Of the two local bar groups that have been doing judicial evaluations the longest–the 22,000-member Chicago Bar Association and the 1,200-member Chicago Council of Lawyers–the CCL is more demanding.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
The only problem with the CCL’s ratings is that voters don’t heed them–or not enough voters anyway. This isn’t just a recent phenomenon. In 1984, amid almost daily headlines about judicial corruption in Cook County stemming from the federal Greylord probe, the CCL saw a golden opportunity to slice some rotten wood off the county bench. It recommended the removal of 9 of the 35 circuit judges up for retention that year. Its president, George Galland, said unseating these judges would “send a message, both to the other sitting judges and those who selected them, that the public will no longer tolerate corruption, favoritism, intemperate behavior, or incompetence on the bench.” Galland added that because of Greylord, the chances were “substantial” that all 35 of the retention judges would be defeated. He was off by 35. The voters’ response to corruption, favoritism, intemperate behavior, and incompetence was to increase the average percentage by which they approved of judges from 73 in the previous election to 77–well above the required 60 percent.
This year, the CCL has found these judges not qualified:
Arnette R. Hubbard
McDunn also struck out with the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization. She’s one of only two judges the group recommends not be retained, the other being Richard J. Billik Jr. Jones is among the 24 judges who didn’t seek the group’s endorsement; another 10 were given a neutral “no recommendation.” The IVI-IPO endorses 34 judges for retention. Unlike the bar groups, it asks the candidates for their views on controversial judicial issues, including mandatory minimum sentences, the trial of juveniles as adults, and parental notice for abortion.
IVI-IPO: www.iviipo.org
