'We Ruined Your Life? Our Bad'

By Shannon in News on Feb 4, 2007 7:30PM

Chicagoist is all about personal accountability when it comes to children. We've no love lost for deadbeat dads (or moms, let's be fair) as much as the next guy. That's what child services are for, to put the thumbscrews to those that deserve it. Except, in Chicagoan Edward Jackson's case, he didn't deserve it ... and got screwed anyway.

A "child support enforcement unit" from North Dakota tracked down 31-year-old Jackson, believing him to be the father of an 18-month-old girl from Belcourt. Despite growing up in ND and graduating from college there, Jackson had never heard of the 20-year-old mother. Child support officials went so far as to ask Jackson's boss questions about his employee's deadbeat status; Jackson only found out about the case when his boss told him. He also had to tell his wife what was going on. Awkward.

Eventually, the couple figured out there was no way Jackson could be the man in question. He even managed to email the mother, who said she'd dated an Ed Jackson but that he wasn't the guy. ND officials have since realized their error and claim they're looking for another Edward Jackson, who also lives in Chicago and is around the same age. We wonder how many of those Jacksons they're going to rifle through until they get the right one. Good luck. That's not to say no fault lies with the agency, who certainly should have researched their shit better before prying into Jackson's life, something that he's trying to bring to light by spreading his story.

Image via StreetSideInvestor.