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Peter Michael Gonzalez campaign website launched, initial fundraiser planned

Criminal defense attorney Peter Michael Gonzalez has announced plans to seek a countywide judicial vacancy. That's a link to Gonzalez's campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the blog Sidebar.

The Gonzalez campaign is also holding a campaign kickoff event on August 13, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the Law Offices of Baugh Dalton Carlson & Ryan, LLC, 135 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 2100. The suggested donation for the event is $100, but sponsorships are available at levels of $250, $500 and $1,000. For more information about the event, or to confirm your plans to attend, email gonzalez4judge@gmail.com.

Licensed as an Illinois attorney since 1994, Peter Michael Gonzalez maintains his law office at 2650 W. 51st Street in Chicago. Gonzalez has also served as an Administrative Law Judge, conducting unemployment benefit hearings for the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES). Gonzalez's campaign website estimates that he has conducted as many as 9,000 of these hearings. In addition, Gonzalez has served as President of the 14th Ward Volunteer Legal Clinic.

Before setting up his own practice, Gonzaelz worked as an Assistant Public Defender. He began his legal career with the firm of Marvin Leavitt and Associates. Gonzalez's wife, Dawn Gonzalez, is a former President of the Women's Bar Association (2004-05).

Nichole C. Patton campaign website found online

Assistant State's Attorney Nichole C. Patton is planning a 2014 judicial bid. That's a link to Patton's campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the blog Sidebar.

Patton has been licensed as an Illinois attorney since 1997. According to her campaign website, Patton is currently assigned to the State’s Attorney Office, Senior and Persons with Disabilities Unit, responsible for prosecuting cases seeking commitments and treatment for individuals who have been involuntarily detained at Cook County mental health hospitals. She also serves as a hearing officer for the Village of Matteson, hearing and as an arbitrator in the Cook County court-annexed mandatory arbitration system.

Patton worked in the State's Attorney's Office previously, until 2001. Before rejoining that office in 2006, Patton was a staff attorney with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, an associate with Iwan Cray Huber Horstman & VanAusdal and a sole practitioner.

This is Patton's third bid for judicial office; she ran in the 15th Subcircuit in 2010 and countywide in 2012.

Cynthia Y. Cobbs campaign website now online

A campaign website has been established for Judge Cynthia Y. Cobbs. That's a link to the site in the preceding sentence; a link has been added to the blog Sidebar as well.

The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Judge Cobbs to the bench in 2011. Prior to her appointment, Cobbs served as Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.

Cobbs started her legal career in 1989 as a law clerk, and later chief law clerk, to Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman. She joined the AOIC in 1997, becoming Chief Legal Counsel for the Administrative Office within two years. Cobbs was initially appointed Director of the AOIC in March 2002. Cobbs served under five Chief Justices, the second longest tenure in that office since it was established in 1960.

Judge Cobbs has a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Maryland. She worked for several years in Maryland in a clinical setting helping abused and neglected children before turning to the law.

Don Sampen plans 2014 Appellate Court race

Chicago attorney Don Sampen is planning a bid for a seat on the First District Appellate Court. That's a link to Sampen's campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link has been added to the (still very short) list of Appellate Court candidates in the blog Sidebar.

Currently a partner with the Chicago firm of Clausen Miller, Sampen has appeared in trial and appellate courts around the country, litigating insurance coverage and other commercial matters. In addition to his law practice, Sampen has written extensively on legal topics, both for law reviews and (on a regular basis) for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. He also teaches part-time at Loyola University School of Law and has taught at Northwestern University and the Chicago-Kent School of Law. Licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 1975, Sampen began his career as clerk to Judge Philip W. Tone of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and later served as the Chief of the Public Interest and Special Litigation Divisions of the Illinois Attorney General's Office.

Sampen has made two prior bids for the Appellate Court, in 2010 and 2012. He also ran for a 12th Subcircuit vacancy on the Circuit Court in 2006.

Ketki "Kay" Steffen plans countywide judicial run

Former Judge Ketki "Kay" Steffen is looking to return to the bench, making a bid for a vacancy in the far Northwest Suburban 13th Judicial Subcircuit. That's a link to Steffen's campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the blog Sidebar.

