Vested Interest - November 2006 Issue

The President's Thoughts

"Happy Days Are Here Again!"

Election Day in southern Illinois, throughout our State, and across the country brought "good news" for Democrats. Every judicial candidate substantially backed by Ed Murnane and his special interest groups went down in defeat, like ships lost in the perfect storm. Down in defeat went the Republican Party and Chamber of Commerce, which spent approximately $2.1 million dollars in an effort to buy the 5th District Appellate Court seat held by Stephen McGlynn. With the victory by Democrat Vicki Wright, down in defeat went the candidate chosen by the Republicans to run in the 3rd District Appellate Court race. Moreover, and most notably, in the "judicial hellhole" of "trial lawyers," every Democratic candidate for Circuit Judge won retention or claimed victory in their respective contested races.

On behalf of our clients throughout this great State, I want to pause and say "Thank You" to those ITLA members who devoted their resources - large and small - to this magnificent effort. We successfully worked together to let the people of Illinois know what the real issues were in this campaign - special interest groups poisoning the minds of the public in an effort to close the courthouse doors. We were joined in our crusade by our friends from labor to make this Democratic sweep a reality. To them, I also say "Thank You."

As many of you may have noted, this version of our Vested Interest was delayed because I started trial eight days before the election. My case, unfortunately, continued through Election Day and has only recently concluded (successfully, I might add). During the days just prior to the vote, I found myself living in a small, southern Illinois town where I was horrified by Republican television commercials. These ads depicted a great white shark swimming through the water. As the shark was facing the camera, the faces of Governor Blagojevich and Judge Bruce Stewart, the 5th District judicial candidate, floated into the picture. The narrator proceeded to warn viewers that these were the candidates of the "trial lawyers." Shockingly, this media was paid for by the Republican National Committee.

Isn't it time for judicial campaign reform? How can the public trust the judicial system when we allow candidates to mislead the public? Aren't our judges supposed to remain neutral and interpret each case on its merits and in accordance with established law? Yet we actually witnessed judicial candidates claiming they would consider external factors, such as doctors leaving Illinois, as a basis for deciding the case! As consumers, we hold manufacturers to a higher standard of truth in advertising than we do our own judiciary. Thus, we leave our citizens unprotected from the avarice of special interest groups who want to win, at any cost.

This is not the first time we have seen judicial candidates spend millions of dollars to influence voters. The Karmeier-Maag race garnered national attention as a result of the millions of dollars spent in that Supreme Court campaign. Much of the advertising was in poor taste, leaving Illinois citizens with little respect for the judicial system.

Subsequent to the Democratic sweep on Election Day, I have also heard from many of our ITLA members who believe our organization has a responsibility to the public to insure that judicial campaign reform is enacted by our legislature. The intended results of such reform would be to protect Illinois citizens from overzealous advertising and false promises to voters. Therefore, at the request of our members, we will begin the process of determining what kinds of reform can be proposed so that we can help restore confidence in the system which allows for the election of qualified, fair and impartial judges.

For now, however, "Let's Celebrate!"

Judy L. Cates, President
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association