Member-only story
I begin many a story with a phrase that my Gen Z daughter uses: “Imma be honest with you.”
So I honestly share that my attitude towards alcoholics and drug addicts has not always been one of great sympathy. Or any sympathy for that matter.
I began my post-collegiate “professional” life as an adult probation officer with Cook County in Chicago nearly thirty years ago. For over six years, I spent day after day for years dealing with, not working with, thieves, rapists, murderers, gang-bangers, burglars, stalkers, sex offenders, and the like. But by far the main two criminal types that I dealt with were drug dealers and addicts.
Of course many alcoholics, as well. Many of them wound up on probation due to horrible things that they did while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. I had at least five people on my caseload who killed innocent people while driving drunk. One guy killed a family of four — two parents with their two children. He got two friggin’ years of probation! If I was the judge, he probably still would not be out of prison.
Mind you, I am a man of “a certain age” and served in this capacity from the early nineties to Y2K. Since 2000, I have been an economic development professional. I have now worked for the same city for the past seventeen years.