Steffen was appointed to a 13th Subcircuit vacancy in early 2010, but lost her bid to retain her position in the 2012 primary. Since her judicial appointment expired, Steffen has been working for Steffen Law, P.C., in Elgin. Prior to her appointment, Steffen was a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney; she was a finalist for Associate Judge in 2009.

Updated 8/7/13 per discussion with the candidate. Although the linked website may still contain references to the 2012 13th Subcircuit bid, Steffen told FWIW she is planning a countywide race.

Anthony C. Kyriakopoulos campaign website found

Found online: A 2014 campaign website has been set up for Judge Anthony C. Kyriakopoulos. That's a link to the site in the preceding sentence; a link has been added to the blog Sidebar as well.

Judge Kyriakopoulos has served on the bench since early 2010 when the Supreme Court appointed him to a 10th Subcircuit vacancy. After then-Ald. Thomas R. Allen filed for that same vacancy, Judge Kyriakopoulos withdrew (leaving Allen unopposed). In August of last year, before his original appointment expired, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Judge Kyriakopoulos to a new 10th Subcircuit vacancy, the Sullivan vacancy. On his campaign website, Kyriakopoulos asks voters' support "to elect me to the position for which I was appointed."

Kyriakopoulos has been licensed in Illinois since 1990. Before his appointment to the bench, Kyriakopoulos served as an Assistant State's Attorney in Cook County.

Judith C. Rice launches 7th Subcircuit judicial bid

Found online: Former Chicago Revenue Director and City Treasurer Judith Rice is running for a vacancy in Cook County's 7th Judicial Subcircuit. That's a link to Rice's campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the Sidebar.

Licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 1988, Rice is currently employed by BMO Harris Bank as Senior Vice President, Community Affairs & Economic Development.

The daughter of former Chicago Police Superintendent Fred Rice, Judith Rice began working for the City of Chicago in the Corporation Counsel's office in 1989. She moved to the Department of Revenue in 1993, first as Deputy Director, then as Director in 1995. In 1996 Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed her Commissioner of the Department of Water. She later became Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation before being named City Treasurer in November 2000 (replacing Miriam Santos after Santos pleaded guilty to a felony mail fraud charge). Elected to a full term in 2003, Rice stepped down in late 2006, joining Mayor Daley's staff to work on special projects involving economic development. She joined BMO Harris in 2007.

According to her campaign bio, Rice serves, or has served, on the boards of the March of Dimes, UCAN, the Chicago Public Library (through January 2012), Neighborhood Housing Services, and the Civic Federation.

Brendan O'Brien fundraiser planned for September 19

A fundraiser for Cook County judicial candidate Brendan O'Brien is being planned for Thursday, September 19 at the Rosebud in the Three First National Plaza building, 70 W. Madison Street, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for the event are priced at $100 each, and sponsorships are available for $500. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

To reserve tickets, or for more information, email nrowell@hinshawlaw.com.

The Illinois State Board of Elections has released the 2014 Candidate's Guide

Earlier this week the Illinois State Board of Elections released the 2014 Candidate's Guide. That link will take you to a page on the ISBE website from which you can download the booklet.

Please note that the Candidate's Guide, while very useful, is no substitute for legal counsel. I am not an election lawyer. But such lawyers do exist. And if you hope to run for judge in Cook County -- for any office, really -- you really need to retain such a lawyer. At least one. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Michael F. Otto campaign website found online

Judge Michael F. Otto has set up a campaign website in anticipation of the 2014 primary. That's a link to the site in the preceding sentence; a link has been added to the list in the Sidebar as well.

Appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to the countywide Burke vacancy in early 2012, Judge Otto has apparently decided to seek election from the 9th Judicial Subcircuit.

ISBE publishes 2014 campaign calendar

The Illinois State Board of Elections has published what it calls an "Election Calendar at a Glance" for the upcoming 2014 primary election.

The first day on which 2014 candidates (including judicial candidates) can circulate petitions is September 3. The regular filing period opens November 25 -- and closes December 2.

