tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post3079001601050498450..comments2024-03-26T13:05:52.830-05:00Comments on For What It's Worth: Not vindicated, but spared; Judge Santiago censured by Illinois Courts CommissionJack Leyhanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15884163579967286888noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-30635764635884069542016-08-24T09:12:48.113-05:002016-08-24T09:12:48.113-05:00@E.P. -- I don't disagree with your concerns o...@E.P. -- I don't disagree with your concerns over 'merit' selection and the possible elitist or ideological (or elitist <i>and</i> ideological) bench that might result.<br /><br />But let me say this: I don't practice in the area of criminal law. I've never been a Public Defender or ASA. I have probably appeared as counsel in a non-traffic, criminal matter less than 10 times in 36 years. However, even without studying criminal law, I know that, if I am at a golf course, playing golf with a partner, and I give a good whack to the golf ball with my 9-iron, that's OK. On the other hand, even without studying criminal law, I know that if I give that same good whack my to partner with that same 9-iron, I will be arrested and prosecuted for battery (at least).<br /><br />So when someone fills out an application and says <i>the house to be mortgaged is my primary residence</i> and, when questioned about it, doubles down, and then says, well, I only do criminal law, I don't do real estate law, I have a problem.<br /><br />It is entirely believable that the closing on the loan to refinance the house was done in a short period, over the lunch break, and that documents were not carefully examined at that time.<br /><br />But that's not when she completed the application for the loan and made the initial misrepresentation, nor is that when she wrote not one, but two letters digging herself in deeper.<br /><br />If I were a cynic, I'd almost believe she really <i>was</i> intending to move back into that house (in the neighborhood, yes---which distinguishes her situation from the Golniewicz case---but still in the wrong subcircuit) and if I were really cynical I'd be tempted to believe that maybe she never really moved back in with the folks. Otherwise -- as she eventually did when WGN and Medill Watchdog and then the JIB came after her -- she would have put that house up for sale and bought another house <i>within</i> the subcircuit.<br /><br />But I am not a cynic. I am Dr. Pangloss, the naive and hopeful optimist who sees the good in all people and all things, right?<br /><br />But I still have a problem with bank fraud. You do not need to have engaged in the study of real estate law to know whether you do or do not live in the house you intend to mortgage. The judge had just survived---barely---a residency challenge. To make these misrepresentations---and I assume, as did the Courts Commission, that these were misrepresentations, because if they were not the Courts Commission would have removed her from office---after being elected makes me just a teensy bit angry.<br /><br />Judges should be purer than Caesar's wife---above suspicion. This was an entirely preventable episode. She knew what she had to do; she ultimately did it. Just follow the darn rules. As my mother used to say, tell the truth and shame the Devil. Don't make misrepresentations, particularly under oath (she signed an affidavit, too, remember?).<br /><br />The important thing, for her, is that she survived. She can learn from this. She can still have a useful career. I wish her well. But she is not the victim of any elitist conspiracy, E.P.; sorry.Jack Leyhanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15884163579967286888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-46811923764625734922016-08-23T23:22:00.556-05:002016-08-23T23:22:00.556-05:00HMM!
Is it possible at all the Judge Santiago was ...HMM!<br />Is it possible at all the Judge Santiago was charged with misconduct because she lied, and lied, and lied?<br />I wonder what she might have done with a person before her in court who lied, and lied, and lied.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-5225073267868685802016-08-23T22:52:42.794-05:002016-08-23T22:52:42.794-05:00This is why I vote NO to every retention judge, li...This is why I vote NO to every retention judge, like our very masculine and well-endowed Governor BRUCE RAUNER.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-32789975197854178572016-08-23T16:43:53.307-05:002016-08-23T16:43:53.307-05:00E.P., has just the right balance of insight and cy...E.P., has just the right balance of insight and cynicism and usually hits a home run with his/her posts, but I have to disagree with most of this one. <br /><br />E.P. and I must run in different circles. I don't know too many well-healed judges who paid cash for their homes. Every cycle or so, there are one or two judicial candidates who are well-healed. <br /><br />One can make a class argument for many alleged infractions of the law. You wouldn't get a DUI if you had a driver, you wouldn't shoplift Twinkies is you weren't broke and you wouldn't have to visit an Archer Avenue "spa" if you were a billionaire real estate magnet and could buy a beautiful wife from Slovenia. <br /><br />Yes, one could argue that one would not need a mortgage if one were wealthy, but one's wealth or lack of it typically does not affect how one answers mortgage application questions. <br /><br />If you do any jury work, you know that jurors look for hooks to easily label parties. We like to attribute reasons for things that are simply untrue. For as many people who claim a particular judge was singled out because of her ethnicity, you can probably find an equal number of people who will say she got away with a slap on the wrist because of that ethnicity. And while you might call $187,000 a year for a 9-5, M-F job a "working class" wage, I am sure you can find many people who would call that "well-healed."