WATSEKA -- The end result for a Bourbonnais man convicted of a fatal DUI crash in Iroquois County leaves the family and friends of the victim angry.

Jordan Jackson died in a November 2010 crash.  The driver of the car that slammed into a tree around 4 am recorded a blood-alcohol level more than two times the legal limit.  Yet, Jarrad Cox received four years probation when he was sentenced this week by Judge Gordan Lustfeldt in Iroquois Circuit Court.

Onlookers can blame a lenient judge or a law that cites “extraordinary conditions” that allows the court to look past a required 3-14 year prison sentence for a DUI conviction that led to a death.

The family of Jordan Jackson is expressing anger over what they call a “sentence that’s far too lenient,” and they also question “extraordinary conditions” the judge referred to during sentencing Tuesday.

Illinois law mandates a 3-14 prison sentence for a DUI conviction in which a person died.  But the law also allows for exceptions, which Lustfeldt talked about….according to attorneys involved in the case.

Court records showed Jarrad Cox performed public service and attended counseling for alcohol abuse after his friend was killed in the accident.  The prosecution contends the 10 hours of counseling, just weeks before the sentencing, was far from enough to warrant “extraordinary conditions.”  Cox also had his driver’s license suspended following the DUI arrest..

Records also reveal Cox had been sentenced to court supervision in Kankakee County for underage drinking and had at least three speeding tickets.

Cox still faces a wrongful death civil lawsuit for the death of Jordan Jackson.

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