State Races, Redistricting, and Other Updates

 

It appears that all the legislation dealing with redistricting has finally passed now that the Illinois Judicial District legislation has passed the General Assembly (just awaiting a likely Governor's signature). The Champaign County and C-U Local Cheat Sheets focus almost entirely on local government and local candidates, but the State redistricting runs right through our local communities. 

For a lot of information on the legal process, dates, before and after maps, etc Ballotpedia's redistricting page on U.S. Congressional and State of Illinois General Assembly districts has a lot of helpful information.

The most detailed maps with zoom functions and comparing before and after are on the Ballotpedia website here. There are also some additional maps at the Illinois Democratic Party's page here. Direct links to maps:

• U.S. Congressional District Map
• State of Illinois General Assembly, Senate and House Maps
• Illinois Supreme Court district map (it appears Champaign County is still in the 5th District compared to the current map here).

 

The General Assembly's passage of the new State judicial circuit and sub-circuit maps just happened this week. The changes appear to give some Illinois Counties with likely Democratic Party majorities, like Champaign County a bit more party representation opportunities on the court compared to circuit-wide elections that include far more surrounding rural populations and lean more Republican overall. The Springfield State Journal-Register had Capitol News Illinois coverage of the bill and its passage:

Democrats in the Illinois Senate and House pushed through legislation Wednesday night that would create new judicial “subcircuits” in Sangamon, Madison and DuPage counties.

Before sending House Bill 3138 to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk with no Republican votes, Democrats who control the General Assembly defended the new proposed subcircuits and other changes in residential qualifications for elected circuit judges in the Chicago area the counties of Peoria, Champaign and Rock Island. They said the plan would give Black and Hispanic judicial candidates more of a chance to get elected...

Republicans said the move is a brazen attempt to fill the bench with Democratic judges who would support Democratic initiatives and philosophies in court rulings.

Full article with more details here. The News-Gazette's Jim Dey had an article critical of the changes here, but it included some helpful descriptions of how some of the court seats would end up elected within Champaign County as opposed to across the full Sixth Circuit region:

Champaign County is among many affected counties. The evolving proposal calls for all three local circuit judges currently elected from the six-county Sixth Circuit to run only in Champaign County in future elections.

This change was proposed several months ago by state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, who complained that judges are overwhelmingly White and male.

The transition takes effect on the retirements of circuit judges Jason Bohm, Randy Rosenbaum and Roger Webber.

Champaign County has six circuit judges — three at-large and three resident. The resident judges are Ramona Sullivan, Ben Dyer and Sam Limentato.

That full opinion piece here. More information on the structure of the Sixth Circuit here, list of judges here, map here, and an explanation of circuit versus associate judges here. The Cheat Sheet's judges page is dire need of an update and on the to-do list.

For previous coverage of the redistricting of the County Board districts, see this previous Cheat Sheet post or the News-Gazette coverage here.

Race and Candidates:

There were a couple recent news items highlighting potential candidates for these new districts. The Cheat Sheet won't have a lot of further information and updates about them, but the Champaign County Voter Alliance has had some great non-partisan candidate guides in recent years. The League of Women Voters of Champaign County has candidate events to keep an eye out for as well!

The News-Gazette had updates on incumbent representatives at the State level of government running again. The list includes Representatives Carol Ammons (D - 103rd), Mike Marron (R - 104th) and Tom Bennett (R - 106th). It also includes Senators Chapin Rose (R-51st) and Scott Bennett (D - 52nd).

It could be the first part of 2022 before they know the territory they’d represent — pending a ruling by a federal panel of judges on redrawn maps — but five local state legislators say they all plan to run for re-election 11 months from now.

Full article here.

Now that the U.S. Congressional races this year finally have districts after a convoluted process by the State of Illinois government to deal with late census data and lawsuits. it's becoming more clear who may run for which seat. Some early updates on potential candidates are available for the IL-13 Congressional District candidates so far: Democrats David Palmer and Nikki Budzinski. The News-Gazette's Tom Kacich had some early fundraising information for the IL-13 candidates here. The very recently announced candidates for the IL-15 here (Republicans so far) started off with some fireworks almost right out of the gate.

County and County Board Updates

This post is following up on previous County Board committee and Committee of the Whole meetings in February (previous Cheat Sheet post here) as well as some other County government related updates. 

This week's County Board meeting (agenda packet, addendum, video) started off with the appointment of a new Democratic member for District 6, Jenny Lokshin (District 6 page has been updated). The rest of the meeting focused quite a bit on dividers for the Circuit Clerk's office staff and rapid testing for County employees. The rapid testing would be derived from the UI saliva test developed locally. From the News-Gazette coverage:

In addition to authorizing Kloeppel to negotiate a contract for testing county employees, the county board also Thursday authorized a budget amendment that would cover up to $70,000 in testing expenses...