The ISBE has not yet posted a list of Cook County judicial vacancies -- but if this election cycle is like the last one, we can expect a list to go up sometime in August. Whenever the list does go up, it will still be subject to change if and when new vacancies occur.

According to the ISBE calendar, there will be a special judicial filing period from December 16 through December 23 for judicial vacancies that occur between November 11 and December 2. And that means that a judicial vacancy posted as late as November 10 will be included in the regular filing period. Prospective candidates (and bloggers) will have to pay careful attention.

Justice Harris campaign announces August 6 reception

A Campaign Kickoff Reception in support of Justice Sheldon A. "Shelly" Harris will be held Tuesday, August 6 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Petterino's Banquet Room, 150 N. Dearborn Street.

The suggested donation for the event is $100 and tickets or other information about the event may be obtained by emailing shelly@harrisforjustice.com.

Illinois congressional delegation offers strong bipartisan support for continued NSA survelliance of Americans

There can't be too many votes in Congress on which Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-9) and Adam Kitzinger (R-16) agree, but they agreed yesterday to oppose the amendment (pictured above) offered by Rep. Justin Amish (R-MI) to the defense appropriations bill that would have, according to this Reuters account, "limited the National Security Agency's ability to collect electronic information, including phone call records."

The amendment was designed to defund the surveillance program based on expansive interpretation being given to 50 U.S.C. §1861 by the Obama Administration (which is, according to your political allegiance, either a continuation of a policy begun in the Bush Administration or an inordinate expansion of that policy), allowing massive data collection, including (at least) telephone calling records of ordinary American citizens.

You will see, from time to time, reference to §215 of the Patriot Act in connection with news accounts about data collection on ordinary Americans. Section 215 of the Patriot Act rewrote 50 U.S.C. §§1861-1863 (§1863 has been repealed, §1862 obliges the Attorney General to report on an annual basis to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate). Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R., Wis.), who helped write the law that is the basis for the NSA's activities, is on record as saying he didn't expect it could be used to support a massive data-gathering program (he supported Amash's amendment). For the convenience of the lawyers who visit this site, I've reproduced 50 U.S.C. §1861 on Page Two of the blog (lawyers like to look at source materials and decide things for themselves).

The amendment failed on a vote of 205-217 (with 12 members not voting). The Reuters account says "94 Republicans [voted] in favor and 134 against, while 111 Democrats supported the amendment and 83 opposed it."

I found two sites showing roll call votes (the House clerk's site and The Guardian).

From these sources, it appears 12 members of the Illinois Congressional delegation voted against the amendment. They are:

• Robin Kelly (D-2)
• Daniel Lipinski (D-3)
• Luis Gutiérrez (D-4)
• Mike Quigley (D-5)
• Peter Roskam (R-6)
• Tammy Duckworth (D-8)
• Jan Schakowsky (D-9)
• Brad Schneider (D-10)
• Bill Foster (D-11)
• William Enyart (D-12)
• John Shimkus (R-15)
• Adam Kitzinger (R-16)

Four voted in favor of the amendment. They are:

• Bobby Rush (D-1)
• Danny Davis (D-7)
• Rodney Davis (R-13)
• Randy Hultgren (R-14)

Two members of the Illinois delegation did not vote. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-17) traveled with the President to Knox College yesterday for his speech. Rep. Aaron Schock (R-18) also did not vote. (I did see that the time allotted to the vote was shorter than allegedly customary -- only two minutes, as opposed to five or 15.)

In other news, Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) found themselves on the same side of this vote as well (they both voted against the amendment).

Pamela McLean Meyerson campaign website now online

Photo obtained from votemeyerson.com.

Newly appointed Circuit Court Judge Pamela McLean Meyerson has launched her 2014 campaign website. That's a link to the site in the preceding sentence; the link will also be added to the list of candidate websites as soon as that is put up (and with the way websites are coming online, that should be soon).

The Supreme Court appointed Meyerson to the 11th Subcircuit vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Susan J. McDunn. At the time of her June appointment, Meyerson was a solo practitioner in Oak Park representing individuals and small businesses in civil disputes involving contracts, construction, fair housing, consumer fraud, and other conflicts. A 1983 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, Meyerson has helped teach the Intensive Trial Practice Work at the University of Chicago's Mandel Legal Aid Clinic since 2000.

