Voters in Illinois have many good options; Cook County voters warned of disqualified candidate
In an effort to better educate voters about choices for judge, the Illinois Civil Justice League (ICJL) today released the ratings of judges and judicial candidates running in the March 20th Illinois Primary Election. The ICJL judicial ratings are a part of the most complete and comprehensive voter education initiative of its kind, designed to assist voters in making informed decisions about the judicial candidates on their ballot. The initiative called Judges: Good and Bad-You Can’t Afford to be Indifferent can be found at illinoisjudges.net.
The ICJL judicial ratings show that voters throughout the state have some good options with a number of candidates with Highly Recommended or Recommended ratings. That good news, however, is tempered by the fact that one judicial candidate in suburban Cook County has received a Not Recommended rating due to questions about his integrity.
“The ICJL invited judicial candidates and judges running in the Primary Election to submit answers to questions about their careers and candidacies in their own words which the ICJL then published in unedited form on its website, illinoisjudges.net,” according to John Pastuovic, President of the Illinois Civil Justice League. “In addition to providing this information to voters, the ICJL also evaluated the questionnaire answers, judicial and career records, media accounts, bar ratings, campaign contributions, and other sources of information about each judge and judicial candidate to establish individual ratings,” he added.
Judges and judicial candidates were considered for ratings of Highly Recommended, Recommended, Not Recommended, or No Position.
The rating of Recommended was given to judges or judicial candidates who have demonstrated a satisfactory level of competency in regards to their legal and/or judicial careers, and/or who have demonstrated their commitment to educating the voters about their background, experience and viewpoints on the judicial system.
The Highly Recommended rating was reserved for candidates or judges who have demonstrated a high level of competency based on those criteria.
The rating of Not Recommended was assigned to candidates or judges who have
judicial records or campaigns that have left the ICJL with questions about the integrity, impartiality, fairness, or conduct of the candidate, judge, or their campaign. Additionally, the ICJL reserved the right to take No Position on a candidate or judge who did not return the questionnaire, and/or their candidacy left the ICJL insufficient information to assign a rating.
“We are pleased to report that voters, particularly in Cook County, will have the opportunity to vote for a number of candidates who will bring a high level of knowledge and experience to the bench,” Pastuovic commented.
Unfortunately, the ICJL is compelled to draw the voters’ attention to one judge whose actions disqualify him to serve. In the Thirteenth Subcircuit, Democrat Shannon P. O’Malley, a Schaumburg attorney formerly known as Phillip Spiwak, ran as a Republican candidate for Will County judge in 2010. “In a blatant attempt to improve his electoral prospects, O’Malley is deceiving voters by changing his party affiliation and his perceived ethnic origin,” said Pastuovic. “In our opinion, his cynical attempt to game the electoral process disqualifies him for any office, particularly that of judge,” he concluded. O’Malley aka Spiwak is Not Recommended.
The ICJL’s ratings for judges and judicial candidates are located here.
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ICJL Releases Rating Of Judges For March Primary Elections
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