The Government Just Outsourced Justice to Me
By F'nAround Media
I reported a coverup to the federal government. The federal government wrote me back, thanked me for my service, and handed me a referral link to find a lawyer.
That is not a joke. That is the letter.
Let me translate it for you, because government letters are written in a special language where "no" sounds like "thank you for your interest."
The letter says the DOJ reviewed what I sent. Then it says they can not take further action themselves. Then it says this is not a determination that my report lacks merit. Then it tells me where to get legal help that may be able to help me sue the state of Illinois.
Read that again, slowly.
The United States Department of Justice, the people with the FBI, the prosecutors, the badges, the whole building, just told me to go find a lawyer and sue the state of Illinois.
Have you ever heard of that before? A federal agency telling a regular person to sue another government, with referrals for counsel, instead of stepping in themselves?
I have not. Usually the government either investigates, or it says "we looked, we found nothing." This one did a third thing. It said "we looked, we are not doing anything, but your report will help us understand emerging and urgent issues."
Emerging and urgent issues. That is what they called it.
So my report is now a trend. I am a data point. I am helping them advance civil rights on Illinois corruption by being ignored in a very polite, official way.
Here is the part that really gets me. The letter says the Department does not serve as a reviewing authority for the decisions of other federal agencies following their investigations of complaints about discrimination.
That would make sense if I had asked them to review another federal agency. I did not ask them to be a referee for the feds. I reported a state coverup. Illinois is not a federal agency. Last time I checked, Illinois is a state. It has its own governor, its own agencies, its own mess.
So either somebody read my complaint, saw the word "discrimination," and sorted it into the wrong pile, or the pile is the point. You put it in the pile, the pile says thank you, the pile moves on.
And then the pile gives you homework.
"TO FIND... A personal attorney."
"ORGANIZATION THAT MAY BE ABLE TO HELP:"
"Find online: www. "
That is the government giving me a link for justice. Not justice. A link. Redeemable at a law office near you, while supplies last.
I love that part, in a sick way. It is so honest. It does not pretend. It says, in plain English, if you want somebody to do something about this, you are going to have to do it yourself, with a lawyer we help you find on a website.
So what does it say about the government when it does that?
It says the system is not broken. It is working exactly the way it was designed to work, which is to move paper, not people.
Think about it. If you report a crime to the police, you expect the police to show up. You do not expect a letter that says "Thank you for reporting a crime. Your report will help us understand crime. Here is a link to find a private detective."
If you report a fire, you do not get a pamphlet on how to buy a hose.
But report a government coverup to the government, and suddenly everybody is a volunteer. You are the investigator. You are the plaintiff. You are the press. You are the trend.
And the government? The government is the audience. It is watching the trend emerge, urgently.
I am not saying my report was perfect. I am not saying the letter proves I was right. The letter says the opposite, in a way. It says it is not saying I was wrong. It is just saying they can not do anything about it.
That is a very special kind of no. It is a no with a smiley face and a resource list.
So here is my new plan, since the government gave me one. I will keep reporting. I will keep publishing. I will keep the receipts. I am planning to sue just like they told me to and am just getting the final receipts from state agencies to file the complaint. And when they send me another thank you note, I will frame it, because it is proof of something important.
It is proof that when the government does not want to touch a case, it does not hide. It just outsources it to you, and calls that helping civil rights.
Thanks, DOJ. I got your referrals. I will take it from here.