ST. CLAIR CO.— With one judge dead face-down in what is figuratively said to have been a “mound of cocaine” and another resigning, one probation officer has done what thousands of voters sometimes take a lifetime to do—get two judges off the bench.
When newly-elected judge Joe Christ, 49, was found dead at a fellow judge’s hunting cabin in Pike County (on the west side of the state), the investigation quickly pointed to not only fellow judge Michael Cook, but to probation officer James Fogarty, 45, of Belleville.
Judge Cook was ultimately charged March 24 in federal court with Unlawful Possession of Heroin and Unlawful Use of a Controlled Substance in Possession of a Firearm.
Cook is rumored to have shown up for his first appearance in a t-shirt that read, “Bad to the Bone.”
Shortly thereafter he pled not guilty and went about his way being back on the street on a $10,000 unsecured cash bond.
One of the things he did, while going on his way, was resign, a rare thing for a judge to do in Illinois, as many, especially in that particular circuit (the 20th), are really full of themselves and have raised self-aggrandizing to an art form.
Mr. Fogarty is expected to hear any day now whether or not he will be eligible for bail.
If only it were this easy to get dope-sniffing arrogant judges off the bench every day and in other circuits…