The director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts called legislation creating subcircuits in Madison County and other courts "an unmitigated disaster."
According to a report from WCIA in Champaign, AOIC director Marcia Meis sent an email to Illinois chief judges on Jan. 7, two days after the Democratically-controlled legislature rammed through the bill without public hearing.
"Indeed, the subcircuit legislation railroaded through earlier this week by the General Assembly is an unmitigated disaster," Meis wrote.
"It is very frustrating that AOIC staff spent countless hours providing the legislators the AOIC's concern about what we were told would be the bill language, only to have completely different and confounding language - with serious 2022 election implications - passed through.
"I have looped AOIC Chief Legal Counsel Amy Bowne into this discussion. She and other AOIC staff are going through the bill and catalogouing the many, many issues that are in need of attention. We will share the information as soon as it is compiled. Please feel free to reach out to Amy or me in the interim."
The WCIA report points out that Meis was appointed by the Supreme Court, which is controlled by a Democrat majority. It also states that Meis has pulled a Democratic ballot since 2012.
The report also states that Court spokesperson Christopher Bonjean responded that Meis "was in no way referring to the intent or substance of the law, merely the capacity to implement immediately. As we learned with judicial redistricting, implementation is something that takes time."
Bonjean said he had no further comment other than what was provided to WCIA.