SPRINGFIELD – Michael Kasper of Chicago, who rescued three St. Clair County judges from likely denial of retention in 2016, represents legislators defending a law that tilted the scales of justice in Madison County toward Democrats.
Kasper, an elections lawyer with deep, longstanding connections to the state Democratic Party and former Speaker Michael J. Madigan, petitioned to intervene in Madison County’s challenge to the law, as counsel to House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Chicago) and Senate President Don Harmon (D-Chicago).
In his Feb. 7 filing, Kasper identifies himself as a special assistant attorney general.
The law divided the county into three subcircuits and awarded both of the county’s current judicial vacancies to the subcircuit with the most Democrat voters.
That would exclude two thirds of county voters from this year’s judicial elections.
State’s attorney Tom Haine obtained a temporary restraining order against the law on Jan. 24, but Fourth District appellate judges reversed it on Feb. 7.
They remanded the case to Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadigan and directed him to conduct a more thorough analysis.
They expressed no opinion on the merits of Haine’s arguments.
Cadigan set a hearing Feb. 14.
Kasper regularly represents Democrats in disputes at the state election board.
In 2016, he represented 20th Circuit chief judge John Baricevic and St. Clair County circuit judges Robert Haida and Robert LeChien.
They doubted that they could achieve 60 percent approval for retention, so they retired from their positions and ran for election.
Republicans challenged their action, but a hearing officer approved it.
Four Democrats on the board supported it and four Republicans opposed it.
The board’s failure to overturn the staff decision resulted in its adoption.
Voters elected Haida and LeChien but not Baricevic.
Kasper’s current case similarly springs from an impulse to avoid defeat.
Democrat domination of Madison County ended years ago, and today Republicans control the county board and offices of treasurer and circuit clerk.
State’s Attorney Haine, son of former Democrat state senator Bill Haine, ran as a Republican and succeeded incumbent Democrat Tom Gibbons, by defeating Crystal Uhe in 2020.
Republicans throughout the county looked forward to this November, because two judicial vacancies had opened.
Circuit judge David Dugan had advanced to U.S. district court and circuit judge Richard Tognarelli had retired.
On Jan. 5, lawmakers approved legislation that packed as many Democrats as possible into a first subcircuit and as many Republicans as possible into second and third subcircuits.
They assigned both vacancies to the first subcircuit.
The law targeted two sitting Republican circuit judges who were deliberately drawn out of the first subcircuit – Circuit Judges Christopher Threlkeld for the Dugan vacancy and Amy Sholar for the Tognarelli vacancy. Last year they announced plans to run for the positions they currently hold by temporary appointment as resident circuit judges.
Since enactment of the subcircuit law, Threlkeld and Sholar have moved into first subcircuit.
On Jan. 13, Madison County board members adopted a resolution against the law and Haine sued in Sangamon County on Jan 21.
He claims the law violates the separation of constitutional powers.
He took a forward step when Cadigan issued a temporary order, and a backward step when the Fourth District remanded the case to Cadigan.
Kasper stepped up for Welch and Harmon, claiming an injunction would greatly limit the legislature’s power to determine the number and selection of judges.
He claims the state constitution and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of legislative power rendered the likelihood of Haine’s success completely nil.
He claims Haine’s argument was nothing more than disagreement on policy.
“To find that the General Assembly did not have the power to allocate the judicial positions as it did would itself be a violation of the separation of powers,” Kasper wrote.
He claims the county would suffer no harm if Cadigan didn’t issue a preliminary injunction, stating the election wasn’t until June 28.
He relies on a Supreme Court decision from 2006, Bridges v. State Board of Elections, affirming judicial assignments in Lake and McHenry counties.
He calls it a very similar case but glossed over a big difference, because the Court upheld a second law that clarified the first law more than two years later.
Legislators had split a single circuit for Lake and McHenry counties into separate circuits in 2003.
In June 2005, the election board announced it would post five additional judgeships on ballots for a primary election in those counties in 2006.
In December 2005, the board posted notice that it received information about a bill to eliminate the additional judgeships.
Legislators passed the bill and Gov. Blagojevich signed it on Feb. 14, 2006, a month before the primary election.
Candidates who had begun campaigning sued the election board in Sangamon County for an injunction against decertification of the five judgeships.
A judge granted it and the election board appealed directly to the Supreme Court, where all seven Justices reversed the judgment.
Justice Thomas Fitzgerald wrote that even if the first law created additional judgeships, the second law clearly eliminated them.
He found the second law clarified the legislature’s intent.