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Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
National
Frank Main

From dealing drugs to working for CTA, Hostess: Cook County Drug Court program grads get felony records expunged to begin new lives

Joe Burnett, a former substance user who was caught selling drugs, talks about the “miracle” of graduating from a Cook County Drug Court. He landed a job with the Chicago Transit Authority. (Anthony Vazquez / Sun-Times)
In early 2020, in the shadow of a West Side church, Joe Burnett was arrested for selling less than a gram of fentanyl, the powerful opioid.

Three years later, the 51-year-old heroin user, who says he was dealing drugs to feed his habit, hugged Cook County Judge Charles Burns in the courthouse at 26th Street and California Avenue.

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