The Bar News

Bar News Sections

Illinois Judges Association

  • October 26, 2010 | Practice News
    IJA releases new statement regarding unfair criticism of Justice Kilbride
    From the Illinois Judges Association – The special interest groups trying to oust incoming Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court Tom Kilbride in his retention election pose a direct threat to fairness and impartiality of all Illinois judges. Through the use of deceptive and slick marketing, those sullying Justice Tom Kilbride are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for their own ideological and political ends at the expense of the touchstone of the American legal system – a judiciary independent of all influences and interests. The Illinois Judges Association opposes any effort to “get” judges for doing their jobs. It undermines the ability of judges to carry out their judicial functions. It constitutes a dangerous intrusion upon independent judicial decision-making. And it is a blatant affront to everyone that the judiciary serves. The public rightly demands that judges decide cases based on the law, not policy, popularity, or political views. As John Adams declared in the Declaration of Rights of the Massachusetts Constitution, "It is the right of every citizen to be tried by judges as free, impartial and independent as the lot of humanity will admit." Yet, the incendiary attacks on Justice Kilbride seek nothing of the sort. To achieve their ends, special interest groups have resorted to ugly misrepresentations and falsehood of Justice Kilbride’s opinions. What political motive do they have? Playing politics with a judge's record, distorting it for political reasons, is unfair and dishonest.
  • October 20, 2010 | Practice News
    IJA: Unfair attacks on judges threaten an impartial and fair judiciary
    Illinois Judges Association President Judge Lewis Nixon today reiterated the importance of maintaining a judiciary free of political influence. “The Illinois Judges’ Association encourages voters to educate themselves about the candidates in contested judicial elections and the judges standing for retention,” said Judge Nixon, of Chicago. “Every election cycle there are unfair attacks on judges which threaten the constitutional principle of judicial independence. As Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has said, ‘Judicial independence does not just happen all by itself. It is tremendously hard to create, and easier than most people imagine to destroy.’” “Voters should be mindful of the credibility of the sources of information on the qualities and competencies of individual judges on the ballot. In recent years, judicial elections in Illinois and throughout the nation have become more politicized, a development widely criticized by those who worry about the preservation of an unbiased and balanced administration of justice. Forgotten is that Illinois instituted retention election of judges to take politics out of the judicial process once a judge has been elected to the bench. As he did in his remarks on assuming the leadership of the organization, Judge Nixon said, “So important was judicial independence that it was one of the grievances listed by the drafters of the Declaration of Independence in their complaint against the British Crown. The judicial branch of government was designed to operate as a forum unfettered by any considerations other than an evenhanded determination of the facts and a steadfast adherence to the law. Judges simply do not make decisions based on personal preferences.
  • June 8, 2010 | People
    Illinois Judges Association installs 2010-2011 officers
    Officers of the Illinois Judges Association (IJA) for 2010-11 were installed at the organization’s Annual Meeting held recently at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago.  The new officers are (from left) Judge Michael B. Hyman, Circuit Court of Cook County, Secretary; Justice M. Carol Pope, 4th Appellate District, Third Vice President; Justice Mary S. Schostok, 2nd Appellate District, First Vice President; Judge Lewis M. Nixon, Circuit Court of Cook County, President; Judge Rita M. Novak, Circuit Court of Cook County, Second Vice President; and Judge Robert J. Anderson, Circuit Court of DuPage County, Treasurer.
  • April 19, 2010 | ISBA News
    Judge Spears, IJA presented with ISBA Lincoln street banners
    [caption id="attachment_10461" align="alignright" width="300" caption="ISBA Committee on Strategic Marketing Chair John Bailen, IJA President Ron Spears, IJA 1st VP Lewis M. Nixon, IJA Secretary M. Carol Pope, IJA 3rd VP Rita M. Novak and ISBA President John O'Brien"][/caption] ISBA President John G. O'Brien presented ISBA street banners to the Illinois Judges Association and its president, Judge Ron Spears, at the Annual Judicial Education Conference on Monday at the Swissotel Chicago. The banners were produced in commemoration of the  200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. The banners were displayed at various locations in downtown Chicago and in Springfield during the year-long celebration. Also on hand for the presentation were IJA 1st VP Lewis M. Nixon, IJA Secretary M. Carol Pope, IJA 3rd VP Rita M. Novak and John Bailen, chair, ISBA Committee on Strategic Marketing.
  • January 12, 2010 | People
    "Rules of Evidence" to air on Judicial Perspective