<br /><br />I don't think the JIB set out to find a judge who -- gasp -- took out a mortgage for his or her home, and I don't believe they set out to isolate a particular race or gender.<br /><br />Sometimes when we make a mistake, the best thing to do is simply fess up and acknowledge the error without looking for reasons why we were caught.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-5809360989682684842016-08-22T18:50:58.457-05:002016-08-22T18:50:58.457-05:00This case was a class issue. Nothing more, nothing...This case was a class issue. Nothing more, nothing less. <br /><br />The well-healed pay for their homes in cash. No mortgages. No paper trails. No nothing.<br /><br />Judges from every sub-circuit and county-wide (and even some from outside of Cook County) have gotten away with out-of-district addresses for decades because they never had to take out mortgages and write those pesky little "letters of explanation" that the J.I.B. loves so much. <br /><br />So this wasn't so much about race, ethnicity or gender as much as it was about a working class judge that had to get a loan from the bank because she wasn't born into a wealthy family, didn't marry into money or worked for a big fancy-pants law firm before becoming a judge. <br /><br />So the J.I.B. and their elitist prosecutor from one of those fancy-pants law firms (Sidley-Austin) put her through the wringer. Shame on them for perpetuating the notion that only the upper-crust should aspire to the bench. That all others need not apply. <br /><br />Well thank God for an elected judiciary. Can you imagine if we had "merit selection" which is code-talk for anointing only the elitist and entitled. I would hate to think of what our courts would look like if only the privileged were allowed to serve. Those judges usually make for bad law because they are out of touch with the people they are supposed to serve. <br /><br />As for me, I'll take my chances with a regular person from our regular neighborhoods anytime. I have no confidence in judges I have absolutely nothing in common with. <br /><br />As always, E.P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-55556335470022619792016-08-21T22:37:50.564-05:002016-08-21T22:37:50.564-05:00This means that she'll win retention with only...This means that she'll win retention with only 67% of the vote instead of 76% of the vote in 2018.<br /><br />Speaking of subcircuits, has anyone done an analysis of how our of whack they are relative to "one man one vote"? We've gone 2 censuses without a remap, so I'm surprised there havent been any Federal Court challenges.<br /><br />Someone dropped the ball by not including redistricting in the original legislation, and now the major impediment is the black caucus in Springfield, as the relative Cook County black population has dropped while the Hispanic population has increased over the past 25 yearsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-86075839868213394262016-08-20T21:02:11.100-05:002016-08-20T21:02:11.100-05:00And the only reason former judge Frank Golniewicz...And the only reason former judge Frank Golniewicz was prosecuted because of his false claims about the subcircuit he lived in was because he was Polish. Give me a flippin' break.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-51952206532859136982016-08-20T20:03:17.864-05:002016-08-20T20:03:17.864-05:00I would like to go on the record:
1. Judge Santia...I would like to go on the record:<br /><br />1. Judge Santiago is Latina.<br />2. Latina means female Hispanic.<br />3. Judge Santiago is not a member of BWLA or CCBA.<br />4. But Judge Santiago is a member of PRBA.<br />5. Judge Santiago has a black robe.<br />6. When not wearing her robe it is hanging in the closet.<br />7. Sometimes Judge Santiago's robe is hanging at the dry cleaners.<br />8. Judge Santiago does not let anyone wear her robe except once on<br /> Halloween.<br />9. But that was at a party in Humboldt Park.<br />10. Humboldt Park is far away from the Markham courthouse.<br />11. In conclusion, The ONLY REASON Judge Santiago has been persecuted<br /> and prosecuted is because she is Latina (which is Hispanic).<br /><br />- GraciasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-65264686824799388412016-08-20T14:05:14.009-05:002016-08-20T14:05:14.009-05:00Well, at least a couple of you cannot blame the Bl...Well, at least a couple of you cannot blame the Black Women Lawyers or the Cook County bar for this one. And you wasted no time pointing out that she was Hispanic. smhAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-9209585058154203532016-08-20T12:40:45.129-05:002016-08-20T12:40:45.129-05:00The only reason she was prosecuted in the first pl...The only reason she was prosecuted in the first place is because she's Hispanic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24546933.post-9447861993601520272016-08-20T11:25:02.829-05:002016-08-20T11:25:02.829-05:00Great. Another win for Judge Santiago and Papa Jo...Great. Another win for Judge Santiago and Papa Joe Berrios. Not many candidates have the Chairman of the Cook County Democratic party lend you Scott Cisek, the executive director of the Democratic Party (aka "the Machine") to run your judicial campaign. Slated over better qualified candidates? Not a problem. Ballot issues? Not a problem. Board of Election challenges? Not a problem. Move back home to take care of Dad and run for Judge? Not a problem. In fact, it is wonderful. Make false statements to your mortgage company? Not a problem. Sign false affidavits? Not a problem. Claim a homeowner's tax exemption on a property you do not live in? Not a problem. <br /><br />If history is a guide on this blog, get ready for a comment or two defending Judge Santiago and claiming that the only reason she was prosecuted in the first place is because she is Hispanic. Not a problem.<br /><br />Collect a $187,000 salary for life? Not a problem. Thank you Papa Joe Berrios. Looking forward to your 2018 slate! Not a problem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com