The elevation of Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. to the Illinois Supreme Court will create a vacancy on the Illinois Appellate Court.
The Supreme Court entered an order today filling that vacancy, transferring Justice Michael B. Hyman into that slot. Justice Hyman has been serving on the Appellate Court since 2013, but he has served in that post as a Circuit Court judge assigned to duty in the Appellate Court pursuant to Supreme Court appointment. (The Supreme Court appoints six Circuit Court judges to the Appellate Court, supplementing the 18 elected justices elected.) Justice Hyman was appointed to the Circuit Court in 2006; he was elected to a countywide vacancy in 2008.
Today's order stipulates, however, that Justice Hyman keeps his own pending Appellate Court caseload. Justice Neville's caseload will be assumed by Circuit Court Judge Carl Anthony Walker, who was today assigned to the Appellate Court by the Supreme Court. Judge Walker was elected to a 1st Subcircuit vacancy on the Circuit Court in 2006.
The order appointing Judge Walker is effective June 15 and continues, as is customary in these sorts of appointments, "until further order of the Court." Justice Hyman's appointment is effective June 15 as well, and terminates December 7, 2020.
So Hyman had better win or he's out on his keester? Are those fins of Irish gals circling his spot?
ReplyDeleteMan oh man, how the jockeying has already begun. A very serious African-American female circuit court judge who thinks she can do a remake of the 2008 Greiman vs. Johnson-Coleman election is already planning a bid against Hyman. And no, I don't mean Cynthia Cobbs. Nope. She thinks that the Plaintiff's bar will back her against Neville. But with Howse, Neville and Cobbs splitting the black vote, Reyes and O'Neill-Burke think that they can pull it off. This is going to be SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd Griffin is toast too. Just take the pension sweetener and step down come November 2019.
Carl Walker? Really? Proof positive that these appointments are not merit-based. Nice guy, but will have ghost-writers for all of his opinions. Then again, that makes him no different than Laura Liu, Aurie Pucinski and several of those Irish guys up there. What a joke. And there are more jokes to come. Mary Ann Mason is retiring too. That's right folks! That is the real reason why Jack posted that magistrate judge vacancy announcement last month. For those who actually bothered to read it, that vacancy is being created by the impending retirement of U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael "hey my wife is Mary Ann" Mason. Mikey boy wouldn't be retiring unless the Mrs. Justice was following him too. So the blacks and jews have gotten their seat. Which Irish gal will Burke and Theis appoint? Watch out for the brewing knife fight in First Municipal between Alison "my daddy is friends with Rahm" Conlon and recently elected Clare "but I clerked for Marijuana for 6 years" Quish. Bookies favoring Conlon on this one. But another bug-eyed Irish obsessed with promotion will likely be vying for that slot -- or another -- come 2020.
ReplyDeleteYea, let the machinations begin, er, continue.