The cost will likely run $10 to $20 per test, she said, but, “I think I can get it for $10 a test.”

Testing may begin as soon as in March, and county employees will probably be going to UI State Farm Center for testing, Kloeppel said.

Full article here. WCIA also had coverage here. The News-Gazette had more background on this issue in its article previewing the topic before the County Board meeting here.

Public participation in the meeting included continued concerns about the management of the Champaign County Animal Control Department in light of recent incidents, including the mistaken euthanization of a family pet. County Board Chair Kyle Patterson highlighted several of the first black County and Countwide office holders in Champaign County for Black History Month. He also highlighted the likely record tenure of County Board member Lorrain Cowert who has served on the County Board for 36 years.

There was a long discussion and debate on the Circuit Clerk dividers. A handful of Republicans questioned the urgency and long term need of the dividers. Democrats and the Circuit Clerk herself highlighted an ongoing need for both noise control for the call service staff and safety during the pandemic, which may be a long term concern. The proposal failed to gain the 15 votes required for a budgetary amendment. The No votes were Republicans Esry, Goss, Harper, Michaels, Passalacqua, and Paul. McGuire recused (I believe due to a potential conflict of interest) and Jodi Wolken was absent from the meeting.

Another item that received bipartisan opposition and did not pass was a health care contract negotiated by the County Executive. Discussion revolved around the County Board not being included in the process by the County Executive again. The UI saliva testing proposal received support from the board for negotiations with amended language. The County Executive can negotiate for tests up to a $70,000 commitment and assuming weekly volunteer testing as the norm. As noted above that passed over some Republican opposition.

At the end of the meeting the vote on the health care contract was discussed. Board members asked for additional information to consider voting on the contract again at the next meeting with that additional information. Members Michaels and McGuire suggested they might be able to support it in a future vote with more information. The Executive affirmed that it can be brought up at the next meeting and there's still time to approve it within the deadlines. The meeting adjourned just before 8:30pm.

Other County News:

The News-Gazette reported a new associate judge, Matthew D. Lee, will be appointed to the Sixth Circuit:

When he’s sworn in Feb. 25, the Champaign County bench will be back to its full strength of 11: five associate judges and six elected circuit judges.

Associate judges serve at the pleasure of the circuit judges.

Lee will step into the post vacated two weeks ago by the retirement of John Kennedy, an associate judge for 20 years.

That full article here.

The County Clerk has been in the news the past few weeks with the local municipal primary elections coming up and Early Voting already begun (more on the C-U Local Cheat Sheet here). The News-Gazette had coverage of the public testing of voting machines here. Tom's Mailbag answered questions on who makes voting machines for Champaign County here. WICS had an article earlier this month with the initial early voting being down from the high turnout general election here.

Sample ballots and other voter information links are available on the Champaign County Clerk website here. Specimen ballots were printed in the News-Gazette (subscription eEdition links here and here). The News-Gazette also had an update on the non-partisan group in Champaign County promoting voter turnout in cooperation with the League of Women Voters. The Champaign County Voter Alliance also produces the non-partisan candidate guide in Champaign County.

There are continued concerns about Census delays and how that may impact election timelines and the data used for various programs and services in the area. Illinois Newsroom had an overview this week:

The U.S. Census Bureau announced Friday that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other delays, it will not be able to deliver the detailed, block-level data that states need for redistricting until Sept. 30, long past the deadline spelled out in the Illinois Constitution for the General Assembly to approve new maps.

That’s also a full month after candidates are scheduled to begin circulating petitions to run for office and qualify for the March 15, 2022, primary election. The petition period begins Aug. 31 and filing begins Nov. 22, according to a spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Full article available here. The Regional Planning Commission noted their concerns about the Census delays at their January meeting (Cheat Sheet post on that here). The Regional Planning Commission was also in the news for LIHEAP assistance available for utility bills. From WCIA:

Through the RPC’s LIHEAP program, people can catch up on their utility bills, and cover themselves for any extra usage over the coming weeks. The RPC’s director, Lisa Benson, said to apply for benefits as soon as possible.

State moratoriums end March 31. Benson said the RPC is already anticipating a large influx of applicants in the coming weeks. If you have already received benefits, you can apply to have your utilities covered by the RPC’s Emergency Rental Assistance program.

Full article here.

Tom's Mailbag had an answer to the question on how cannabis tax money is collected by the State and then the portion of the tax money the County is eligible for is returned to the local governments here.

County Updates

In addition to a followup on the July County Board meeting available here, there was some other County government related news worth checking out recently:

• Updates on the County "home rule" issue
• Court updates on electronic reminders and Judge appointments
• County Clerk dispute with Rantoul officials
• Champaign County Community Coalition meeting online

A County "home rule" referendum won't be on this year's ballot. From WCIA:

The question of giving Champaign County home rule will not be on the ballot this election.

