The Tribune is now reporting the death of one-time judicial primary winner Rhonda Crawford.
Instead of presiding over trials, Crawford was about to stand trial on an official misconduct charge: After winning her 2016 primary election, but before actually being elected, Crawford donned a robe and presided over at least a few traffic cases in a Markham courtroom. Once this news got out, Crawford was fired from her job as a law clerk, suspended from the practice of law, and barred from taking judicial office, even though she was running unopposed. (The real judge who allowed Ms. Crawford to pretend to be a judge was subsequently retired by order of the Illinois Courts Commission.)
FWIW has heard from multiple sources that Ms. Crawford took her own life.
If true (and I have no reason to doubt my sources), this is a terrible, and unnecessary, end to a sad, sordid saga.
It's just a job.
It's a good job. Nice salary. Top-flight benefits. Above-average working conditions.
And more: It can provide at least a chance to do some tangible good in a terrible world.
It's a job that so many FWIW readers desperately want; it's a job that I have coveted for a quarter of a century.
But it's still just a job.
It's not worth dying for.
Even for one who came so close, but who fumbled it all away.
We'll be back to regular programming here soon. But, for now, I pray for Ms. Crawford's friends and family and for the peaceful repose of her soul.
I am so sorry.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more reading:Guest Post: Recognizing, understanding, and referring a colleague in need
