From the Sauk Valley Telegraph and Daily Gazette:

Judicial candidates sound off at forum

BY TARA BECKER
SVN REPORTER
tbecker@svnmail.com
DIXON - Five judicial candidates for two 15th Judicial Circuit Court seats faced a packed room full of peers, court personnel, law enforcement officials and community residents at a Lee County Bar Association forum Wednesday at the Dixon Elks Club.
The 15th Circuit serves Lee, Ogle, Carroll, Stephenson and Jo Daviess counties.
Participating in the forum, which was moderated by retired Judge Tim Slavin, were the three candidates for retired Judge John Payne's seat: Rolfe Ehrmann, Dan Fish and Thomas Suits, all Republicans. Residents of all five counties will vote in this race.
Two men, Democrat Bob Thompson and Republican Ron Jacobson, are vying for the position of Lee County resident judge, formerly held by David Fritts. Thompson is the Lee County public defender, while Jacobson was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court in June 2006, to replace Fritts when he retired. Only Lee County voters will weigh in on this race.
Suits, who has a private practice in Polo, said although he has an extensive background and experience, he is most proud of the support of the Illinois Bar Association, which gave him an above-average rating in its judicial advisory polls.
"It's not what we say (as candidates), but what our colleagues say," Suits said. "Our colleagues speak more than whatever we could tell you."
Aside from being independent and fair, a judge must be committed to public service, he said. "There is no higher calling than public service. In my career over the last 30 years, I have demonstrated a commitment to public service," Suits said.
Ehrmann, a founding partner of Ehrmann, Gehlbach, Badger & Lee in Dixon, stressed the importance of bringing fairness and a high regard for the law to the bench, despite party affiliations.
"What I can bring to the position as judge is a respect for all people's views," Ehrmann said.
He also stressed the importance of impartiality. "Enforcing the law is something I am supposed to do without agenda," Ehrmann said. "It shouldn't be my job to make friends, or preserve friendships, above upholding the law."
Fish, now in private practice in Dixon, hearkened to his background as a former Lee County State's Attorney, a position he held from 1988 to 2000. "I will use my experience to enforce the laws that are important to our lives and will make decisions that are important to each individual and to the community," he said.
Thompson said he would bring integrity, humility and fairness to the court and to the people of Lee County.
"My entire legal career and private practice is based on your referrals," Thompson said. "People like you refer people you care about to me, because you know I get results and I am compassionate. I believe experience is the most important question when deciding who will be the next judge."
He added, "It's been an honor for me to serve my clients in court. It will be a bigger honor to preside over those people in court."
Jacobson said that, as resident judge, he would continue to respect the law and the people it affects, to embrace technological changes in the court system and to continue to budget responsibly. "I will continue to listen to you and do the very best job I can every time I walk into the court house," he said.
Jacobson said he appreciates the time he has served on the bench. "My dad told me that we have the opportunity to pay civil rent," he said. "We have the opportunity to use our civil duty to pay that civil rent and help make Lee County a place to call home."
When asked what changes they might make as a court administrator, Thompson said he would ensuring that a jury would not be called off the day of a trial because attorneys were unprepared; Suits said he would like to see fewer continuances, so that cases made it through the system faster; and Jacobson, Ehrmann and Fish cited the importance of embracing new technologies, such as video arraignments, e-pay and e-warrants, to help expedite court proceedings.