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The Illinois Judges Association, representing 1,250 sitting and
retired judges in Illinois, introduced the declaration on Tuesday
during a virtual meeting about the document.
The document's purpose is to provide voters with accurate
information on judicial candidates ahead of the November election.
Chicago Bar Association President Timothy Tomasik said it is an
issue that has been going on for years.
"We are so concerned about the reckless and sometimes ruthless
number of politically motivated attacks that have been occurring on
our judiciary over the past several years," Tomasik said.
Eileen O'Neill Burke, president of the ILJA, said misinformation
hurts the judicial process.
"These attacks, often bolstered by ideologues or well-funded special
interest groups, threaten the legitimacy of the judicial branch and
erode public confidence in a judge's ability to render impartial
outcomes," said O'Neill Burke. "These partisan-driven agendas are
designed to intimidate judges for their role as neutral arbitrators
of the law."
Illinois State Bar Association President Rory Weiler suggested where
the public should seek information about judicial candidates.
"One of the missions of the ISBA has been to improve the
administration of justice through the selection of judges," Weiler
said. "We year in and year out conduct two different kinds of
evaluations of all the judicial candidates that are running
throughout the state."
The declaration is co-signed by 18 groups, including the Illinois
Defense Counsel, the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, and the
American Board of Trial Advocates Illinois.
The document release comes less than a month before the Nov. 8
election.
Andrew Hensel has years of experience as a
reporter and pre-game host for the Joliet Slammers, and as a
producer for the Windy City Bulls. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan
University and Illinois Media School, Andrew lives in the south
suburbs of Chicago.
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