Is St. Clair County Chief Judge Andrew Gleeson deserving of an Illinois Defense Counsel "Distinguished Service Award," an organization of attorneys devoted to representing insurers and corporations in civil litigation?
The tribute is peculiar in a court system deemed to be an everlasting judicial hellhole. It's also odd since the IDC takes positions against hastily passed, pro-trial lawyer legislation and abusive civil litigation.
Last year, the county earned "everlasting" ahead of its "judicial hellhole" title in part due to legislation sponsored by local lawmaker, and pro-trial lawyer friend of the court, Jay Hoffman (D-Belleville). His bill, hastily passed without public input, breaks up the 20th Judicial Circuit by eliminating the more conservative surrounding counties from the circuit.
Why? To ensure Democrat judges are elected in St. Clair County - a mecca for asbestos lawyers who in less than 10 years have turned the court into the second busiest asbestos docket in the nation. In 2021, St. Clair County had the largest increase in asbestos cases of any jurisdiction in the country, up a whopping 50% over 2020, all while cases are on the decline nationally.
There's also the "no-injury" lawsuits stemming from the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act, and the "all-natural" consumer fraud claims, to name just a few case types flooding the court system.
Plaintiffs flock to St. Clair County because of its plaintiff-friendly reputation, low evidentiary standards, and judges’ willingness to allow meritless claims to survive.
We didn't think these were causes the IDC celebrated.
Furthermore, it's worth mentioning that last May the court and county government suffered a severe cyber attack, which was never fully explained by leadership. Its effects are still being felt by system patrons. Want to search for the latest major civil lawsuits on the circuit clerk's website? That would be a January 3, 2022 filing, Borgen v. Asperion Care Rehabilitation.
Fallout from the hack was only made worse by the lack of transparency from the people who should be accountable to St. Clair County citizens and taxpayers.
But instead of earning a demerit badge for a bad year, Gleeson was given an award last week "in appreciation and recognition of outstanding and devoted service to the citizens of Illinois."
Gleeson, and co-honoree Randolph County Circuit Judge Richard Brown, are "fine judges and good people worthy of our recognition," said IDC president Laura Beasley, who presented the awards on March 31 at the St. Clair County Country Club.
As we see Gleeson's court administration, he is more deserving of a "Distinguished Service Award" from the trial bar, where his main campaign funding support comes from.