GOP leader McGlynn receives judgeship
Will fill vacancy left by Democrat Maag
BY BRIAN BRUEGGEMANN
News-Democrat

Jun. 09, 2005

Republican Party leader Steve McGlynn, of Belleville, has been appointed to fill a 5th District Appellate Court vacancy created by the departure of former justice Gordon Maag, of Glen Carbon.
The Illinois Supreme Court announced Wednesday it appointed McGlynn to the appellate court in Mount Vernon at the recommendation of Justice Lloyd Karmeier.
Karmeier, a Republican from Washington County, defeated Maag, a Democrat, in the election in November for a state Supreme Court seat from southern Illinois.
McGlynn said he has handled a wide variety of cases, both as a plaintiff attorney and a defense attorney, and that will make up for his not having experience as a judge.
"I think the most important thing about being a judge is ... you have to be able to understand the facts and be able to listen to all parties, understand the circumstances of all parties, and try to reach a decision that is the most fair and most just," he said.
McGlynn said his clients have ranged from corporations to "dirt-poor" people. He also has done free legal work for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
"I've seen the legal system through the eyes of a lot of different litigants, and I think that will help me as I take on this role of judge," McGlynn said.
Supreme Court spokesman Joe Tybor said it's not unusual for an experienced attorney to be appointed to an appeals court without first being a local judge. For example, Melissa Chapman of Madison County, who was appointed to the appeals court in 2002, was not a judge before that.
McGlynn said he plans to run in the election for the seat in November 2006. Democratic Circuit Judge Bruce Stewart, of Saline County, has announced he also will run.
The Supreme Court said McGlynn was chosen in an application process that included review by a seven-member committee appointed by Karmeier. McGlynn said the committee, which consisted of attorneys and a law professor, was bipartisan. Karmeier asked the committee to recommend three to five finalists, then he interviewed the finalists.
McGlynn served as chairman of the St. Clair County Republican Party from 1996 to 2003, and co-chairman of the state Republican Party since 2003, a position McGlynn said he will give up immediately. Doug Wojcieszak, spokesman for Victims and Families United, based in Madison County, said McGlynn's appointment is obviously political.
"Here we have the Republican Party co-chair, who funneled millions of dollars into the Karmeier campaign through the U.S. Chamber and other sources, and now Karmeier has turned around and appointed McGlynn to be a judge," Wojcieszak said. "Karmeier made all sorts of promises back in November that he was going to pick the best guy or gal and be nonpartisan. And what did he do? He made the most partisan choice he could have made."
Wojcieszak's group is supported by plaintiff attorneys, who heavily financed Maag in the Supreme Court race, which drew $9 million in campaign donations, the most ever for a state Supreme Court race in the United States.
McGlynn said he had no formal role in Karmeier's campaign, but he supported the campaign and filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Karmeier campaign's fund-raising chief, Dwight Kay of Edwardsville. Kay accused Wojcieszak of snooping on him by showing up at the home of Kay's ex-wife and asking her questions in front of Kay's young child. The case is pending.
Mike Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, said it's "pretty typical" for judges in Illinois to select fellow party members when filling appointments for judgeships.
"Judges are elected on a partisan basis, and they tend to choose their fellow party people," Lawrence said.
McGlynn, 43, is a fourth-generation member of the McGlynn & McGlynn law firm in Belleville.
McGlynn's appointment takes effect July 8.
Contact reporter Brian Brueggemann at bbrueggemann@bnd.com or 692-9481.