From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
What a difference an election cycle makes in a contest to fill an Illinois Supreme Court seat in Cook County.
The heated four-way March Democratic primary involved big fundraising and expenses, television commercials and candidate forums.
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis, who holds the Thomas R. Fitzgerald vacancy by interim appointment, prevailed in the Democratic primary.
Theis faces Cook County Circuit Judge James G. Riley, the Republican running for the vacancy in the Nov. 6 general election.
Theis’ campaign raised $1.3 million for the primary contest and spent about the same amount, disclosure reports filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections show.
For the general election, her campaign raised $46,000 from April through Sept. 30, disclosure reports show.
Theis declined to answer questions about the campaign and referred questions to her campaign chairman, Thomas S. Moore, a partner at Anderson & Moore P.C. Moore could not be reached for comment for this article.
Riley, who faced no opposition in the Republican primary, saw his campaign take in $54,345 from late 2011 through earlier this week, disclosure reports show.
So far, the Theis and Riley campaigns did not roll out television advertising. The race does not generate much buzz even within the legal community, Riley said.
“I’m really stunned,” he said. “There has not been a contested general election (for a Supreme Court vacancy in Cook County) for a long, long time. You would have thought with all of the law schools and bar associations in Chicago that there would be debates for the general election.”
But, political consultant Don Rose said he’s not surprised by the lack of attention to the race.
“That’s typical in Cook County races,” he said. “The Democrats are so overwhelming in Cook County that the real race takes place in the Democratic primary.”