Supporters say that’s because they couldn’t get enough support for it. They would need 500 signatures for it to be on the ballot. Today is the filing deadline. Supporter and county board candidate Emily Rodriguez say she’ll be trying again in 2022. She believes home rule is what the county needs to recover losses from covid-19.

Full blurb with video segment here. More on the home rule issue including a public presentation on the issue by the supporters on the Cheat Sheet here. The County Executive had a recent article explaining home rule in the News-Gazette here as well.

The Champaign County Court House is offering electronic reminders for court cases. From the News-Gazette last week:

Champaign County Circuit Clerk Katie Blakeman announced Thursday that people who have court cases in Champaign County may now receive text or email reminders of their next court dates by filling out a form at champaigncircuitclerk.org...

“Court-date reminders have been proven to significantly improve court-appearance rates, reducing the need to issue warrants for failure to appear,” she added. “We intend to closely monitor appearance rates following implementation and report on the success of the program.”

...

Blakeman said the idea of providing reminders to court participants was a recommendation from the Racial Justice Task Force report presented to the Champaign County Board in October 2017. She said she hopes to get money from the Illinois Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission to expand the messaging platform to include multiple languages and chat assistance for issues like parking and transportation.

Full article here. In other Court updates, another Circuit Judge has been added to the local bench. From today's News-Gazette:

[Judge Sam Limentato] has been an attorney since 1994; he’s had a robust civil practice in Champaign with Ken Torricelli for the last 20 years. He will take on the family-law docket that Judge Randy Rosenbaum has administered for the last few years.

The recent retirements of Ladd and fellow jurist Jeff Ford have meant the shuffling of judicial assignments that will need even more tweaking this fall when Tom Difanis retires from the bench after 25 years as a judge and 19 as state’s attorney before that...

Besides Ladd, there were 10 other judges from the Sixth Circuit present for Limentato’s swearing-in.

Among them was Ben Dyer, who was sworn in June 1 to fill Jeff Ford’s seat. He and Limentato were selected at the same time in May by Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman for their respective resident judgeships.

Both men will have to run in 2022 in Champaign County only for their seats. Limentato plans to run as a Republican and Dyer as a Democrat.

Full article available at the News-Gazette eEdition here (subscription).

The Champaign County Clerk is still demanding an apology for accusations made by Rantoul officials, blaming him for something that appears to have been their responsibility. The Clerk believes that the reasons for blaming him include the fact that he is an African-American in the position. This may be one of the issues that led to County Board member Stan Harper's self-described rant at the July Board meeting (more on that here). More on the dust up between the County Clerk and Rantoul officials from the News-Gazette:

The county clerk said Ramage made “grossly false” comments about him and his office regarding whether Rantoul’s Tax Increment Financing District 1 would come off the tax rolls this year or next year. Because Rantoul City Schools and Rantoul Township High officials thought it wouldn’t come off until next year, they did not levy for the additional money.

The two districts lost the opportunity to levy against nearly $700,000 in equalized assessed value. They will not be able to levy for that amount in years to come, either.

Ammons said it is neither his nor his office’s responsibility to oversee such matters. But officials from both districts said the county clerk’s office had provided such information in the past.

The state’s attorney’s office advised Ammons that he should “in no way advise, guide or track TIFs for any district,” he said. “My office was being blamed for not doing a job we’re not responsible for doing.”

Full article with additional information here.

And finally, a reminder that the Champaign County Community Coalition is continuing to hold meetings online with updates from local efforts against gun violence, police chiefs reports and other presentations for opportunities to get involved in local criminal justice reforms and social services. July's meeting is available here at their facebook page (also on their website with agenda and power points here). More information available on their website here. including on their next meeting coming up August 12th at 3:30pm (streamed live on facebook and Zoom and available afterward as well).

County Updates

This post covers some recent County government updates and news on upcoming judicial vacancies and appointment applications, a local bipartisan project to reform Champaign County government, the annual Point-in-Time homeless survey, and a reminder of warning siren testing this week.

First, there was a press release out of the Supreme Court of Illinois about local judicial vacancies and the application process for appointing judges to them:

Justice Rita B. Garman of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for two vacancies in the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

One vacancy will be created by the retirement of Judge Jeffrey B. Ford on March 25, 2020. Judge Ford was elected as a Resident Circuit Judge in 2006. A second vacancy will be created for the position of Resident Circuit Judge when Judge Heidi Ladd retires on July 1, 2020. Judge Ladd was elected as a Resident Circuit Judge in 2004.

Under the Illinois Constitution, judicial vacancies are filled by Supreme Court appointment. The application process will lead to the final Court approval. Applicants will undergo an evaluation and screening process.

Notice of the vacancies have been posted in the courthouses throughout the Circuit. The application form and instructions may be obtained by visiting the Illinois Supreme Court’s website at www.illinoiscourts.gov and following the instructions in the latest news scroller announcing the Sixth Judicial Circuit vacancy.

