Madison County Chief Judge William A. Mudge announced today by press release that he is retiring at the end of his term on Dec. 4, 2022.
His announced retirement creates a vacancy that will be filled in this November's general election, within the county's newly created Subcircuit 1.
Following Mudge's announcement, Associate Judge Ryan Jumper almost immediately issued a press release indicating he would seek the Mudge vacancy.
Jumper, an African American, will run for the Democratic nomination.
"It has been 50 years since Clayton Williams was first appointed an associate judge in Madison County, since that time there has not been a single black circuit judge or county wide officeholder," Jumper said in his announcement. "Although my candidacy is historic, I’m not running just to be the first black anything, I’m running because the Third Circuit needs good smart people who care about and invest in this county to join its leadership."
Madison County GOP chair Ray Wesley said a Republican candidate also will be seeking the Mudge vacancy.
"There are great qualified lawyers who are interested in running," Wesley said.
Nominating petitions for the Mudge vacancy can be filed with the state Board of Elections between March 28 through April 4.
An underlying controversy
In early January, the state legislature passed the Judicial Circuits Redistricting Act of 2022, dividing Madison County into three subcircuits with eight Madison County judges to be voted on in the subcircuits. Borders of the three subcircuits generally run along western, central and eastern lines. Bond County, also included in the Third Judicial Circuit, makes up a fourth subcircuit.
Under the law, the first three Madison County vacancies are to be voted on in Subcircuit 1, which includes the western portion of the county, plus a gerrymandered section into northern portions of Edwardsville. Mudge's vacancy is now the third in contention for this year's election in Subcircuit 1 - the other two are the Dugan and Tognarelli vacancies.
Supported by local lawmakers Reps. Jay Hoffman (D-Belleville), Katie Stuart (D-Collinsville) and Sen. Rachelle Crowe (D-Maryville), the law was passed late at night, without public hearing and without input from local officials. While the law affects other court systems in the state, only Madison County was forced to implement the changes this year.
Madison County also is the only court system under the new law requiring that the first three vacancies be voted on in its Subcircuit 1; the next three vacancies in its Subcircuit 2 and the next two in its Subcircuit 3. The sequence is described as "1-1-1-2-2-2-3-3."
Traditionally, court systems with subcircuits vote in numerical order as vacancies occur. Had that tradition been adopted for Madison County in the Redistricting Act, there would be an election in each subcircuit this year, so every voter would have had the opportunity to weigh in on their judiciary. Madison County's judicial elections would sequence "1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2," under a traditional approach.
More diversity on the bench was the stated reason for establishing the law.
Mudge said he didn't know about the bill before it was passed, and that he was not consulted about it. He also said that he learned about it “like everybody else” by reading the media coverage.
In effect, the subcircuit law targeted Republican circuit judges Chris Threlkeld and Amy Sholar, who had announced last year their intention to run county wide this year. The mapmakers drew the residences of Threlkeld and Sholar into Subcircuit 2, so in order to run for the seats they currently occupy by appointment they had to move. They both moved to Subcircuit 1 in January.
A court challenge brought by Madison County State's Attorney Tom Haine seeks to overturn the law as unconstitutional.
“We can discern no legitimate reason why it needs to be implemented on such a rushed timeframe in Madison County but not elsewhere in the state," Haine said. "This sudden, unexplained rush has forced Madison County into court, where a bipartisan and overwhelming majority of the County Board resolved to defend our fundamental commitment to a fair and equal justice system."
Haine was initially granted a temporary restraining order halting its implementation, but Fourth District appellate judges directed Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin to make a deeper analysis.
On Feb. 24, Cadagin found he couldn’t overrule Supreme Court justices who certified the two vacancies in Subcircuit 1 - the ones that Threlkeld and Sholar seek.
Haine filed notice of appeal earlier this week. But while the case is on appeal, the law stands.
