EDWARDSVILLE – Pillars of the Democratic Party provided $17,250 to Republican Associate Judge Stephen Stobbs in his campaign for circuit judge through Dec. 31.
A Chicago federal appeals court has overridden a downstate federal judge, who sent an ex-Boeing worker’s asbestos suit against the company back to state court, saying the case belongs under federal jurisdiction because Boeing claims the federal government was in control of its bomber production and knew the danger of asbestos was involved.
SPRINGFIELD - Fifteen plaintiff law firms poured $1,695,850 into Democratic campaigns in October, records of the Illinois State Board of Elections show.
Three local Democrat House members seeking re-election next week are among the top beneficiaries of campaign cash raining down from House Speaker Mike Madigan, whose interests in recent weeks have been showered with greenbacks from the trial bar.
Mike Madigan’s one of the most powerful and influential men in Illinois, and he never misses a chance to increase his power and extend his influence. In his dual capacity as House speaker and state Democratic Party chairman, he has ample opportunity to do both.
MOUNT VERNON – Democrats who spent $1,731,670.25 on a pair of Fifth District appellate court races two years ago haven’t come close to matching that support for current candidate Kevin Hoerner.
SPRINGFIELD – Four law firms provided 59 percent of itemized contributions to judicial campaigns of Democrats Heinz Rudolf, John O’Gara, and Christopher Kolker in the quarter ending Sept. 30.
The race to fill an open seat on the Fifth District Appellate Court has seen an infusion of trial lawyer campaign cash in recent weeks - from near and far.
While asbestos filings in courts across the country appear to be declining, the number of new cases being filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court have more than doubled from a year ago.
While the number of new asbestos cases in hotspot jurisdictions across the country is declining overall - and in all types of diseases - the docket in St. Clair County is surging almost exclusively with lung cancer cases.
WASHINGTON – Attorney John Simmons of Alton and 35 other Simmons Hanly Conroy lawyers each gave Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill $5,400 last year, Federal Election Commission records show.
In its request for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Bestwall LLC, a unit of Georgia Pacific, cites a 2005 Madison County asbestos case where “highly questionable claiming practices” were used during litigation to reach higher payouts before changing the story for bankruptcy trust filings.
Madison County's court system and some of the high profile local lawyers who built their practices here continue to dominate the nation's asbestos litigation landscape.
Attacks against Republican candidates for the Fifth District Appellate Court finished recently with negative robo calls, reminiscent of the well-funded, 11th hour targeting of Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier in 2014. .
It’s been two weeks since the Fair Courts Now committee was formed to run attack ads against Republican candidates for the Fifth District Appellate Court, and Democratic candidates have yet to provide a response to the negative campaign.
As more money continues to pour into a group running attack ads against southern Illinois Republican appellate court candidates, one of those targets said he believes the public will draw specific conclusions from the effort.
Campaign finance records with the Illinois State Board of Elections show that Jefferson County Circuit Judge Jo Beth Weber has received the most Fifth District Appellate Court campaign contributions for the third quarter with a total of $153,721.