To the Editor:
Wiser minds than mine have said that at some point we will be obligated to speak out against a wrong. My time apparently has come.
It is probable that you did not know that last week the Illinois legislature passed a law targeting Madison County that will deny a right to vote to two thirds of the county. The historical right, for two hundred years in Illinois, has been for citizens to be able to elect their judges and to later decide whether that judge should be retained in office. A bill specific to our county, originally sponsored by, then supported by, and voted for by Senator Rachelle Crowe and Representative Katie Stuart will now prohibit two thirds of us from having a vote on those issues. The bill was immediately signed by Governor Pritzker and is now a law.
I have reviewed the law. It is a complex matter, but I will simplify. The county will be divided into three districts for judgeship elections, In general terms, Section A is the western part from Venice north through Granite City, Wood River to Alton; B extends through most of Edwardsville south through Maryville and Collinsville; C is everything east of that and north of Edwardsville., i.e. Highland, Hamel, Bethalto, Godfrey. and to parts of Alton, (A has been gerrymandered to extend one long distortion through the north of Edwardsville reportedly to include the residences of a few chosen candidates). Each area is purported to have the same voter population.
Out of eight possible circuit judgeships, the first three vacancy elections for a judge will go to A, the next three to B, and lastly, C will only get two. There are two vacancy elections now set for 2022, but the lawmakers have been told that a Democratic judge will soon announce that he will not seek retention and thus a third seat opens. In the last week before official campaigns may begin, the new law now will require that a candidate for judge must reside in a district to run in that district. Two Republican judges now in office, not residents of A, who have long made public their intent to run, and have begun preparations, will be forced to, within one week, move their residences to the new district A.
The new law provides that voters in districts B and C will never have a vote in these elections in A. In a probable violation of the Illinois Constitution, they will never have a vote in whether those judges elected in A should be retained. If judgeships open in the other districts, to thirds of the county will again be deprived of any cote to elect or retain those judges. As structured, also taking into consideration the redistricting again in ten years, it is likely that as a resident of districts B or C, you may not have an opportunity for many years, if ever, to decide who runs your Courts. The right to decide who hears our cases, in criminal and civil, our divorces, our injury claims, any of our lawsuits, will be restricted or removed entirely.
The most sinister part of this law against our voters includes the following:
ONLY MADISON COUNTY will lose the right to vote on a county wide basis in any new judge's retention elections. No voters in any other county will lose that right. Similar redistricting for other counties specifically protects that right; for Madison County it is omitted. No other county in Illinois will have the unbalanced assignment of judges as ordered for us. No other county will have all new judgeships assigned to one district rather than equally distributed. No other county will have the law in effect immediately to alter the 2022 election while it is in progress. No other county will be forced into immediate changes to filing, petitioning, and deadline requirement. No other county will be forced to have the County Clerk immediately modify ballot and districts to accommodate these last minute changes. There are several more issues that follow along this disruptive line including nearly impossible deadlines for the Illinois Board of Elections and the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.
This is not just an internal courthouse problem. This is a direct assault on a citizen's long cherished right to decide who it will entrust with administering the law and justice. It is an effort to deprive us all and to limit our ability to decide who will hold these offices and have this power. The claim is made that this is for the sake of diversity. That is an obvious charade and can be dismissed after a moment's consideration. It appears to have been structured specifically to target Madison County citizens, but I foresee a costly backfire against the designers and presumed beneficiaries of this law.
A further consequence of this law will be the start of a vicious cycle of highly politicized judicial elections injecting corrupting interference and partisanship into the Courts. I was a judge in this Circuit for nearly twenty years. I know that while we had our differences, my brother and sister judges set aside politics and focused on doing our best to attain fairness and just results. This new law brings political interference and attacks to the Court system and will almost assuredly result in bitter and expensive election fights, the near certain and frequent removal of judges by retention losses, wholesale replacement of associate judges, and real damage to the trust and prestige we grant to the Courts. Some good judges will not seek to stay and face the vicious politics; and bad judges may be untouchable and remain. None of this is good for anyone in the county.
While sitting judges are prohibited from speaking on this, I ask others to join in a statement with me that this law is simply wrong and is unjustified. I ask other civic organizations to make clear that removing these rights of voters is a dangerous and improper act. The Democratic party, the Republican party, bar associations, civic clubs, the county, cities and towns, League of Women Voters, thoughtful individuals, all your voices are needed.
I will gladly meet with Representative Stuart or Senator Crowe in any public forum to discuss this legislated bombshell. How can it possibly be right for our own legislators to limit our ability to govern ourselves and participate in critical elections? In the meantime, I ask those legislators to renounce this law and to immediately introduce legislation, with their expressed full support, to repeal this indefensible assault upon our Courts and our Madison County voters.
James Hackett, retired Madison County Circuit Judge