While a lot of FWIW readers (most of 'em, at this point in the election cycle) long ago realized their ambitions of becoming lawyers, some readers may know young people just embarking on their law school careers. Some of these may wish to notify some of those about scholarship opportunities offered by the Illinois Judges Foundation and the Alliance of Illinois Judges.
The deadline to apply for the AIJ scholarship is June 4. Any LGBTQ+ law student who will be attending any accredited Illinois law school during the 2021-2022 school year is encouraged to apply. For details, including how to submit an application, visit this page of the AIJ website.
The IJF scholarship application deadline is June 21. Applicants must not be closely related to a judge, must be enrolled in an Illinois law school, with at least one more year to go (incoming first year law students are not eligible), a record of pro bono service, and financial need. For more information, including how to submit an application, visit this page of the IJF website.
Don’t do it kids!
ReplyDeleteWake up, Jack. You must have blinked. The proposed primary date is June 28, 2022. Happy Winter Wonderland.
ReplyDeleteIf passed, the amendatory bill would make the primary June 28, 2022. That’s a game-changer for many significant reasons. Get your snow suits ready.
ReplyDeleteWait, what? A June 28, 2022 election? Thank goodness. I am so tired of campaigning in the middle of February when it’s cold outside. Now I can just get crackheads to sign my petitions in . . . oh, wait a minute, does this mean . . . WTF just happened?
ReplyDeleteJack:
ReplyDeleteIf both the Tribune and Sun-Times run articles on the primary possibly changing, then you are obligated to run my comments about said existential shift in the election process.
Anon Jackson
SB 825 passed both houses and awaits Pritzker’s signature. Get your dog sleds ready because some of you will be circulating petitions in January.
ReplyDeleteSvengali
Don’t bother putting up that side bar yet, Jack. They just voted to push the primary back to June 28, 2022. Pritzker is expected to sign the bill into law. No slaying in August. No petitions in September. But man is January going to miserable. February too. This will be a job for the A-Team.
ReplyDeleteOr you could just run . . . on June 28, 2022! This is going to be a WILD cycle.
ReplyDeleteIt’s all but done. Just needs Pritzker’s signature which is expected to come later today. Hello June 28, 2022 primary.
ReplyDeleteDid they move the primary? Haven’t seen anything yet in the news. But it won’t stop me from running in 2022.
ReplyDeleteThe Party has sent out an email to all who attended their "Road to the Robe" shake-down event to let them know that slating has been postponed because of the 2022 primary being pushed to June 28, 2022. Still no word yet on the party's answer to the age-old question: do I get a refund if you slate me and I lose?
ReplyDeleteNo. It's going to be a brutally COLD, FRIGGGGGGGGGIIIIIDDDDDDD cycle. Better get your fleece ready. And beware of cut-rate circulator rates.
ReplyDeleteI received an email today announcing that the Cook County Democratic Party has postponed slating due to the legislature's vote to move back to the 2022 Democratic Primary to June 28, 2022. What will we do now, Jack?
ReplyDeleteThe Winter Soldier and his Ice Warriors are ready because WINTER IS COMING.
ReplyDeleteSanta Claus signed SB 825. Now Mr. Freeze and Jack Frost will be freezing their ahem off come January 13, 2022.
ReplyDelete1st day to circulate petitions is now January 13th and the first day to file is March 7th. Best of luck getting those signatures -- No fall-fests, no parish carnivals, no Bears' games, no kids' soccer or football games, and the sunsets in January are around 4:30pm. With the signature requirement based on the record turnout of the 2020 presidential election, countywide candidates better think about running on a slate.
ReplyDeleteOn a separate topic, any idea why the Supreme Court has stopped filling vacancies? I can't remember the last Cook County appointment that wasn't elevating an associate to a full.
Anon 1-1-21 @4:59,
ReplyDeleteAlt Slates? For all of you first-timers, follow along VERY carefully and THINK before you get snookered.
Alternative slates seem like a really great idea. And they are . . . in THEORY. But then practical realities begin to set in and expose all of the cracks in the foundation of the theory. Slates require COOPERATION. And while many people like the benefits of collective action, many frown on the burdens and will actively try to skirt those burdens for their own selfish ends.
