A former prosecutor gives the outgoing U.S. Attorney for northern Illinois high marks for his relationship with local law enforcement.
Paul Logli served as Winnebago County State’s Attorney for more than two decades. He says of all the top U.S. Attorneys in northern Illinois he dealt with, Fitzgerald stood out when it came to approachability. Logli says Fitzgerald would come out from Chicago and meet with local prosecutors.
And if there was a need to work with federal authorities on a particular case, Logli says Fitzgerald made sure local law enforcement received the proper support.
"When we had a major investigation involving gang leadership or drug conspiracies, if we got the federal authorities involved, we knew we would get substantial help in the investigation. We also knew that if people were charged in the federal system, they would get really tough sentences, sentences that we couldn't always get in the state system. Fitzgerald was always available for that" Logli said.
There’s been speculation that Fitzgerald might be in line to run the F.BI. But Logli says Fitzgerald would be a perfect fit at other federal agencies. He also notes other federal prosecutors have migrated to high paying jobs in the private sector.