The Illinois Courts Commission ruled Friday that Will County Judge Joseph Polito must serve the two-month ban for what it called his “highly inappropriate behavior.”

The 69-year-old finally confessed a lifelong addiction to porn in November, seven months after the Chicago Sun-Times revealed he regularly looked at a variety of websites during work hours in 2010 and 2011.

In a written ruling, the commission accepted that Polito was addicted to porn, noting that “persons may become addicted to pornography as well as to alcohol or drugs.”

It found that Polito’s workplace porn habit hadn’t affected the quality of his work, but added “in an era of declining judicial resources, many judges carry heavy caseloads, and Judge Polito’s conduct was an inexcusable waste of judicial time that should have been spent on available judicial duties.”

Polito, who said he looked at porn in his chambers before and after his court call, might have faced a more severe punishment had he not already promised not to stand for retention when his current term ends in two and a half years, the commission wrote.

Polito’s attorney, William J. Martin said Friday afternoon that Polito thinks his 60-day suspension was “a very fair disposition of a very sensitive case.”

At a hearing before the commission in November, the judge broke down in tears, describing his unmasking as “a shameful and humbling experience” and apologizing for his conduct, which he said had begun when he was just 8 years old.

He said he sought professional help for a compulsive sexual disorder and that he attends a Sexuality Anonymous support group twice a week and hasn’t used porn in more than a year.

“I used pornography as a crutch to deal with my feelings of inadequacy,” he added at the hearing. “For 60 years this was an inner conflict — I was ashamed, I didn’t feel good about it and tried to stop. The only way I knew to address it was in a confession with a priest.”

Will County’s Chief Judge Gerald Kinney tried for months to keep Polito’s identity secret from the Sun-Times, claiming that computer logs showing Polito’s porn use were “judicial records” exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. He was eventually overruled earlier this year by the Illinois Attorney General, leading to Polito’s unmasking.

Polito’s suspension begins Feb. 16. Formerly a divorce court judge, he has been serving as a floating judge handling traffic and other minor cases since April.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Joseph C. Polito, 69, was battling for his judicial career at a hearing before the Illinois Courts Commission — seven months after the Chicago Sun-Times prompted an official investigation by revealing his workplace porn habit.

“This is a shameful and humbling experience,” Polito told the seven commissioners who will decide his fate. “I acknowledge I did not uphold the high standards of conduct my position required.”

Apologizing to his fellow judges, the people of Will County, his wife and three children, Polito said he has sought professional help for a compulsive sexual disorder, adding that he attends a Sexuality Anonymous support group twice a week and hasn’t used porn in more than a year.

But he said that though he’d looked at porn in his chambers before his court call began in the morning, and in the afternoon after his court call had been completed, “It had absolutely no effect on the hundreds of decisions I made as a judge.”

He said that like other porn addicts he’s met at his support group, he’d started looking at porn when he was “age 8 or 9.”

“I used pornography as a crutch to deal with my feelings of inadequacy,” he added. “For 60 years this was an inner conflict — I was ashamed, I didn’t feel good about it and tried to stop. The only way I knew to address it was in a confession with a priest.”

Polito, of Joliet, was charged in July by the Judicial Inquiry Board with two counts of violating the judicial code after an article revealed he regularly looked at pornographic websites in 2010 and 2011.

He admits the first charge, that his actions “brought the judicial office into disrepute,” but denies the second, that he had not conducted “himself in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”

The courts commission, which will issue a written ruling at a later date, could discipline him with anything from a reprimand to termination.

John Gallo, representing the inquiry board, praised Polito for being “honest to his own detriment” in admitting his addiction and that he knew what he was doing was wrong but noted that other state workers have been dismissed for using porn in the workplace.

Polito’s attorney, William J. Martin, suggested that Polito’s public embarrassment should be punishment enough.

Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Photo by ChrisEaves.com/Flickr

A new direction? After lawmakers failed to pass any pension reforms Friday, Gov. Quinn begins a grassroots effort for a solution, WBEZ reports.

Remember on the sixth of November: The Tribune’s editorial board wants voters to remember on Election Day how incumbents did nothing to help the pension crisis at Friday’s special session.

Do nothings: The Sun-Times says lawmakers looked “like idiots” after being called to Springfield for the special session only to do nothing.

There’s the door: The Illinois House votes 100-6 to expel Rep. Derrick Smith for allegedly taking a bribe, the State Journal-Register reports.

All in the family: Until recently, self-proclaimed reformer and Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr. employed his half-brother, the Sun-Times reports.

Fire at will: Five pension funds receive the OK in court to fire money-management firms founded by a friend of Pres. Obama and a nephew of former Mayor Daley, the Sun-Times reports.

Not so fast: The Sun-Times editorial board says calling Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle “evil” doesn’t absolve the former county morgue chief of her mismanagement.

Taxpayer dollars: Will County Judge Joseph Polito admits to using a courthouse computer to view pornography and says he is receiving professional help for his problem, the Sun-Times reports.

Remember the kids: The Trib’s editorial board says a teacher strike could put a damper on students’ moods and the possibility for a great school year.

Healthcare help: The State Journal-Register’s editorial board says the time has come for the General Assembly to accept federal funding for the expansion of Medicaid and implement the Affordable Care Act in Illinois.

Taxing bodies: Gov. Quinn signs a law taxing strip clubs, the State Journal-Register reports. The money will fund sexual assault prevention programs and survivor services.

In hot water: The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency begins allowing power plants to flush nearly 100-degree water into nearby lakes and rivers, the Trib reports. Environmentalists worry this will hurt already fragile ecosystems.

WBBM Newsradio’s Brandis Friedman reports, Judge Joseph Polito said he frequently used his county computer to access various porn websites, usually after his afternoon court call, but sometimes in the mornings before he took the bench.

Polito made the admission in papers filed with the Illinois Courts Commission last week–nearly four months after the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that his computer had been used to look up pornography.

The judge also admitted to knowing about the county’s policy against viewing porn at work–but kept searching for it even after computers received software to block such sites.

His attorney says Polito is receiving professional help to deal with his problems–but he faces anything from a reprimand to being fired at a scheduled Illinois Courts Commission hearing on charges that he violated judicial code.