Deadline for submission of an application is Tuesday, February 18, 2020. 

More details at the full press release here. There was additional information about the process in the News-Gazette coverage this morning:

Garman has assembled a panel of citizens to help screen the applicants. The two appointees will serve until the first Monday in December 2022.

“We will attempt to identify persons who will be capable and committed to serving the people in this important position,” Garman said when asked if she plans to appoint only people who intend to run for election in November 2022.

That article available here in the eEdition (subscription). Interviews with Judge Ford and Ladd were highlighted in a recent Cheat Sheet post here. For upcoming judicial races in Champaign County, check out our Judicial races page and an upcoming forums with local judicial and other candidates starting tomorrow.


Former school board member and perennial local conservative candidate John Bambenek has joined Democratic County Board member Dr. Charles Young as part of an announced reform project for Champaign County government on their website here. Bambenek recently called for a series of reforms at the December County Board meeting during public participation (video here). County Board member young has been a regular public critic of the Democratic County Executive Darlene Kloeppel and regularly notes his opposition to politics as usual and desire for an overhaul of the current County government structure.


The annual Point-in-Time homeless survey and count will be happening tomorrow in Champaign County. From Smile Politely this week:

 To take stock of where Champaign County stands vis-à-vis homelessness, this year’s Point-in-Time count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness will take place on Thursday, January 30th from 5:30 to 8 p.m. This annual survey is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and helps determine federal funding allocations for programs assisting homeless individuals and households. It’s organized locally by the Champaign County Continuum of Service Providers to the Homeless (CSPH). If you are interested in volunteering to help ensure success of the 2020 Point-in-Time survey or to otherwise join efforts to end homelessness in Champaign county feel free to contact CSPH coordinator Thomas Bates at 217-328-3313 or tbates@ccrpc.org.

More at the full article here. Additional information from the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission here.


A quick reminder that the County's emergency siren system will be tested this week if you hear warning sirens being tested outside of the usual 10am on the first Tuesday of the Month and get concerned. More at the Champaign County EMA website here. More recent coverage and details at the News-Gazette from earlier this week here.

Sixth Circuit Primary Race

[Correction: the original post stated the dispute was "between two Democratic primary candidates," but it would be far more accurate to say that it was a dispute that relates to two Democratic primary candidates. The post has been updated to make it clear that the dispute was itself between a candidate and supporters of the public defenders office, not another candidate or campaign.]

Candidates are still collecting ballot petition signatures in time for the filing deadlines, but at least one disagreement has flared up publicly with a Democratic candidate for the Champaign County seat being vacated by Judge Bohm to run for circuit wide seat currently held by Tom Difanis who is retiring. If you didn't follow that, there will be two judicial seats open soon: one that covers the whole Sixth Circuit and one that covers just Champaign County. This flare up is happening in the race for the seat covering just Champaign County. The recent disagreement is below, but first I wanted to do a quick overview of the Democratic primary judicial race in question. Here's a link to our Judges page with links to information on the Sixth Circuit and candidate information (coming soon!). The News-Gazette summarized this particular Democratic primary race earlier this year:

[Judge Tom Difanis'] retirement, just one month prior to the end of his current term, is timed so that his seat can be filled by election instead of appointment, and so he can maximize his retirement benefits...

Bohm has decided, after consulting with his wife and receiving encouragement from friends all over the circuit, to instead to run for Difanis' seat. That means he will have to run in Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie and Piatt counties.

It was the Republican votes in the other counties of the circuit outside Champaign that allowed Bohm's GOP bench brethren, Randy Rosenbaum and Roger Webber, to hang on to the judgeships to which they had each been appointed in 2016...

As a result, two other lawyers have said they plan to run in the Democratic primary for Bohm's seat, a resident judgeship, which means they have to run in only Champaign County.

More details and information at the full article here. Since that article two more Democrats have jumped into the primary race for Bohm's current Champaign Count seat on the bench. From the News-Gazette last month:

A fourth Democrat has announced he wants to be his party’s candidate for resident judge for Champaign County.

David Moore, 60, of St. Joseph informed the Democratic Central Committee on Wednesday night that he intends to run for the seat now held by Judge Jason Bohm, who was appointed to it when Judge Michael Jones retired...

Moore joins already announced Democratic candidates Ramona Sullivan, an assistant public defender; Ruth Wyman, a private general practitioner in Champaign; and Troy Lozar, an assistant state’s attorney.

After the fall 2018 sweep of several countywide seats by Democrats, the four feel the chances at winning a judgeship might improve if they have to run in just Champaign County, rather than circuitwide since voters in the other five counties tend to lean Republican.

