The buck doesn’t stop with this State’s Attorney

The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it. – Lou Holtz.

I’d really like to get back to covering topics other than the City of Elgin and the Kane County State’s Attorney but apparently, it ain’t gonna happen. And moving on becomes particularly difficult when local attorneys send you early morning texts decrying that they’re not allowed to observe a grand jury proceedings, but the attorney for a dog can.

I don’t know about you, but that one certainly got my attention.

Most of you’ve already heard the tragic tale of Wayne, Illinois’ Ludwig the dog who was shot and killed after menacing a neighbor in his backyard. The story gained particular notoriety because the neighbor happened to be Hal Phipps, the husband of Wayne Village President Elaine Phipps.

Despite Ludwig having bitten Phipps once before and charges being filed against unfit dog owner Joe Petit as a result, all hell broke loose when Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser refused to press charges because the incontrovertible video and witness evidence fully supported Phipps story.

Though he had the absolute right to defend himself, should Phipps have shot the dog? Of course not! Particularly when you’re the spouse of an elected official. Given the plurality of poor dog owners, I’ve faced similar circumstances, not the least of which was having two rottweilers chase me west on Winters Road such that I had to ride 30 mph uphill to evade the attack. But I didn’t shoot the dogs, I let Animal Control handle it.

The bottom line is, if your dog threatens me on my property – a SECOND time – there will be some serious consequences for your poor choices as a pet owner and Petit has no one to blame but himself for Ludwig’s death. He shouldn’t be allowed to own a goldfish and his “Justice for Ludwig” mob with their questionable IQs are the worst kind of enablers who refuse to acknowledge any form of reality other than their own bizarre version.

But just when you thought Mosser finally got something right by refusing to charge Phipps, she once again proved she has all the intestinal fortitude of January 6 insurrectionist about to be sentenced by a federal judge.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, these looney Justice folks continue to press a false narrative claiming the State’s Attorney and Sheriff conspired with the Phipps to suppress any potential case against him. Yes! Because two of the highest ranking Kane County officials would be certainly willing to risk their entire careers to illegally aid and abet one of the lowest forms of public figures on the planet.

Unable to withstand the least bit of heat from those loonies and take responsibility for her difficult but correct decision, Mosser foolishly decided to resurrect the case and run it by a special grand jury issuing a press release that included the following:

Although I am in no way bound to revisit this case, I have agreed to do so based on a number of requests regarding the evidence and the law. It is my hope that once the grand jury process is complete, regardless of the outcome, that everyone will abide by the grand jury’s decision and conclude that the process has been fair, neutral and transparent.

Translated from the legalese, what that really means is:

I lack the courage and conviction to stand by my decisions so I’m going absolve myself all responsibility by throwing it on the backs of 12 to 23 regular folks. If the grand jury fails to indict it’ll be their problem, and if they do, it will become the judge’s problem. Either way, I’m off the hook.

Worse yet, in a truly unprecedented move, Mosser will permit Petit’s attorney to observe the grand jury proceedings which is exactly what incited those early morning texts.

Though it’s entirely up to the prosecutor, I asked four veteran Kane County attorneys if they could remember the last time when a private attorney was afforded entrance to a grand jury room and none of them could come up with a single instance.

So, not only will every defense attorney within the sound of my voice want similar grand jury access going forward, but Mosser is making it abundantly clear that she’ll fold faster than a cheap lawn chair in a hurricane if enough pressure is applied.

Talk about setting a bad precedent!

Worse yet, her transparent ploy won’t change a thing because nothing short of Phipps head on a pike will satisfy the Justice for Ludwig loons. Just as they’ve ignored the facts up ‘til now, after Phipps is exonerated again they’ll quickly claim the “conspiracy” has been extended and go right back to blaming Mosser for setting up the grand jury “farce.”

They’ll never understand that true justice for Ludwig would include charging Petit for repeatedly letting his dogs run loose and removing any remaining pets from his household.

Again, I’m no fan of Hal Phipps or his unremarkable wife, but now the next defendant is going to think twice about cooperating with the Sheriff and KCSAO if they have reason to believe they’ll go back on their word in a heartbeat.

I’ve prefaced previous columns on our State’s Attorney with the caveat that Mosser is still far better than here predecessor Joe McMahon, but that’s largely a result of that office having nowhere to go but up. Now I’m not so sure even that’s the case.

Just two more years.