News
Dear Candidate: Are you a Communist?
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Of the 78 candidates for various Cook County Circuit court seats in next March’s election, all but five took a curious oath.
Bad Judgment
Illinois Courts Commission: What Makes for a Serious Case
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The Courts Commission is the seven-member body that decides on what, if any, discipline to impose for judicial misconduct, once it is charged by the Judicial Inquiry Board.
Data
What Happens to Complaints Against Judges?
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On an average year the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board gets close to 450 complaints, but a step by step walk through of the complaint process shows that a majority of cases are dismissed before any investigation into the complaint occurs. Of the minority of complaints that do get investigated, most are dismissed or dealt with confidentially. Even fewer complaints are made known to the public.
Capsules
Joseph C. Polito, Will County Associate Judge
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Polito was suspended by the Illinois Courts Commission for 60 days in 2013. Polito retired from the bench in July this year and is now collecting a monthly pension of $6,415.78.
Capsules
Kurt P. Klein, DeKalb County Circuit Judge
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Kurt P. Klein of DeKalb County became an associate judge in 1995, and was appointed to an open circuit judge seat in 2001. He won election for a full term the following year, and retired from the bench in 2012.
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William G. Schwartz, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge
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First District Circuit Judge of Jackson County, was appointed as associate judge in 1986, then appointed to a vacancy on the circuit court before winning election to that seat in 1992. In 2001, the Judicial Inquiry Board filed a complaint over Schwartz’ decision to bar Southern Illinois Law School students from serving in his courtroom, after his stepson’s application to enroll there was denied.
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Douglas J. Simpson, Cook County Associate Judge
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Five years after being appointed as a Cook County associate judge in 2005, Simpson participated in an ex parte conversation involving another judge and a business owner whom Simpson had talked to about detailing his vehicle. Simpson received a censure for the misconduct. Simpson is retired from the bench, is registered to practice law in Illinois and will receive $73,449.36 in Illinois pension this year.
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Francis X. Golniewicz III, Cook County Circuit Judge
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Francis X. Golniewicz III first was appointed by the State Supreme Court to a vacant seat in 1991, and then won election three years later as a circuit judge from the 10th sub-circuit encompassing Chicago’s northwest side.
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Michael J. Chmiel, McHenry County Circuit Court Judge
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Michael J. Chmiel was appointed to a circuit court post in 2004 and then, two years later, won election when McHenry County was shifted into a newly-created 22nd Illinois district. In February, 2008, the Judicial Inquiry Board filed a complaint against Chmiel, based on his actions in holding an emergency bond hearing for the brother of a political ally, after a series of private conversations. In November, 2010, the courts commission reprimanded Chmiel over those conversations.
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Lambros J. Kutrubis, Cook County Associate Judge
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Lambros J. Kutrubis, an associate judge appointed to the circuit court in 1989, was suspended for six months by the Illinois Courts Commission in 2002 after he admitted to several counts of judicial misconduct.