Full article here. The News-Gazette had additional coverage of Troy Lozar joining the race here. The News-Gazette had some cursory information on Sullivan and Wyman in their article on Difanis' retirement here:

Sullivan, an attorney for about 23 years, with most of that time spent as a legal-aid attorney for the indigent, ran against Roger Webber in 2018 for the vacancy created when Arnold Blockman retired in 2016...

Wyman, an attorney for almost 15 years, has a general practice of law and formerly served on the Urbana City Council for eight years.

That article is here. The Judicial races page hasn't been updated for the 2020 primary yet (nor any other 2020 race on this page yet), but the plan is to link to forums, questionnaires, coverage, and candidate guides as with the 2018 primary and 2018 general election. I hope to have more information on the GOP primary race for the circuit-wide seat soon, but the News-Gazette did have some coverage of that with Cherie Kesler joining the GOP race against Bohm here.

So what about that flare up? Well, Wyman had a facebook post attempting to highlight her pro bono legal work, which many possible Sullivan supporters and defenders of the public defenders office viewed as a clear slight against them. Below is a screen grab of the facebook post and a Letter to the Editor in today's News-Gazette:

A couple of the comments against Wyman's phrasing mention this is just the most recent offense to the public defenders and their office. There seems to be a divide between Wyman's defenders and critics on whether she deserves the benefit of the doubt on intent. Wyman attempted to explain in the comments:

"...I never said public defenders could. I’m sorry if my sentence structure was confusing. That was not the intent. The intent of my message was to include and inform that we now have a University of Illinois Immigration Law Clinic that will help with some of the pro bono work that is out there that isn’t covered by the ‘free’ services offered by government or government services. I am excited to help expand that service and help teach future lawyers how to help out in these very important cases."

This didn't seem to alleviate any concerns and may have been seen as doubling down instead. From one recommended comment:

"...Ruth didn't have to specifically include public defenders in the group of people who 'refer clients to [her] because they don't have the time or desire to represent them for free.' Even if she's talking about criminal work, the public defender's office does not refer people out. They take every case they are assigned. In certain cases, the office is conflicted from representing a client. But that in no way reflects a lack of desire or time to help them."

More at the facebook post here.

County Courthouse Lockers and Retirement

Two Courthouse news items could have an impact on those relying on Court services in Champaign County and already political issues. One involves access to public lockers for those using the Courthouse who don't have a car or other way to keep banned items they're traveling with. The other is a retirement, in part to help ensure further Republican control of the Sixth Circuit Court.

The News-Gazette and WCCU had coverage of the public locker issue last week. One major concern is that a lot of transportation is arranged through phone apps and communication for those who don't have access to a car. I've noticed a bit of a generational split on unsympathetic folks who grew up without relying on cell phones versus younger folks and advocates for the poor who point out that it's part of basic access to services now. The media coverage mainly focused on the nuts and bolts:

Doors to close on lobby lockers at sheriff's office
Concerns about the safety of the building have prompted the Champaign County sheriff to discontinue a storage-locker service in the lobby of his office at 204 E. Main St., U.

Sheriff Dustin Heuerman announced Friday that as of May 1, the 30 lockers will be removed.

"It's safety concerns," Chief Deputy Shannon Barrett said of the reason for discontinuing the public service. "They are not monitored. We don't know what's going into those lockers."
...
Barrett said Heuerman has looked into other options but hasn't found anything suitable.
"We have been trying to figure out what we can do different. It still comes down to the safety issue. No matter how small (a locker) is, a bomb could be put in there," she said. "He has done everything he can. It comes down to the safety of this building, especially having the jail below us."

Full article available here. In a short segment on WCCU, it was added, "They also said they are reaching out to community leaders and groups to find a solution."

The News-Gazette also had coverage of Judge Difanis' retirement and motivations:

His retirement, just one month prior to the end of his current term, is timed so that his seat can be filled by election instead of appointment, and so he can maximize his retirement benefits.

Judge Jason Bohm, 42, has said he plans to run for Difanis' open seat.

Difanis admits that he timed his announcement in part to help Bohm secure a Republican judgeship...

When Bohm was appointed, he said he would run for the resident judgeship in 2020 as a Republican, a seeming shoo-in in the normally Republican stronghold of Champaign County.

But anti-Donald Trump sentiment in the 2018 midterm elections that put Democrats in five countywide offices, four of which had long been held by Republicans, signaled to Bohm he'll have an uphill climb if he wants to run as a Republican in just Champaign County in 2020.

That full article here. Democrats would probably argue that it is an over-simplification to pin the lopsided results in Champaign County on just anti-Trump sentiment, but it's hard to deny the lopsidedness comparing Champaign votes only (top) to the votes of the full Sixth district (bottom) in the 2018 races:

The News-Gazette also pointed out a couple local Democrats are already looking to seize on that trend:

Jason Bohm, appointed as a circuit judge last year, has already said he plans to run in the March 2020 Republican primary for Difanis' seat.

