In an effort to better educate voters about choices for judges, the Illinois Civil Justice League (ICJL) today released the ratings of judges running for retention and election in the November 3rd General Election. Judges running for retention require 60 percent voter approval.
The ICJL election and retention recommendations are part of a complete and comprehensive voter education initiative designed to assist voters in making informed decisions about the judicial candidates on their ballot. The project called Judges: Good and Bad-You Can’t Afford to be Indifferent can be found at illinoisjudges.net. “The program has proven to be a particularly valuable tool this year with thousands choosing to vote with a mail in ballot. Voters who go to our website are able to review detailed information on each judge or judicial race on the Illinois Ballot,” according to John Pastuovic, President of the Illinois Civil Justice League.
The ICJL judicial ratings reveal that a good number of judges have earned the voters’ trust and deserve to be elected or retained in November. “There are two particularly important Illinois Supreme Court elections this cycle and it’s hard to ignore the massive sums of money being spent by trial lawyers in an effort to win the seats,” Pastuovic said.
Veteran Democrat Third District Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride faces serious questions about his independence. Opponents regularly point out that Kilbride wrote the decision in favor of House Speaker Madigan, and against the state legislative remap challenge after the 2011 decennial redistricting. Opponents are critical of that decision, bringing attention to the millions in contributions that Kilbride has received from Madigan-controlled campaign committees. In fact, opponents are calling Kilbride “Madigan’s favorite supreme court justice.”
This year alone, trial attorneys, democrat donors and others with ties to Mike Madigan have poured over $2 million into Kilbride’s retention campaign. “Illinoisans need and deserve an independent Supreme Court and Kilbride accepting that level of financial contribution from a small cohort of donors is disqualifying. For that reason, we strongly urge the voters of the Third District to vote NO on Kilbride’s retention,” Pastuovic continued.
As if the trial lawyer investments in Kilbride race weren’t enough, contributions are also flowing into the deep Southern Illinois race to replace retiring Fifth District Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier. The race features Republican Appellate Court Judge David Overstreet and Democrat Appellate Court Judge Judy Cates.
Trial lawyers from Chicago and all across the country are making their preference for Cates known by donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to her campaign. Cates is using those funds in an attempt to present a homespun, down home image. “That manufactured image belies the fact that Cates is a former Illinois Trial Lawyers Association President, who has made a fortune, as a class action plaintiffs’ lawyer,” Pastuovic states.
Her opponent David Overstreet has served two terms as a trial court judge in the Second Circuit and has been an Appellate Justice in the Fifth District since March 2017. A well-respected jurist by his peers, he serves in a variety of judicial leadership roles, including the Supreme Court Committee on Juvenile Justice and the Board of the Illinois Judges Association, among others. He has already served as the Presiding Justice of the Fifth District Appellate Court and is a Past President of the Jefferson County Bar Association. “Overstreet is a constitutional conservative that respects the law, is highly rated on integrity, impartiality, legal ability, temperament, and court management. He is highly recommended in the race to replace Justice Lloyd Karmeier,” Pastuovic concluded.
Find the ICJL’s complete ratings for judges and judicial candidates here. And, for more information on judicial candidates in the 2020 Illinois general election, visit www.IllinoisJudges.net.