Prosecutors working multiple jobs to make ends meet

Here’s a good article on the debt burden that are facing young prosecutors.

Because prosecutors don’t get paid much money, they have to take second jobs to make ends meet.

One similarly situated Kane County prosecutor, 29-year-old Lark Cowart, spends her days prosecuting people accused of abusing the elderly. At night, she lives as the house mother at the Delta Zeta sorority at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

On some weekends she performs as a juggler or fire eater at festivals for tips.

Wow. What’s worse, many young attorneys are leaving these much needed public service jobs for betting paying jobs with firms.

The University of Chicago is taking some steps to remedy this problem.

The school’s Hormel Public Interest Program offers graduates working in jobs that pay less than $50,000 annually a chance to have $5,000 in student loans forgiven each year.

The offer is good for up to five years, or $25,000 in loan forgiveness.

As I posted earlier, something must be done to fix the extreme burden of law school debt. If we don’t, the public sector will be missing out on much need talented and motivated attorneys. Actions like the University of Chicago are a step in the right direction.

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