Judicial Filing Follies
Cross-posted from ICPR's blog, The Race is On:
Every square inch of Illinois is in one and only state legislative district, one and only one state Senate district, and one and only one Congressional district. Illinoisans have only one governor. Judicial offices work a little differently. You may live in a circuit with several openings, and maybe you also have one or more subcircuit seats to fill. You could be voting on as many as 11 circuit court openings, if you live in the right area (the 12th Subcircuit in Cook County). Some judicial aspirants see that not as confusion but as opportunity.
Judicial candidates can and regularly do file to run for more than one judicial seat. Some candidates this week filed for as many as four offices. These double-, triple-, and quadruple-dippers have a few extra days to decide which seat they really want to run for, and they will have to selectively withdraw until they are running in no more than one contest.
This year, judicial filing may be even more complicated than usual. There are three vacancies in the 19th Circuit and another two in the newly-created 22nd Circuit, for which a total of 8 candidates filed to date and maybe more to come before the filing deadline on Monday. (the 22nd Circuit was carved out of the 19th last year). The Board is accepting petitions for those seats but also notes that Speaker Madigan and Senate President Jones have told the State Board of Elections that “a bill will be called in January” which will eliminate these seats. There’s apparently a disagreement over staffing the new subcircuits in those circuits.
Judicial candidates who don’t find a race to their liking will get another crack at filing. The Board will hold a second, Special Judicial Filing Period from January 3-10. That filing period is for the dozen or so vacancies created too late to give candidates time to circulate petitions for the December period, but in time to put those seats on the March ballot. Don’t be surprised if some of those who file this week come back in January looking for just the right contest.
5 comments:
Sure. Let's let the governor appoint them.
That's what we need. More concentration of power in the Executive Branch.
Imagine how independent a legislator might be who wanted to become a judge.
Thanks for the comments. Whatever people think about electing judges, and there are strong opinions all over the political map, experience shows that voters are unlikely to give up their right to elect judges any time soon. That's why ICPR is working to find ways to clean up the election process, especially at the Supreme Court level.
The current system leaves a lot to be desired, but I'd sure rather elect them than let somebody appoint them.
Unfortunately, "clean up the election process" usually means "find some way to inhibit candidates with whom I don't agree while minimizing any negative effect on candidates who are likely to share my views."
Steve-
How cynical! If you can show a link between the proposals ICPR has suggested and the policies candidates support, I'd like to see it. Limiting contributions, for instance, cuts across party lines; public financing for supreme court candidates would have hit the Democrat harder than the Republican in 2004, but that effect varies from race to race. I don't care what candidates' views are; I do care how they conduct the election. And I appreciate your comment.
-David
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