Bad Odor! Check Illinois Judges

Illinois’ system of partisan elections for judges has greased the way for ethical abuses. 

Recently, three judges in St. Clair County who are up for retention elections chose, instead, to retire and file as candidates in the general election.  By doing so, they will avoid the 60% retention requirement and need to win just one more vote than their opponents for another (um, I mean new) term. Underscoring the growing politicization of Illinois judges, Judge Baricevic said that running in the general election will allow him to speak out more about issues that affect the judiciary. 

His real motivation, however, appears to be less noble: In his 2010 retention election, Judge Barisevic squeaked by with a 62.49% yes vote. Give the judge credit for lying like a regular politician. In 2006, St. Clair County Judge Lloyd Cueto also retired in order to run in the 2006 general election, which he won.

Judge Michael McCuskey, now an Illinois circuit court judge, retired from his post as a federal district judge. After he retired from a federal judgeship, he became eligible by statute for a full-salary pension at close to $200,000 per year.  He quickly returned to the bench— changing federal robes for state robes—where he earned $190,758 according to a recent salary survey.  While his personal financial records are not subject to public disclosure, this arrangement gives the appearance of an expensive form of double-dipping at the expense of Illinoisans who pay him twice in their federal and state taxes.

Gov. Rauner— the anti-corruption knight who wants squeaky clean government— named U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert to Southern Illinois University’s Board of Trustees in February 2015. A few months before, Judge Gilbert ruled in favor of SIU in a disability case by a student who challenged his dismissal from SIU. If this type of political payback sounds like something that Speaker Madigan would cook up, you’re with me.

Judge/Trustee Gilbert asked the SIU board to insulate him from all legal issues by allowing him to leave the room when trustees evaluated those issues. His bosses at the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t buy that flimsy form of self-imposed regulation. Judge Dianne Wood ruled that service on a public university’s board is incompatible with a judicial canon that severely limits civic participation by judges due to perceived or real conflicts of interest.