    [caption id="attachment_7280" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Luis A. Berrones, Israel A. Desierto and Diana J. Larsen and Michael B. Hyman will appear on "Rules of Evidence.""][/caption] Rules of Evidence will be the topic of "Judicial Perspective," a half-hour cable program presented by the Illinois Judges Association (IJA), airing on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago, on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 10:30 p.m. The judges explain to non-lawyers the purpose and the use of evidence rules. Appearing on the show will be  Luis A. Berrones, a judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit of Lake County; Israel A. Desierto and Diane J. Larsen, both judges on the Circuit Court of Cook County; and program moderator Michael B. Hyman, also a judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County. The Illinois Judges Association, formed in 1971, provides continuing legal support to members of the judiciary and education to the public on matters regarding the court system.
  • December 21, 2009 | Practice News
    "The Foreclosure Process in Illinois" to air on Judicial Perspective
    [caption id="attachment_6792" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Appearing on the show are (from left) Circuit Judge Lewis M. Nixon, Circuit Judge Jesse G. Reyes, U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer and Lake County Associate Judge Mitchell L. Hoffman."][/caption] "The Foreclosure Process in Illinois" will be the topic of Judicial Perspective, a half-hour program presented by the Illinois Judges Association (IJA), airing on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago, on Saturday, Dec. 26 at 6:30 p.m. Appearing on the show are the Hon. Lewis M. Nixon, a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County and first vice president of the IJA; Hon. Jesse G. Reyes, program moderator who is a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County; Hon. Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, a judge in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois; and Hon. Mitchell L. Hoffman, a judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit of Lake County. The Illinois Judges Association, formed in 1971, provides continuing legal support to members of the judiciary and education to the public on matters regarding the court system.
  • December 10, 2009 | Events | Practice News
    Joint Meeting to host important program on Military and Veterans’ Laws
    The Illinois Judges Association will present "Ten Things Lawyers and Judges Need To Know About Military and Veterans' Laws" at the ISBA/IJA Joint Meeting on Friday, Dec. 11. This program will take place from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in Chicago Ballroom 10 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, 301 E. North Water Street. Participating in this program will be Joseph Butler and Brian Clauss, Co-Executive Directors of the John Marshall Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic; John Costello, Illinois Attorney General's Office and Colonel Richard Fox, Illinois Army National Guard.
  • December 9, 2009 | Events
    Illinois Judges Association to receive Special Merit Citation at Joint Meeting
    Some 100 members of the Illinois Judges Association (IJA) - including Appellate Court justices and even one Supreme Court justice - have taken a two-hour training that enables them to deliver in their communities a hard-hitting, interactive youth education program called "7 Reasons to Leave the Party." Since 2007, IJA members have made more than 160 presentations to nearly 50,000 students statewide. For its contribution to improving the administration of justice in Illinois, and encouragement to teens to adopt wise and safe behaviors, the IJA will receive a Special Merit Citation from the American Judicature Society (AJS) to be presented by AJS Distinguished Lifetime Director, Dawn Clark Netsch, at the IJA's Midyear Meeting Luncheon at noon on Friday, December 11, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, 301 E. North Water St. An AJS Special Merit Citation is intended to allow recognition of projects and efforts that benefit some aspect of the judicial system including those that are narrowly focused or time specific. This award recognizes individuals, publications, state or local courts, organizations and educational institutions that make significant contributions toward improving the justice system. The American Judicature Society, founded in 1913 and headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, is an independent, national, nonpartisan organization of judges, lawyers, and other members of the public who seek to improve the justice system. Established in 2002 by judges and probation officers in Adams County of the Eighth Judicial Circuit in Illinois, written by and delivered extensively by one of its judges, Judge Mark Drummond, and "adopted" as a community outreach program by Judge Mark Schuering when he was IJA President (2007-08), the "7 Reasons to Leave the Party" program uses rap music, photos and true stories to underscore its message - that there are serious consequences to teen activities such as drinking and driving. The myth that nothing happens to you if you're a juvenile is just that - a myth.