Katherine A. O'Dell launches 10th Subcircuit judicial bid

Attorney Katherine A. O'Dell has announced her plans to seek election to the Cook County Circuit Court from the 10th Judicial Subcircuit. That's a link to her campaign website in the preceding sentence; her site will be added to list of judicial candidate websites when I put that up in the Sidebar.

O'Dell is presently senior associate at the firm of Amari & Locallo, a firm with a national practice in real estate tax matters. According to her campaign announcement, O'Dell handles "back tax and tax sale issues, incentives, and all litigation aspects of the practice."

A graduate of John Marshall Law School, O'Dell has been licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 2000. O'Dell is a lifelong resident of Chicago, and a graduate of Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette. She currently resides in the 41st Ward with her husband, Jay, and their young son, a student at Immaculate Conception School.

Maritza Martinez announces 2014 judicial bid; August 7 fundraiser planned

Maritza Martinez has announced her plans to run for the Cook County Circuit Court in the 2014 Democratic Primary. That's a link to her campaign website in the preceding sentence; the link will be included in the list of candidate websites in the Sidebar on this page when that is put up.

A licensed attorney since 1989, Martinez is a Commissioner at the Illinois Court of Claims, serves as an Inquiry Board Panel Chair and as an Oversight Committee Member for the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, and works as a criminal defense and civil rights attorney at the Law Offices of Victor J. Cacciatore, P.C. According to her campaign website, Martinez was installed as 2nd Vice-President of the Women's Criminal Defense Bar Association on June 28, 2013. Martinez ran for judge in the 11th Subcircuit in the 2010 and 2012 primaries.

Martinez's campaign committee has scheduled an August 7 fundraiser at Gino's East, 162 E. Superior Street, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. Appetizers will be served; there will be a cash bar. Tickets are priced at $150 each, but additional sponsorship levels are available (Patron - $300, Supporter - $500, or Sponsor - $1,000). For more information, or to purchase tickets, use the campaign website. Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios and 30th Ward Ald. Ariel Reboyras are the honorary co-chairs of the Martinez campaign.

Tickets still available for IJF Comedy Night July 23

The Illinois Judges Foundation and its Auxiliary Committee are hosting a Comedy Night fundraiser on Tuesday evening, July 23 at the Second City e.t.c. stage, 230 W. North Avenue.

A reception begins at 6:00; the show starts at 7:15.

Tickets are $100 each, and sponsorship opportunities are available.

To purchase tickets, for questions about sponsorships or any other questions about the event, visit this page on the IJF website, send an email to ijf@chicagobar.org, or call Kevin Fagan at 312-554-2008 or Christine Athanasoulis at 708-705-4355.

Brendan O'Brien campaign website goes online

Hinshaw & Culbertson partner Brendan O'Brien has announced his intention to run for judge in the 2014 primary. That's a link to O'Brien's campaign website in the preceding sentence. This site will be added to the list when the candidate sidebar is put up.

O'Brien has been licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 1996. He was an appropriations and research analyst on the staff of House Speaker Mike Madigan in 1991-1992, after taking his bachelor's degree at Illinois State and before starting his law school career at John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Brendan is the grandson of Judge Donald J. O'Brien, who was the longtime presiding judge of the Chancery Division. Brendan is the son of retired Judge Donald J. O'Brien, Jr. and is married to Jessica A. O'Brien, who was elected to the Cook County bench in 2012.

Revised 7/16/13 to add additional information.

The American Bar Association starts compiling its annual list of the nation's Top 100 "Blawgs"

The American Bar Association has begun its annual search for the nation's Top 100 legal-themed blogs (hence, "blawgs") and is soliciting nominations for said list from you, the blog- (or blawg- ) reading public.

Further information -- and a nomination form -- is available via this ABA Journal Law News Now link.

