HONORING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY SHERIFF MEARL JUSTUS -- HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO (Extensions of Remarks - May 09, 2003)
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HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO
OF ILLINOIS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Thursday, May 8, 2003
- Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 50th Anniversary of St. Clair County, Illinois Sheriff Mearl Justus' law enforcement career.
- When Mearl Justus began as a part-time Cahokia police officer in 1953, he didn't even have a radio in his car. Now, exactly 50 years later, he's in charge of the St. Clair County Sheriff's department and every car has a computer in the dash. A lot of changes have come and gone in these past 50 years.
- At first, Justus didn't even plan to become a police officer. Mearl says he was raised poor by his grandparents. Cahokia Mayor Bill Miskell back in 1953 told Justus he would make a good cop. The next thing he knew, he got a gun and a badge. At the time he was a twenty-one year old high school dropout. Since Cahokia did not have a high school, he attended school in nearby Dupo, but never finished. However, it didn't take long for Justus to learn about being a cop. So began a career in law enforcement that would span half a century, touch the lives of thousands of people and bring a new approach to law enforcement in our area.
- Mearl soon returned to school, realizing that if he wanted to continue working as a cop, he needed an education in law enforcement. He soon received his GED and began looking for training opportunities. In 1959, he took a class at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. It was a weeklong course, so Justus took a week long vacation and took the class. In 1976, he received his Associates Degree from Southwestern Illinois Community College (SWIC) and in 1978 he received his BS in the Administration of Criminal Justice from Western Illinois University. In 1983, Justus received a second Associates Degree from SWIC in Security Administration. He now possesses a master's degree in the Administration of Justice from the Metropolitan Collegiate Institute in London. Today, Mearl continues his education by teaching a law enforcement course at SWIC and has established a scholarship program to help other students with GED's to continue their education.
- In his police career, Justus was appointed Police Chief in Cahokia in 1962 after serving on the force for a decade. According to Mearl, Cahokia had changed a lot since 1953. Cahokia grew from a small rural community, where the cops didn't even have two-way radios. If you needed a cop, Mearl says, you walked around until you found one. Cahokia, like other growing towns, became a place where crime grew as the population grew. He started seeing more burglaries, thefts and armed robberies. It wasn't until 1972 that he investigated his first murder, a case that haunts him today.
- During that summer in 1972, 14-year old Robbie Watson turned up missing. Eight weeks later his body was found east of Dupo, Illinois. Mearl conducted an investigation with very few leads. Just one-year ago however, Justus received a letter from an inmate serving time in prison in another state on an unrelated crime who confessed to that murder. Justus still thinks everyday of this crime, which has yet to be closed.
- In 1982, Justus decided to pursue a political career--something he said he always wanted. He was elected St. Clair County Sheriff in 1982 and was re-elected for four more terms. After that first election, Justus and his wife, Audrey, moved out of their Cahokia home and into an apartment above the jail. Audrey Justus has said living above the jail took some getting used to, though it is probably the most secure living quarters in the county. All the windows are locked and all the doors are security doors. Both Mearl and Audrey have lived there for 20 years.
- Mearl enjoys being a politician, his wife has said, but not as much as being a cop. Mearl never stops campaigning. He treats everyday as if the election is tomorrow, Audrey has said. Of all his accomplishments, Mearl has been his happiest when he is helping the poor and the elderly. Mearl enjoys being accountable to the voters, instead of other politicians.
- Mearl certainly believes in doing his job creatively. He is well known for his outspoken attitude about traditional police policy. In 1988, the Sheriff held a benefit for the Women's Crisis Center by holding a Slumber in the Slammer, where people paid $100 to spend the night in the new jail addition.
- In 1990, he sent out more than 1,000 notices to fugitives in the county, telling them they had won free sneakers. When they turned up to claim their prizes, they got a trip to jail.
- In 1992, Justus swapped 500 guns confiscated by his department for bulletproof vests for his deputies. He has sold ads on patrol cars to raise money. He pushes youth programs, educating kids about the perils of drugs and about the rewards of careers in law enforcement. His humble beginnings also taught Justus compassion. In 1988, he arranged a cataract surgery for a woman who had lost $6,000 in savings, including the $1,400 needed for the surgery, during a robbery. He also established a nutrition ministry at Cahokia Park United Methodist Church 35 years ago. Mearl also features a crack house of the month to spotlight crime areas throughout the County.
- Justus rarely carries a gun, although he usually has one within reach. Justus has said he doesn't even like guns. He tells the students at the class he teaches at SWIC that too much emphasis is put on guns. He says more crimes are solved with a pen than with a gun. Good law enforcement is not always about guns.
- Justus has a unique collection in his office. He has quite a collection of pigs; wooden pigs, plastic pigs, stuffed pigs, even pictures of pigs. The pig became Justus's mascot in the 60's when students across the nation were protesting the war in Vietnam. Justus says Pig stands for Pride, Integrity and Justice.
- In his last campaign, rumors were running rampant that he was ready to retire. Mearl says there is no truth to that. He intends to complete the job he started some 50 years ago. But besides being Sheriff of St. Clair County and keeping up with all the Boards and Commissions on which he serves, Mearl still finds time to fish.
- I have known Mearl for much of his career in law enforcement. I have always said he is the second best Sheriff in St. Clair County. My father Dan being the first, who served from 1966-1970. This year, as he has every year as Sheriff, Mearl assists the inmates of the jail to tend their own vegetable garden. The vegetables grown there feed the inmates and what's left is distributed to local nursing homes.
- Mearl Justice is a unique individual. He never forgot where he came from and what it means to struggle in life and to work hard. He instills this attribute everyday, to everyone he meets and works with. Mearl says it best when he says that ``there isn't anything he would do different. I am satisfied with my life.''
- Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Sheriff Mearl Justus on the occasion of his 50th Anniversary in the field of law enforcement and wish him many more years of service to the people of St. Clair County.
