Most Or All Illinois Judges To Retain Seats In November
From the Associated Press
Among the public officials on the November ballot in Illinois, judges seem to have little reason to fear that voters will give them the boot.
Retention rates for circuit judges are typically at or near 100 percent, even when legal groups give some poor reviews, which some observers say is cause for concern.
"In most elections, there are none that lose retention (anywhere in Illinois). It's very rare," David Anderson, a spokesman for the Illinois State Bar Association, told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Judges can be unseated only if they receive less than 60 percent of the overall "yes" votes for retention.
A case in point: Cynthia Brim is one of 57 Cook County circuit court judges up for retention on Nov. 6.
Brim, 54, is expected to keep her $182,000-a-year job even though a panel suspended her this year after she was charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly shoving a sheriff's deputy. The panel also cited other allegedly erratic behavior by Brim, who has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge.
The last time voters in Cook County cast enough `no' votes to unseat a local circuit judge was 22 years ago, when John P. Tully lost his bid for retention as a circuit court judge in Cook County in 1990.
The head of the Democratic Party in Cook County, Joe Berrios, told the newspaper the party is recommending voters retain all Democratic judges on the ballot, including Brim.
"In the history of the Democratic Party, I can't recall us not supporting a Democratic judge for retention," he said. He added about Brim, "Everyone is innocent until proven guilty _ at least that's the American way I was taught."
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Associated Press
Among the public officials on the November ballot in Illinois, judges seem to have little reason to fear that voters will give them the boot.
Retention rates for circuit judges are typically at or near 100 percent, even when legal groups give some poor reviews, which some observers say is cause for concern.
"In most elections, there are none that lose retention (anywhere in Illinois). It's very rare," David Anderson, a spokesman for the Illinois State Bar Association, told The Associated Press on Sunday.
Judges can be unseated only if they receive less than 60 percent of the overall "yes" votes for retention.
A case in point: Cynthia Brim is one of 57 Cook County circuit court judges up for retention on Nov. 6.
Brim, 54, is expected to keep her $182,000-a-year job even though a panel suspended her this year after she was charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly shoving a sheriff's deputy. The panel also cited other allegedly erratic behavior by Brim, who has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge.
The last time voters in Cook County cast enough `no' votes to unseat a local circuit judge was 22 years ago, when John P. Tully lost his bid for retention as a circuit court judge in Cook County in 1990.
The head of the Democratic Party in Cook County, Joe Berrios, told the newspaper the party is recommending voters retain all Democratic judges on the ballot, including Brim.
"In the history of the Democratic Party, I can't recall us not supporting a Democratic judge for retention," he said. He added about Brim, "Everyone is innocent until proven guilty _ at least that's the American way I was taught."
Read more in our daily News Update...