As a result, two other lawyers have said they plan to run in the Democratic primary for Bohm's seat, a resident judgeship, which means they have to run in only Champaign County.

Assistant Public Defender Ramona Sullivan is one of them; Urbana attorney Ruth Wyman is the other...

Wyman, an attorney for almost 15 years, has a general practice of law and formerly served on the Urbana City Council for eight years.

As with many other political matters, you're bound to hear politicians assure us that their opponents are trying to bring politics into things that should be apolitical. I leave it to the reader to decide whether to chalk that up to one of the most overtly political things a politician can say.

More information on Sixth Circuit judicial candidates and races at ballotpedia here and the Sixth Circuit website here. General information and links on the Courts page (with some 2018 election information still on it).

Second Local Candidate Forum

The full forum video is available from the CGTV here. An overview of the forum is available from the News-Gazette here:

4 circuit judge candidates, 2 county executive hopefuls share views
In a candidates' forum Friday, voters heard from four people vying for two circuit judgeships and the two candidates for county executive of Champaign County.

Democrat Ramona Sullivan and Republican Roger Webber will face off this November for the seat formerly held by Judge Arnold Blockman, while Democrat Chad S. Beckett and Republican Randy Rosenbaum seek the seat formerly held by Judge Harry Clem. Meanwhile, Republican Gordy Hulten and Democrat Darlene Kloeppel both hope to be the first to fill a newly created county office...

The forum was sponsored by the Champaign County League of Women Voters, the Champaign County NAACP and The News-Gazette.

Full article with an overview of the candidate arguments here. Video here. Judicial candidate election page here. County Executive election page here. More information on County Candidates at the Champaign County Voter Alliance Candidate Guide here.


Other Local Forum Links:

• 9/14/2018 Auditor/Sheriff/Clerk Local Candidate Forum
   
• 9/28/2018 District 4 Forum / County Board Statements Candidate Forum and Boycott
   
• 10/5/2018 County Board Q & A Forum: County Board Candidate Split Forum 

Circuit Judge Appointment Primer

The News-Gazette had an expert explanation of the recent Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge appointment today (previous post on that appointment here):

Deliberate process in appointing a judge
...
 The retirement of Judge Jones created a vacancy in the office of circuit judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Champaign County, Illinois. The Illinois Supreme Court justice responsible for this area, Justice Rita Garman, had a choice to make. She could have chosen to leave the position open until it could be filled by the general election of 2018. This would have left a busy court shorthanded, creating an adverse impact on the court’s ability to address cases in a timely fashion.

In the alternative, Justice Garman could have sought out a person who agreed to serve in the interim but not run. Typically, this “caretaker” role would be undertaken by a retired judge or senior lawyer willing to step out of the practice for a limited stint on the bench. The pros and cons of this approach could fill the balance of this column. Suffice it to say that the cons outweighed the pros in this situation and another approach was employed.

Justice Garman decided that the position would be filled by a person who would be willing to run for the seat in 2018. Filling the open judgeship in this manner is a task for the Illinois Supreme Court with Justice Garman taking the lead due to the location of the judicial vacancy. A notice of the vacancy was published in a variety of ways and interested candidates were given directions regarding the application process.

A citizen panel was created to review applications, check references and evaluate the candidates. In addition to lawyers, this group included business and community representatives. These people were asked to perform an important task. They accepted the invitation and jumped to the challenge. The members of the panel did not receive compensation. They certainly deserve our thanks.

Several lawyers applied for the position. Interestingly, the number was smaller than the number of persons who recently sought the position of associate circuit judge. Given that the circuit judge position carries a larger salary and is a higher rank in the judiciary, the reader may be puzzled by this disparity. In my mind, it is explained by the fact that the person appointed will have to run for the seat in the 2018 election. The prospect of running for office causes some to forgo the pursuit. Some people consider this a flaw in the system. They think people who would be good judges are deterred. Others reject that and claim that the position should be held only by those willing to go through the campaign process. All those who applied deserve credit. They put themselves out there and faced the consequences. Having faced citizen panels and judges in the appointment process (including times when I was not chosen), I know that this is difficult and stressful. There was one position to be filled. As a result, each person seeking the position faced disappointment.

As has been reported, the Supreme Court chose Jason Bohm as the circuit judge replacing Judge Jones.

 Full article here.

Candidate Information

With the primary election less than two weeks away and more early voting locations opening this upcoming Tuesday, I thought I'd put together a post that has links to all of the candidate information here and elsewhere in one place.


County Offices Races:

County Executive: (uncontested in the primary).

Other County Offices: Main page with all of them (direct office links below)

Auditor: (uncontested in the primary)

Sheriff: Republican Primary

Treasurer: (uncontested in the primary)

County Clerk: Republican Primary


County Board:

District 1: (both uncontested)

District 2:  (uncontested)

District 3: (uncontested)

District 4: (uncontested)

District 5: (uncontested in primary)

District 6: Democratic Primary

District 7: (uncontested)

District 8: (uncontested)

District 9: (uncontested in primary)

District 10: Democratic Primary

District 11: (uncontested)


Other Race information that can be found on the Cheat Sheet (non-exhaustive), see Champaign County Voter Alliance's Candidate Guide for more complete candidate information.

