amazing men & dads they are today. Smarter than most elected officials, although they can’t run for office given their criminal pasts. Jimmy G will make sure of that. Even if “The People” vote otherwise…. Huh?

They’re not afraid of their truth like the Sausage King aka the government officials & ex-government officials who are behind that letter.

Few other points I’d like to address before I leave that piece of literature nails on a chalkboard here and never think of it again.

• It doesn’t mention the age of the indictments.
• No contact info if the reader has any questions.
• The “facts” presented aren’t true. They’re not my facts and if you want to ask Justin, you can message him here: That Face You Make Joliet Facebook. He’s an open book. Not afraid of his past.
• The letter was also sent to previous guests. I can’t imagine how I would react without the foresight of knowing Justin. I’m grateful those wonderful people have open minds & don’t judge people for things that happened almost twenty years ago.
• That letter is a projection on the writer alone, not on Justin. Since he did his figurative & literal time in prison, his actions show how he has changed for the better. What do your actions say about you, Sausage King? Seems to me you’re living up to your pseudonyms true identity. What truth does Justin know that you’re hiding? Can’t wait to find out.

Ultimately, the anonymous drafter wants you to believe this narrative:

Justin has a beautiful wife and four kids. His family loves each other hard and unconditionally. Like I said on the pod, if I could package up their relationship and sell it, I would. They choose each other every single day. Even on those stormy days.

He’s breaking company records in sales and has a dysfunctional ADHD brain, like me. Justin is passionate about making democracy a verb again. He enjoys posting memes that will cause his lovely wife to yell at him for being a jerk from a different room.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me…. Except if it’s the truth & you don’t want the public to get its eyes on your very scary truth.

I may have a soft spot for felonious individuals….. No s*** look at the blog.

A few years ago, I had the absolute pleasure of hearing a well respected criminal defense attorney, known for his sometimes overzealous nature, yell at one of my old supervisors in the middle of the public courthouse hallway, “The system you work in is a toilet. YOU are a clog in said toilet. Can’t close any cases without getting through the CLOG.” He also used phenomenal hand gestures. That moment lives in my brain rent-free forever.

All entertainment value aside, toilets are pretty efficient systems, we’ve used the same “toilet system” for decades. It works until someone clogs it. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken…. But what if you can’t get through the clog?

Replace the toilet…. Or the elected official….

28 years for a toilet is a long time. Can’t imagine the build up of toxic unaccountability… I mean grime.

For 8.5 years, I was naively blinded by an elected official I worked for. I believed the false narrative I heard at PSC graduations.. We wore the white hat of justice together!

You see…. Jimmy G publicly supports his oath of office when finding the truth for those in the less privilege, more accountability side of things. Much like that Old County Sheriff.

Privately, they’re thriving in an immense amount of elected official privilege, which I now know comes with absolutely zero accountability.

PSSSSTTTTTT… Can I tell you a secret? Just because a crime by the letter of law isn’t charged, doesn’t mean you’re “innocent”. The proper authorities didn’t catch you; or if you know the prosecutor and/or cop, they chose not to charge you.

Not sure you’d want my old boss representing your interests at trial anyway as he hasn’t tried a case in at least 2.5 terms… 10 years…. Six figures times ten…

Justin’s Open Letter to the Community:

“It seems that the true cowards in our community would rather run an anonymous smear campaign rather than the possibility of their hard, gross, sometimes criminal truth, be “exposed” to the general public.”

“My name is Justin. I’m a convicted felon. I made many, many mistakes a few years ago and I was, by the letter of the law, held FULLY accountable.”

“The purpose of the pod is awareness. Our local government system values harmony over honesty. I value honesty and accountability when it’s my money.”

“Instead of talk to me about my past, you choose to publish an untrue narrative anonymously to anyone and everyone that it may intimidate to ruin business & personal relationships.”

“Here I am. I’m not afraid of my history or my truth. You have to come out from the shadows of anonymity and talk to me though.”

“You won’t, because you have everything to lose with the truth.”

“I choose to live in a system where we are not judged on acts from the long ago past. I’ve moved on; you should too. But really, bc there are so many issues that need to be fixed versus dwelling on mistakes I made as an emotionally immature kid.”

“If Abe’s letter convinces you to not come on the pod, or if it’s me, I’m still a constituent & I have a large platform. In my mind, the people who choose to stay away from the pod are afraid of their truth. I won’t forget about that come election season. It’s not a gotcha and if you’re doing what you’re supposed to be, there is nothing to be afraid of.”

Be like Justin & Rob, Make Democracy a Verb Again. Don’t be like the Sausage King.

And another old funny with my lil twist… “There Needs to be a New “We The People” & Sheriff in Old County”.