Thursday, October 25, 2012

Chicago Tribune Gets Lake County Judge Endorsement Right, Second Time Around

The Chicago Tribune is generally pretty accurate and reliable, at least in my experience, but in yesterday's endorsements for collar county judges, they messed up big time and transposed the names of the candidates for the "A" vacancy in the 3rd judicial subcircuit in Lake County, thereby making it appear on the surface that Buffalo Grove Mayor Jeffrey Brainman, an attorney with no judicial experience, was endorsed over incumbent Judge Daniel B. Shanes.  Oops.

The Tribune quickly corrected the online version and I believe a correction ran on the editorial page this morning, as well as the usual errors and omissions section, so not much harm done.  However, it probably embarrassed Mr. Braiman a bit, considering that it simply highlighted the fact that he failed to earn the Trib's endorsement.  The corrected endorsement now reads:

3rd Subcircuit A vacancy: Daniel Shanes, who has been a judge for five years and is highly recommended by the Lake County Bar Association, is the choice over attorney Jeffrey Braiman, the village president of Buffalo Grove.

Since the Daily Herald apparently has no plans to endorse in the judicial races (why, I don't know), the Trib endorsement is the only game in town.  Look for a mailing from Judge Shanes touting the endorsement coming soon, no doubt.

The Trib also endorsed the two other Republican incumbent judges for the remaining seats:

2nd Subcircuit A vacancy: Judge Luis Berrones, of Gurnee, who was appointed to the bench in 2007 and gets very high marks for integrity, impartiality and legal ability, is endorsed over attorney Patricia Fix, also of Gurnee. Fix has an excellent record of advocacy for victims, but she did not score well enough on a poll of attorneys to be recommended by the Illinois State Bar Association.


3rd Subcircuit B vacancy: Voters have two very strong choices here: Judge Nancy Waites and Judge Thomas Schippers, both of Mundelein. Both have experience as prosecutors and on the bench. We give the edge to Schippers, who gets higher marks from attorneys for legal ability and temperament.



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Regarding Pat Fix: I think it's also prudent to know that she was also "Not Recommend" by her peers of the Lake County Bar Association.

Anonymous said...

Why is it a GOP Candidate has never received a "Not Recommended"
Peers = Good Ol Boy Network.
Hasn't Ms Fix received numerous performance awards as a result of her outstanding work in the SA office?
Why is it the Lake County Bar Association went to Milwaukee for a recent boondoggle when they could have spent that money right here in Lake County?
It is time to get away from labeling Judges with D & R. They do not rule from the bench based on political ideology. Perhaps some of the new legislators who take the oath in January can introduce legislation that Judge candidates run as "I".

Anonymous said...

Ms. Fix was Not Recommended by the LCBA Judicial Selection. That commitee comprised of members from a very wide political spectrum; Ms. Fix' peers! The Bar poll rated Ms. Fix very low on integrity and impartiality. Enough Said.

Anonymous said...

Late breaking news:

http://newssun.suntimes.com/16070148-418/lake-county-judicial-candidate-accused-of-stealing-signs.html

This is not honorable.