Kudos to State's Attorney Tom Haine and his assistant attorneys John Hanson and Emily Johnson for drafting a well-plead constitutional challenge to the grossly offensive judicial gerrymandering law rammed through the state legislature earlier this month.
In ruling for Madison County earlier this week, the judge found that the balance of hardships favored issuance of a TRO.
"The plaintiffs will engage in unnecessary expense in redoing voter cards and other election related tasks, voters will be deprived of a vote for judicial candidates if they do not reside in a particular sub-circuit, and candidates will be excluded from participating in the election based on their current residence," Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin ruled.
It's a good first start in a case that could end up being decided by the Illinois Supreme Court, that is, if the state actors responsible for shoving this on Madison County voters continue appealing.
One of the strongest arguments State's Attorney Haine has in pursuing the challenge is that the law transforms at-large judges (elected county wide in the Third Judicial Circuit's Madison and Bond counties) into resident judges accountable only in subcircuits. Never before has the General Assembly eliminated at large judgeships in a circuit and replaced them with resident subcircuit judgeships.
In reality, the law's intent was specifically aimed at eliminating Republican judges Chris Threlkeld and Amy Sholar from contention by drawing their residences out of "Subcircuit 1." Both stood a very good chance of winning election in November - and they still do even if the law survives challenge.
What would be really satisfying in the discovery phase of this lawsuit, is an acccounting of how this bill became law. Whose idea was it? Did our locally elected Democrat state lawmakers have anything to do with it?
We believe the origins have much to do with the Chicago Machine, and their local allies, foreseeing a future without a Democrat majority on the elected bench, and that majority no longer controlling appointment of 13 associate judges.
So, what does the super majority do when it can no longer win fairly at the ballot box? Answer: In the name of "diversity," draft a bill without public input or input from local officials - not even the chief judge or the county clerk who handles elections - assign sponsors who don't know what's in the bill, line up your votes, and voila! Democrat candidates win for eternity.
While gerrymandering out opposition is nothing new in our politics - it's actually considered OK by our courts - this one really stinks for subverting the will of Madison County voters who have for many election cycles indicated their preference for Republican leadership.
We look forward to hearing how the state makes its appeal at the Fourth District Appellate Court.
In the meantime, “this has been a true team effort,” Haine said of assistants Hanson and Johnson, "whose legal skills have served Madison County very well in this case.”