There are, of course, rules. You must nominate each of your favorites separately. And the ABA wants you to know that it frowns on bloggers who nominate their own blogs. It also heartily disapproves of PR flacks (public relations professionals) "in the employ of lawyers or law firms who nominate their clients’ blogs." Quoting further from the ABA's email today soliciting nominations:

There is no specific criteria that bloggers can meet to be guaranteed a spot on the Blawg 100. And we think our list would suffer if there were. A blog’s whole can be greater than the sum of its parts, and a blog that never fails to post that daily update, has a beautiful design and an unwavering topical focus can very often have less of an impact than another blog that is less consistent on all fronts.

That said, please keep these criteria in mind when submitting Blawg 100 amici:

• The author of the blog should be recognizable as someone working in a legal field or studying law in the vast majority of his or her posts.
• The blog should be written with an audience of legal professionals or law students—rather than potential clients or potential law students—in mind.

Updating 2014 candidate websites

When Cook County judicial candidate websites reach a critical mass, I'll post a complete list in the Sidebar -- which, of course, I'll add to as new websites come online -- but, for now, let me list the sites that I've found so far.

The only Appellate Court candidate website I've found so far is that of Justice Sheldon Harris.

But there are already a handful of Circuit Court candidate websites, only some of which I've had the opportunity to mention here before. Here's the list (which is only as complete as I can make it -- and please don't hesitate to advise of any omissions):

Gregory Emmett Ahern, Jr.
James Patrick Crawley
Linda J. Pauel
Patricia O'Brien Sheahan
Alfred M. Swanson, Jr.

Candidates and campaign committees, take note: When your campaign website goes live, send me an email at jackleyhane@yahoo.com and I'll be sure to publish a link here.

Forget the calendar, judicial candidates are well into 2014 already

According to the calendar, we've only just begun the second half of 2013. But for those thinking about running for judicial office in Cook County, it's been 2014 for some time now.

Many judicial hopefuls, at least those with sufficient political connections to learn that it was happening, have participated in "pre-slating" meetings with the judicial selection committee of the Cook County Democratic Party. (Those sessions were concluded before the summer solstice.) The Democratic Party will set its slate earlier this year than in the past; the party slating meetings will take place on August 15 and 16.

Promises will be made at that time to support candidates for known vacancies, but it is very likely that not all vacancies will then be known. Checking the archives here, I note I didn't have a link to the official list of judicial vacancies published by the Illinois State Board of Elections until late August 2011.

The ISBE has not yet even published its 2014 Candidates Guide; according to the Board's June 2013 newsletter, the 2014 Election and Campaign Finance Calendar and the 2014 Candidates Guide should be posted on the ISBE site by the end of this month.

Candidates in the March 18, 2014 Primary can file their nominating petitions starting on November 25 -- and candidates must file before close of business on December 2.

Today is the 4th of July, and most people are thinking about barbecues and fireworks and whether the lawn needs mowing. But Cook County judicial candidates are thinking about endorsements and fundraising and websites and mailings. It may be just the start of the second half of 2013, but candidates are well along into 2014.

Judge Marguerite Quinn announces Appellate Court bid on North Town News Magazine

Judge Marguerite Quinn was recently interviewed for Avy Meyers' North Town News Magazine program. In the course of her interview, Judge Quinn advised of her plans to run for the Appellate Court in the upcoming 2014 primary. (She has not, as yet, updated her campaign website from 2012 (when she also ran) so I'm not providing a link.)

My thanks, as always, to Mr. Meyers (and to his entire technical crew, Sonny Hersh) for allowing me to repost the interview.

Government should not attempt to "define" journalist or journalism: Journalism is something people sometimes do, not something people are

In an essay headlined, "Time to Say Who's a Real Reporter," published in the Thursday June 27, 2013 Chicago Sun-Times, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin writes:

A journalist gathers information for a media outlet that disseminates the information through a broadly defined "medium" -- including newspaper, nonfiction book, wire service, magazine, news website, television, radio or motion picture -- for public use. This broad definition covers every form of legitimate journalism.

No, Senator, no it doesn't. It doesn't even come close.

Senator Durbin insists that "not every blogger, tweeter or Facebook user is a 'journalist.'"

But sometimes mere bloggers, tweeters and Facebook users are journalists. Like so much else in the law, their status should depend on what they blog or tweet or post about, not on who they are.

