I found the immigration comments interesting. Doesn't quite say -is my city now paying $9 million out of our coffers? Coming to America did not work out for this guy... I'm glad he got cleared, I'm just sad once again for my city.


'I've spent too much time suffering'
(http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... S1.article)

October 19, 2006

By RYAN PAGELOW rpagelow@scn1.com
Cleared of rape conviction by DNA evidence, Waukegan man awarded $9M from city, retired cop

Alejandro Dominguez of Waukegan has waited 17 years for justice for the four years he spent in prison before DNA evidence cleared him of rape charges.

On Tuesday a federal jury awarded him $9 million in a civil lawsuit against the city of Waukegan and a now-retired police lieutenant.

"I'm very happy that I'm going to be able to go to law school and help myself and help my family," Dominguez said.

The lawsuit alleges that Waukegan police violated his rights to a fair trial, said Jon Loevy, an attorney representing Dominguez. Loevy said police pushed the rape victim to pick Dominguez out of an "unnecessarily suggestive" one-person lineup. He also contends that police withheld documents and information that would have proved Dominguez's innocence.

When Dominguez, 33, heard the verdict in the civil suit he said he thought of all the missed opportunities he had during the years he spent wrapped up in trying to clear his name.

"I thought the nightmare would end after the four years (of jail), but it started another chapter," Dominguez said.

Because of the wrongful conviction, he had trouble with his immigration status, had a hard time finding a job and was forced to register as a sex offender.

"For me it is not enough money. I have spent too much time suffering. You can ask anybody what 17 years of your life, afraid and suffering, is worth, and ask if $9 million is enough," Dominguez said.

With the felony on his record for years, and a high school "diploma from the Joliet Correctional Department", he was only able to find low wage jobs.

"Nobody wanted to give me a job," Dominguez said.

All his money went toward hiring lawyers to review his case to see if they would take it. His wife, parents and sister also invested their money into clearing his name and keeping him from being deported.

"All the time that I have been out of the jail, not just me, but my family have been working just to keep me out of the jail to prove my innocence. We spent everything," Dominguez said.

Born in Tonatico, Mexico, Dominguez immigrated to Waukegan when he was 14. He lost his opportunity to get his green card in 1992 because he was serving out his wrongful conviction in jail.

He made more than a dozen trips between 1994 and 1997 to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, just over the border in Mexico, to fix his immigration papers. In January of 2001, immigration authorities detained him for 30 days and he was nearly deported because of the felony conviction on his record. He eventually got a green card in January 2003, after the felony conviction was vacated. He will apply for U.S. citizenship next year.

For now he said he just wants to relax with his 8-year-old son Melvin, 4-year-old daughter Ruth and wife Heydi.

"I don't know what vacation is. I don't know what it means. I'm just living tense all the time about what is going to happen tomorrow," he said.