Gerrymandered
Had Madison County's subcircuits been drawn compactly, Sholar's now former residence in Godfrey would have been situated within Subcircuit 1. Threlkeld's former address in Edwardsville and Jumper's current address in Edwardsville would arguably be in the central portion of the county, Subcircuit 2.
Threlkeld's former address was less than a half mile outside the boundary line of Subcircuit 1.
As drawn, Subcircuit 1 takes a big detour east to incorporate the affluent and rural Fox Creek subdivision and portions south of it. Jumper lives south of Fox Creek in a neighborhood barely inside the subcircuit boundaries.
Jumper has been asked by the Record whether he had advance knowledge of the subcircuit law, and if he was specifically drawn into Subcircuit 1 in order to vie for the potential Mudge vacancy. He had not responded by the time this article was published.
More on Jumper
Jumper has served as associate judge since 2018, and presently presides over the probate, chancery, and small claims divisions.
Before joining the bench Jumper worked for the Lance Callis Law firm in Granite City and Thompson Coburn LLP in St. Louis City.
He is a 1996 graduate of Edwardsville High School where he was a three sport letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. He is a 2000 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University where he lettered in football and was president of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He graduated in 2005 from Southern Illinois University School of Law where he was a Neal Clinical Fellow and editor for the SIU Law Journal and Journal of Legal Medicine.
"I’ve spent my career both in private practice and on the bench working with principled friends from all backgrounds and know that whatever their politics, people depend on a fair and independent judiciary to secure their most sacred rights," he stated in his announcement. "I believe in this community that my family has called home and served in for 100 years.
"Whether it’s my uncles and cousins that served in the military and law enforcement whose banners fly in town every year, my dad who worked 50 years as a union electrician
troubleshooting problems in Granite City, Alton, Wood River and the surrounding communities, my mother who worked as a nurse, my Aunt who worked at the University, or my brother who serves as a Glen Carbon Police Department commissioner, we believe in service and hard work and I’ll be incredibly proud to continue my work and increase my service to our citizens in the office of circuit judge."
About Mudge
Mudge obtained his law degree in 1985 from Saint Louis University School of Law. After serving as an assistant state’s attorney, he was a partner at Lucco, Brown and Mudge, a private general practice law firm in Edwardsville, for 16 years. He is licensed to practice in both Illinois and Missouri.
Including his time as an assistant state’s attorney and as a part-time assistant public defender, Mudge served as State’s Attorney for eight years from 2002 to 2010.
In 2010 he was elected circuit judge, and was retained for another six year term in 2016, and was later elected Chief Judge in 2019.
“My professional career has been incredibly rewarding," Mudge stated in his announcement. "I was privileged to be a law partner with Bill Lucco and Joe Brown – two of the best human beings and lawyers anyone could have been lucky enough to be associated with. They, along with my step-father Jim Gorman, were my mentors. It could not get any better than that.
“My years as Madison County’s State’s Attorney were fulfilling. The office enjoyed a record-setting run of trial success during those years due to the talented men and women who worked with me. It was a great place for lawyers to obtain trial experience and grow professionally, and many of them have risen to be respected as some of the best judges, lawyers and prosecutors in Southern Illinois. I’m proud to have worked with all of them.
“Finally my years as a circuit judge in the Third Judicial Circuit could not have been more rewarding. Some of the most highly regarded lawyers from here and around the country, representing all walks of life, tried a wide variety of civil cases in my courtroom. I have been honored to wear the robe and administer justice fairly and impartially for them and the people of Madison and Bond counties. It has also been an honor and privilege to serve alongside my fellow associate and circuit judges as well as with our dependable bailiffs, clerks and staff.
"They are hard-working public servants and are dedicated to the pursuit of justice.
“But it is time for someone else to have an opportunity to serve and for me to move on to a new chapter in my career. I am grateful to the citizens of Madison and Bond Counties for entrusting me with the responsibility to serve them fairly and impartially.”