On June 20, 2009 a young man participating in a protest in the streets of Tehran against that year's Iranian election witnessed a Basij militia member shoot a fellow protester, Neda Agha-Soltan, in the heart. He did more than witness. Robert Tait and Matthew Weaver, persons who would qualify as "journalists" under Senator Durbin's definition, explain in the June 22, 2009 edition of the Guardian:

Shortly after 5pm on Saturday ­afternoon, Hamed, an Iranian asylum seeker in the ­Netherlands, took a frantic call from a friend in Tehran.

"A girl has just been killed right next to me," the friend said. It had all ­happened quickly. A young woman, chatting on her mobile phone, had been shot in the chest. She faded before a doctor, who was on the scene, could do anything to help.

There was more. Hamed's friend, who does not want to be named, filmed the incident on his phone. Within moments the footage had landed in Hamed's inbox. Five minutes later it was on YouTube and Facebook.

Within hours it had become one of the most potent threats faced by the ­Iranian regime in 30 years.

"He asked me, is it possible to publish everything right now," Hamed said. "I published it on YouTube and Facebook and five minutes later it started to get many emails and messages and it ­published everywhere.

Hamed and his anonymous friend didn't graduate from Medill. Like as not, they probably had no 'training' in journalism whatsoever. But they were doing journalism in June 2009, if never before or since.

But, in Senator Durbin's scheme, Hamed would be entitled to no journalistic privilege -- meaning he could be compelled to name the friend who sent him the video of Neda's murder.

There are dozens of other examples that could be cited. If the world had to depend on government-designated "journalists" there would have been no Arab Spring: The Arab Spring blossomed because of Facebook and Twitter. The initial news about these uprisings came to the world by these same means.

Certainly, Facebook- and Twitter-use alone does not a journalist make. Endlessly recycled inspirational cartoons or kitten pictures do not amount to journalism. Gangbangers who use Facebook or Twitter to coordinate wildings on Michigan Avenue are not doing journalism either.

But even journalists don't "do journalism" all the time. Mike Royko would have met Senator Durbin's definition, surely, but was he really doing journalism when he was 'reporting' on the latest theories of Dr. I.M. Kooky or recounting the latest exploits of Slats Grobnik?

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin was America's first media mogul, controlling a string of newspapers in several colonial cities at one point. Surely he'd qualify as a journalist under Senator Durbin's definition, too. But was the teenage Ben Franklin a journalist (even though working in his brother's print shop) when he fabricated the Silence Dogood letters?

The individual or individuals who run Second City Cop would probably resent any suggestion that they (or he or she) are journalist(s). Second City Cop regularly makes fun of journalists, particularly when a story posted on the blog is belatedly picked up by the "legitimate" journalists Senator Durbin would want to protect. And yet -- after wading through the partisan rhetoric in which many posts are cloaked -- SCC clearly 'does journalism' on a regular basis. But Senator Durbin would permit (and, I'm sure, several members of the police brass and city government would welcome) exposure of the anonymous bloggers and compel revelation of their sources.

Senator Durbin says that 49 states have already decided who, and who is not, a journalist. In this, the Senator is right, but only because the several states are wrong. Shield statutes have been godsends on occasion, but their protection is woefully uneven because these statutes typically focus on a person's credentials rather than on the activity that the person was engaged in when considering whether that person can be compelled to disclose the sources of the information published.

Thus, in Illinois, the reporter's privilege is codified at §§8-901 to 8-909 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, 735 ILCS 5/8-901 to 8-909. To qualify for the privilege, however, a person must first meet the statutory definition of "reporter" found at §8-902(a):

"Reporter" means any person regularly engaged in the business of collecting, writing or editing news for publication through a news medium on a full-time or part-time basis; and includes any person who was a reporter at the time the information sought was procured or obtained.

The term "news medium" is defined at §8-902(b):

"News medium" means any newspaper or other periodical issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic format and having a general circulation; a news service whether in print or electronic format; a radio station; a television station; a television network; a community antenna television service; and any person or corporation engaged in the making of news reels or other motion picture news for public showing.

Good luck to the blogger trying to squeeze into that definition.