State House District Races:

101st: Republican Primary: News-Gazette Questionnaires and CCVA Questionnaires.

104th:  Democratic Primary: News-Gazette Questionnaires, CCVA Questionnaires, and League of Women Voters Candidate Forum.

State Senate Race:

51st State Legislative District: Write-in candidate Benjamin Chapman (Cheat Sheet post)
Illinois Senate 51st District is also the House 101st and 102nd combined: countywide map, in-town map).

Illinois Attorney General Races:

The People's Agenda local Forum for Democratic Party candidates, Republican Party candidate forum at Chicago event, Democratic Party candidate forum at Chicago event, and CCVA Questionnaires.


U.S. House Races: Illinois Congressional Districts

13th: News-Gazette Questionnaires, CCVA Questionnaires., Illini Democrats Forum, and Bend the Arc Forum Democratic candidates, Congress and the Black Community forum (most recent).

15th: News-Gazette Questionnaires, CCVA Questionnaires, and Coles Progressives Democratic Candidate Forum.


Sixth District Judges: 

Republican Primary Judicial Candidates. Bar ratings and forum.


Democratic Party Central Committee Committeewomen Races:

13th District: Information and News Links

15th District: Information and News Links

General Voter Information: Registration, Early Voting, Vote-by-Mail, Sample Ballots on the Election page or quick links here:

Last two weeks of Primary Voting! Election day falls within Spring Break so have a plan to vote early!

• Early voting: https://www.champaigncountyclerk.com/elections/early-voting

This week early voting is still only at the Champaign County Clerk's Office. Next Tuesday other Early Voting locations open in town and around the county going into election day. Locations in link above.

• Vote by Mail: https://www.champaigncountyclerk.com/elections/vote-by-mail

Applications have to be sent in and received by Thursday, March 15, 2018 to get a ballot to mail in. If you plan on voting by mail apply sooner rather than later.

• Grace Period Registration: https://www.champaigncountyclerk.com/elections/grace-period

If you still need to register to vote, the only option remaining is to use grace period registration at an early voting location or at an election day voting location. See the link above on what you'll need to register and vote when you do it.

• Voter Information Lookup and Sample Ballots: https://www.champaigncountyclerk.com/elections/voter-information

Sixth Circuit Bar Ratings

[UPDATE: Coverage of the Sixth Circuit judge candidate forum from the News-Gazette:

Candidates tout their qualifications
Four of the five people seeking to be circuit judges in the local judicial district spoke to a group of about 60 University of Illinois law students and others Wednesday night about their qualifications.

Democrat Ramona Sullivan and Republican Roger Webber, who will face off this November for the seat formerly held by Judge Arnold Blockman, and Democrat Chad S. Beckett and Republican Randy Rosenbaum, two of the three candidates for the seat formerly held by Judge Harry Clem, took part in a candidates’ forum at the UI College of Law.

A third candidate for the latter judgeship, Republican Sami Anderson, was invited to participate but did not attend.

The two winners will serve as circuit judges in the six-county Sixth Judicial Circuit, which includes Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie and Piatt counties.]

The Illinois State Bar Association gave its candidate ratings available here (local Sixth Circuit on page 8) with some harsh ratings of "not recommended" in spite of previous higher ratings, bolstering some of the arguments about politics playing a role. From the News-Gazette today:

Local judge candidates not worried by lack of support in state bar poll
Two attorneys who received low marks on a poll of lawyers evaluating their ability to be judges say they are not terribly concerned with the lack of support from colleagues.

"I'm not worried about it," said Sami Anderson, right, a Champaign attorney running in the Republican primary against seated Judge Randy Rosenbaum for the judgeship previously held by the now-retired Harry Clem.

Urbana attorney Chad Beckett had a similar reaction.

"I didn't run to become president of the local bar. I'm running to seek the approval of local citizens," said Beckett, left, a Democrat who has no opposition in the primary. "If the local bar had the final say, then I'd pay more attention. I'm going to focus on the voters.

Beckett will run against either Rosenbaum or Anderson in the November general election.

A poll conducted by the Illinois State Bar Association released Tuesday did not recommend either Anderson or Beckett for office but gave glowing marks to Rosenbaum.

In the other Sixth Circuit race going into the general election:

Roger Webber, left, who was appointed to the vacancy, received even higher marks than Rosenbaum.

About 139 responded on his qualifications, giving him a score of 97.7 percent in the "meets requirements of office" category.

Webber, a lawyer for about 30 years and a judge for four, is running as a Republican.

