From The Southern

SUPREME COURT RACE PROMPTS REFORM, SHOWS NEED FOR CHANGE
BY CALEB HALE
THE SOUTHERN
Thursday, November 11, 2004 -

The 2004 5th District Illinois Supreme Court race opened a wide window for the public on the state's judicial system.
But what did the public see?
Court officials say they appreciate people taking notice that, as with legislative and presidential races, they get a choice when it comes to judges, too. They say voters before often didn't bother to fill in the bottom of ballots, where judges are selected or marked for retention.
Yet, many worry the contest between judicial candidates Gordon Maag and Lloyd Karmeier baptized the general public into a skewed version of the Illinois court system.
Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said this year's supreme court race -- which generated a combined $8.9 million in campaign contributions and produced myriad negative ads and diatribes about both candidates -- shows the court system has some damage control to address post-election."This election should be the poster child for how you never run a judicial campaign again," Canary said.
The race was marred by noisy third-party groups slamming or lauding one man or the other, she said. Negative campaign ads took particular criminal cases out of context to make both Maag and Karmeier look as if they made bad decisions. The ads took an otherwise independent body -- the court system -- and made it look as if judges bend to the will of special interest groups, Canary added.
"Judges aren't elected to serve constituents," she said. "We simply elect them to decide on the facts of a case."
Second Judicial Circuit Chief Judge George Timberlake said it is important to keep that fact in mind, because if people voted for Maag or Karmeier thinking both would follow a particular political ideology, they are going to be disappointed.
"(Many) of the ads run in the election gave much of the public the belief one judge was always going to vote one way or the other," Timberlake said. "That was the message used to market one candidate over the other."
Timberlake said he has known both Maag and Karmeier for some time and has never seen them make a decision in a case based on their personal set of beliefs. He said they, like any other judge, weigh the facts in a case and make a decision from that.
Timberlake said treating judges like legislative candidates sets a dangerous precedent for future judicial races. It gives the impression judges keep particular party ties in mind on the bench, he said.
In truth, Timberlake said judges traditionally have to run on a particular party ticket to get elected but later drop party affiliations. Judges running for retention never do so associated with a political party, he added.
Canary said it may take a concerted effort on the supreme court's part to convince the general public it doesn't play politics as usual.
Karmeier, who won the supreme court race against Maag and will take his seat on the bench Dec. 6, said he hasn't yet gathered all his thoughts on this year's turbulent race and what it means to the future of judicial campaigns.
"What I've decided to do is not make too much comment about that after the race," Karmeier said. "What I'd like to do is sit back and get this sorted out in my own mind."
He said there are issues that obviously need to be addressed.
"The amount of money involved and the campaign ads may be the catalysts for change," Karmeier said. "It's not for the court itself to address campaign rules, but hopefully it will take it upon itself to address some details."
Maag did not return a message left by The Southern Illinoisan for comment.
Karmeier, however, said he believes his integrity as a judge is not going to be compromised, despite the tone of the political race. He said he espoused himself based on his qualifications as a judge. He said he attempted to avoid the political fever surrounding the campaign, but in the end he said there is very little left for him to say at this point.
"I'm probably not going to say much more about this for some time," Karmeier said.
caleb.hale@thesouthern.com 618-529-5454 x15090