There are many other protections for persons who express themselves, online or off, without resort to special laws for journalists. But the idea of defining journalists in order to "protect" them seems downright un-American. With all due respect to Senator Durbin, a federal law in this regard would be a dangerous and unhealthy step in the wrong direction.

Justice Harris launches 2014 campaign web site

Justice Sheldon A. "Shelly" Harris has launched a campaign website in anticipation of the forthcoming 2014 primary. That's a link to the site in the preceding sentence. (Soon, as campaign websites continue to accumulate, all Cook County judicial campaign websites will be added to the sidebar of this blog.)

Justice Harris was appointed to the Steele vacancy on the Appellate Court in January of this year. However, Harris has been serving on the Appellate Court since 2010 (a quarter of the First District's justices are Cook County Circuit Court judges assigned by the Illinois Supreme Court).

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Related: Justice Steele's retirement prompts Appellate Court reshuffle; Judge Daniel J. Pierce promoted

Attention Chicago Law Schools: Here's how you can help provide equal access to justice and give law students meaningful clinical experience

Hey, Loyola, DePaul, Kent -- I had another one of those calls today.

"Do you do civil cases?"

"Yes," I said (well, maybe, I qualified, but only to myself). "What kind of case do you have?"

It turned out that -- in my opinion -- he didn't have a case, not an economically viable one, anyway.

He had a car, an older car, a 2001 model, but one he used for work each and every day. It ran. He just put $1,000 in it this spring, he told me, for repairs, but a few weeks back some drunk kid ran into it while the car was legally parked, minding its own business. The drunk kid had insurance, but -- my caller told me -- the kid's insurance company only offered him $1,600 for his ruined vehicle.

"I can't get another car for that little money!" he told me, "and I need my car to work. I'm losing money every day!"

Well, we are attorneys and counselors, I though to myself. I sympathize with you, I told him, but the truth of the matter is that you're really only entitled to the fair market value of your totaled vehicle. On a car as old as yours, I said, you can't expect a lot of money. Certain sources are considered authoritative on this, I told him, like the Kelley Blue Book -- but those books just don't put a big price tag on 2001 vehicles, even if they are running well.

"That's what they told me," the man said, "but I looked it up, and they should have given me $2,000."

"Because it was in good condition."

"Exactly."

OK, I told him, maybe you do have a case. For $400.

My caller deflated slightly.

Look, I told him, there's lots of other lawyers smarter than me. Maybe one of them can come up with an angle where you can recoup more of your actual losses. I started to give him the telephone number to the Chicago Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service. (I keep that number -- 312-554-2001 -- handy for occasions like this one.)

"Thank you," he said, "but I already called them. And they gave me lots of numbers. But nobody would take my case, and you're the first person who's taken any time to explain anything."

Hmmm, I said, you might try one of the law schools. They all have clinics. (I'm thinking of you, John Marshall, and you, Northwestern, and you, too, University of Chicago.) Unfortunately, I warned him, they don't seem very interested in the problems of actual working people. Now, I said, if you had an environmental problem, or if you were a public housing resident threatened with eviction because of your criminal record....

"I just want the value of my car," my caller said.

"It's not that you don't have a case," I said, "it's just that maybe law school students can take a case for $400 and get some good experience and do you some good. I take a $400 case and my wife will kill me." (He laughed.) "Seriously, anything I could do for you would cost you more than I think you can get."

He thanked me again and I wished him well. Sometimes, I told him, even when you're in the right, it's just best to move on.

He said he'd think about, and hung up the phone.

I get calls like this once a month -- at least. Sometimes it comes closer to a call a week. I'm just one lawyer. I'm sure lots of other lawyers get calls like these.

A lot of these callers have real, practical cases that no real lawyer can make a dime from -- but why wouldn't a law school consider setting up a clinical program that could handle these kinds of garden-variety consumer issues? They could get experience that might serve them well in real jobs.

Loyola? DePaul? Kent? NU? John Marshall? U of C? Is anybody out there?

Christopher Edward Lawler appointed to Sterba vacancy in 15th Subcircuit

The Illinois Supreme Court yesterday appointed Christopher Edward Lawler to the south suburban 15th Subcircuit vacancy that will be created by the pending retirement of Judge David P. Sterba.