Illustrative examples:
-- Who decides who runs in which vacancy? Currently, conventional wisdom says that there are five (5) countywide vacancies (????), so you would want a team of 5 to run. But suppose several of your slate mates all want to run after Appointee XY, but nobody wants to run against Appointee XX. If you can't get an agreement, oops. Acrimony ensues, possible opponents, etc. You get the idea.
-- How do you handle secrecy? Yes. Secrecy definitely is important. Because even if the slate, ultimately, doesn't materialize, if someone is privy to your plan they can exploit it to their advantage. This happens every cycle, even with the Democratic Party. I won't name names, but last cycle there was a Countywide Alternate who had already started circulating petitions against a possible "slate mate" literally hours after circulation season had begun. The end result? 2 "strong" ballot name women (ironically, with similar ethnic-sounding names) lost to an equally "strong" ballot name woman with a decidedly dissimilar ethnic-sounding name. So much for Spirit De Corps.
-- Who does the work? Pay special close attention to this one.
The obvious benefit of slates is the perceived division of labor. Operative word: PERCEIVED. Elections are like trials on steroids. Everyone has had that trial partner who doesn't pull their weight. You know, the guy or gal who doesn't prepare their examinations, prepare their exhibits or foists a witness (or a closing argument) on YOU at the last second, even after they committed to doing the work. But now you must get the work done because the petitions must be completed or else YOU are not on the ballot. Slates are no different. Every slate has that "team mate" who tries to ride along for free without ever attempting to push or pull the cart. The larger the slate, the more dead weight. The heavy lift EVERY cycle is petitions. That lift just got substantially heavier for 2022 because you haven't lived until you have circulated a petition in January or February in Cook County. There is a reason why petitions have NEVER been circulated in the dead of winter in the past 40 years and why the General Assembly opted for this time frame for THIS election cycle (but I won't digress).
Do you believe that a bunch of lawyers or appointed judges are really going to go out and get their own signatures EVERY DAY in the freezing ice or snow? They won't do it in September, much less, in FEBRUARY. If you're the only one getting signatures, then why carry everyone else?!?!?! There is nothing more upsetting than doing all of the hard work just to let some slacker end up in a contest where they win after doing nothing and you're still stuck getting yelled at in 2005 by some judge who hasn't stepped into the Daley Center since March 17, 2020.
There are more obstacles and pitfalls, a whole lot more; back-stabbing, collusion with the enemy, etc. But you get the idea. If you can work around all of those problem, then go for it. If you can't, then don't be fooled by the hucksters and con artists who want to be part of your team.
Professor O'Brien-Jackson-Ramirez
P.S. I choose this code name because every "group" plays these games regardless of color, gender or creed and you better not fool yourself into believing anything to the contrary.
Wow. How disheartening. But it is probably true.
DeleteEnlightened neophyte.
Vacancies to fill? What vacancies to fill? The people retiring are associates. They are not replaced by the Supreme Court. And what's the rush? It's not like Evans is making anyone work? If or when they retire, another existing judge can just as easily enter a continuance order for the next do-nothing Zoom "hearing."
ReplyDeleteCook County has the judiciary that it deserves.
None of the candidates who read this blog as an actual source of information will be circulating petitions this winter. Their circulators will be. This will be a piece of cake -- frozen cake in the freezer section, but cake nonetheless.
ReplyDeletewow, I am learning more in these particular comments than I have most of the actual posts the last 12 months. professor o'Brien-jackson-ramirez should be allowed to pen a post about elections. she/he/they seem very knowledgeable, jack.
ReplyDeleteis there any truth to the rumor that with judge evans ordering the judges to return on 8/2/2021 for in-person hearings that many older judges are expected to retire? how can I learn which judges are in what vacancies? how can I find out which subcircuit I live in? or if I am eligible to run countywide in cook county? i am a bit lost by all of this.
anon novice
Wait. This is some #ull#hit! The Supreme Court has unveiled its new website. The new design has eliminated the old list of judges that broke down Cook between the countywides, subcircuits and associates. Now it is even harder to figure out who has retired and from where. Nice try, Burke. I always knew you would try something like this. It is for precisely this reason I created my own chart. Play your games in 14. We know how many vacancies are there and elsewhere.
ReplyDelete