His challenger in the general election is Ramona Sullivan. The Democratic candidate has been a lawyer for 21 years, all of those in the legal-aid field. She was rated 74.4 percent in the "meets requirements of office" based on the responses of about 92 lawyers.

Voting has already begun. See the Elections page for additional links to register, view sample ballots, candidate guides, and more information! The primary falls on Spring Break so make use of early voting options and have a plan to vote!

Newest Champaign County Judge

There was a recent appointment to fill a Champaign County circuit judge vacancy. Full News-Gazette story here. Quick excerpts:

Prosecutor picked for judge’s seat
A central Illinois federal prosecutor with civil law experience has been named as Champaign County’s newest circuit judge.

Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman announced Thursday that Jason Bohm will take the seat being vacated next week by Mike Jones, who is retiring after 21 years on the bench...

Bohm said he plans to run for election in 2020 to the judgeship to which he’s being appointed.

Jones’ seat is a resident judgeship, meaning that whoever wants it has to run for election only in Champaign County and not the other five counties of the 6th Judicial Circuit: DeWitt, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie and Piatt. Once elected, circuit judges run for retention in all the counties every six years.

Bohm said he’ll run as a Republican.

The Week Ahead 2/11 - 2/17

REMINDER: Voting has begun! Early voting and Vote-by-Mail!

Other Events:

County Executive Candidate Town Halls: More from the N-G

Darlene Kloeppel doesn't have any this week.

Gordy Hulten has one this week:
— 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12, St. Joseph Village Hall, 207 E. Lincoln, St. Joseph. Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/407200713062319/

Groups that crossover with Racial Justice Task Force recommendations meeting this week:

The Champaign County Community Coalition meets Wednesday, February 14 at 3:30-5:00pm at the Champaign Public Library (more meeting information here).

Build Programs Not Jails meets at the IMC (more info) at 7pm this Wednesday, February 14th as well.

Champaign County Board Committee of the Whole (COW) will have speakers reporting on the subject this week. More information below.

Candidate Forums this Monday and Wednesday: Republican Primary County Clerk, Sheriff, Sixth Circuit races. Democratic Primary County Board District 6 and 10, and 104th House races.

There are candidate events happening for races up and down the Democratic and Republican ballot, so get your sample ballot, read about and meet the candidates. e.g. if you're a Democrat you could meet your Attorney General candidates at the IMC this week! The bottom of Tom Kacich articles like today's event list here or the candidates' campaign facebook pages are good places to look.

Make a plan to vote. Election day itself falls within Spring Break if you're going to be out of town. Early voting and Vote-by-Mail have begun.


County Calendar:

The week kicks off with the Nursing Home Board of Directors meeting at a new time (discussed and approved last month). From last month's agenda packet you can see this is more of a managerial board discussing financials and marketing more than policy or politics.

This month's COW will dive into subjects related to the Racial Justice Task Force recommendations. There has been a lot of interest across various groups and individuals in the community to turn those recommendations into a reality and implement them. County Board member Robert King chairs the Justice & Social Services Committee and hopes to organize that committee towards that goal. A quick overview of that committee's part of the agenda Tuesday:

The Rural Transit Advisory Group deals with issues with rural public transportation in the county. There's a quarterly report if anyone wants to dive into their overview. The Zoning Board of Appeals is probably self-explanatory.

The 2018 schedule is up on the Calendar page and the County page. The regular County Board meetings are back to Thursdays until next holiday season.

If you're curious about learning more about how your county government works, it's easy enough to live stream a meeting or go in person: Attend a Meeting.

*Meeting is broadcast live on Comcast Public Access and at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/champco1776

Where is Brookens?

Brookens Administrative Center
1776 East Washington Street
Urbana, Illinois 61802-4581
Phone: 217-384-3772

After 4:30 the Washington Street side Parking Lot is Closed See Maps for the North East Parking Lot Access

Public Input for County Judge

I couldn't find this on the News-Gazette website yet, but saw it shared elsewhere. Public input on Champaign County's next judge is being solicited, so if you know, support, or oppose a candidate, here's your chance to sing their praises or criticize them. I'll be adding a link to the Election page to this post for now:

County Clerk Candidate Forum and a Fundraiser

From the bottom of Tom Kacich's piece today (where a lot of local political tidbits get lumped for those looking for where they hide this stuff):

Republican forum

The two Republican candidates for Champaign County clerk, Matt Grandone and Jon Rector, will answer questions at the Monday’s meeting of the Champaign County Active Senior Republicans at the Champaign Public Library. The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. Judge Randy Rosenbaum also will take questions, but his primary election opponent, Sami Anderson, will be unable to attend because she said she is in court at that time.

Democratic fundraiser

A campaign fundraiser for county board Democratic candidate Tanisha King-Taylor of Urbana (District 10) and to support Aaron Ammons’ campaign for county clerk will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Riggs Brewery in Urbana.