No, there’s no truth to the rumor that the Office of the Cook County Public Defender’s recent rebrand to orange and blue colors had something to do with where the boss went to school.
But it’s a natural assumption, given how much Sharone Mitchell Jr. says “I loved, loved, loved my time at Illinois,” where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2005.
Four years ago, the lifelong Chicagoan was sworn in as public defender of the country’s second largest county — the same office he served as a law school clerk, then assistant public defender in the civil, first municipal and felony trial divisions.
Twenty years after graduation day, the proud Illini still has fond memories of particularly impactful people and important places that defined his four-year stay in C-U.
The list:
— Kevin Riordan: “My buddy — and now excellent father and personal trainer — who got me the job as a Kams DJ. No human has ever had to play ‘Yeah' by Usher, ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears, ‘Get Low’ by Lil Jon, and ‘Motown Philly’ by Boyz II Men more than I have, and I have Kevin to thank for that.”
— Damion Thomas: “He was one of the African American Studies professors, and I worked as a research assistant for him. The coolest academic project I've ever gotten was doing some ground-level work on looking at how Jay-Z's music influences the political opinions of his listeners.
“It was such an incredible experience because at that point I'd never considered you could put together academics, this stuffy, serious concept, and hip hop, the music I loved, created mainly by people that looked like me, together.”
— IMPE: “For four years straight, I spent five days a week running pickup, and to be honest, I'm pretty disappointed my jersey hasn't been hung up in the rafters, given that I'm pretty sure I hold the record for most career assists on the B courts.”
— Murphy’s Pub: “When the Cubs lost the Bartman game, my fellow White Sox fan, Louis Reeves, and I showed up to the bar to troll our two other roommates who were Cubs fans. A picture of me and Lou celebrating in our Sox gear on the cover of the Daily Illini the next day is still one of the most important moments of my life."
