When Madison County Associate Judge Barry Julian retires in December there will be two associate judge seats vacant.
You may recall that longtime asbestos attorney Julian is the once and current resident of Edwardsville who canceled his Madison County voter registration on Dec. 30, 2014 and flew south for the winters, springs, summers, and falls of sunny Florida. He relocated.
Why did the native return five years later, in 2019? To accept an appointment as associate judge in Madison County. Of course, Illinois Supreme Court rules require residency for such appointments, and applications for the appointment he received were due Jan. 7 of that year. His voter registration in Madison County wasn’t processed until Jan. 25, however, which means he was not officially a resident when he applied.
Oh well, no big deal. It’s just a rule – and rules, in Illinois at least, apply to some and not others. Julian and his benefactors, the powers that be, figured out a way to finesse the rule, or just ignore it.
Now, less than two years later, for whatever reason, he’s decided to retire – after talking it over with his wife, of course, which is how unexpected retirements are inevitably characterized. A guy who’s focused on his career for decades suddenly remembers that he has a family and decides that he wants to spend more time with them.
The other impending vacancy results from the recent election of Associate Judge Stephen Stobbs to the circuit court.
Madison County Chief Judge Bill Mudge and fellow circuit judges will consider applicants for the two openings and choose replacements early next spring. Perhaps they should heed the mood of Madison County residents and diversify the court.
Election results could not have been more clear here and across southern Illinois: Voters showed disdain for the ruling class and rule breakers. They placed their trust in reform-minded legislators and officials who stand for fair and limited government and judges who will not legislate from the bench. They elected Republicans up and down the ballot, including two circuit judges, a State’s Attorney, an Auditor, a Circuit Clerk, and re-elected the county Chairman, as well as solidified the county board majority.
For too long, Republican applicants for Madison County associate judgeships have been passed over by the Democrat ruling class whose preference for political appointments resounded with this message: Republicans need not apply. The only exception for decades occurred in 2006 with the appointment of Stobbs.
But it’s a new era. And it's time for diversity of thought on the associate bench.