Winnebago County’s district attorney is accusing the state of neglect for the loss of his deputy and the low pay for prosecutors.
DA Christian Gossett says Deputy DA Scott Ceman is the latest experienced attorney to leave because of money. After 14 years in the office Ceman was making $69,000 a year. Gossett believes people don’t care about the issue until something happens to someone they love. He says then they question why an attorney with two years of experience is handling the case.
Gossett says the pay issues are happening at the same time district attorneys offices around the state are short-staffed. He’s been calling for increases in the number of prosecutors for years.
Ceman handled many of the high-profile violent crime cases in Winnebago County. He’s going into private practice.