Lawler, an attorney in Illinois since 1988, currently practices with the Chicago law firm of Hilbert, Lawler & Power, Ltd. His appointment is effective July 8, 2013 and expires on December 1, 2014.

Who sits where -- updated edition

Updated 6/25/13 to add the Sterba vacancy.

Updated 6/21/13 to add the Felton vacancy. I apologize for the omission.

This is an update of a post that first appeared in March.

What follows is not a comprehensive list of Cook County judicial vacancies, but rather a list of vacancies that have been filled by Supreme Court appointment. There may be (and often are) vacancies which the Supreme Court has not filled. There will be additional vacancies, and additional appointments between now and late fall when the Illinois State Board of Elections posts an authoritative list of judicial vacancies in anticipation of the 2014 primary.

As always, all errors or omissions in this list are mine alone and I am grateful for additions and corrections provided.

Appellate Court Vacancies

Vacancy of the Hon. Joseph Gordon -- William H. Taylor
Vacancy of the Hon. Michael J. Murphy -- John B. Simon
Vacancy of the Hon. John O. Steele -- Sheldon A. Harris

Countywide Vacancies

Vacancy of the Hon. Nancy J. Arnold -- Alfred M. Swanson, Jr.
Vacancy of the Hon. Dennis J. Burke -- Michael F. Otto
Vacancy of the Hon. Maureen E. Connors -- Peter J. Vilkelis
Vacancy of the Hon. James D. Egan -- Daniel J. Kubasiak
Vacancy of the Hon. Donna Phelps Felton -- Thomas J. Carroll
Vacancy of the Hon. Pamela Hill-Veal --  Andrea M. Buford
Vacancy of the Hon. Nathaniel R. Howse, Jr. -- Caroline K. Moreland
Vacancy of the Hon. Barbara A. McDonald -- Cynthia Y. Cobbs
Vacancy of the Hon. P. Scott Neville -- Gregory Emmett Ahern, Jr.
Vacancy of the Hon. Jesse Reyes -- Jean Margaret Cocozza

Subcircuit Vacancies

4th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Richard J. Billik, Jr. -- Daniel L. Peters

7th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. William H. Taylor II -- Freddrenna M. Lyle

9th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Lee Preston -- Allan W. Masters

10th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Daniel J. Sullivan -- Anthony C. Kyriakopoulos

11th Subcircuit
"A" Vacancy -- Pamela McLean Meyerson

12th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Edward R. Jordan -- James L. Kaplan

13th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Anthony A. Iosco -- Lauretta Higgins Wolfson

15th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. John T. Doody, Jr. -- Diana L. Embil

Vacancy of the Hon. David P. Sterba -- Christopher Edward Lawler

Judicial hopeful Michael Strom in first NTNM candidate interview of the 2014 campaign

Ninth Subcircuit judicial candidate Michael Strom was recently interviewed by Avy Meyers on the North Town News Magazine show, now in rotation on CAN-TV and various suburban cable systems.

My thanks to Mr. Meyers (and his entire technical staff, Sonny Hersh) for allowing me to share these interviews here.

Former Judge Allan W. Masters appointed to Preston vacancy in 9th Subcircuit

The Illinois Supreme Court yesterday appointed Allan W. Masters to a 9th Subcircuit vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Lee Preston. Judge Masters will resume judicial duties today; his appointment expires December 1, 2014. Masters has been licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 1967.

Aside to the Tribune: This is not a recall appointment, although Masters previously served on the bench, most notably in the Domestic Relations Division.

Patricia O'Brien Sheahan announces judicial candidacy, Thursday fundraiser

Patricia O'Brien Sheahan, Associate General Counsel at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), has announced her plans to run for Circuit Court Judge in the 2014 Democratic Primary. That's a link to Sheahan's campaign website in the preceding sentence.

An Evanston resident, Sheahan is a 1996 graduate of the IIT-Kent College of Law. She began her legal career with Baker & McKenzie before moving to the Rehabilitation Institute in 1999.

Her campaign press release notes that Sheahan been active with the Center for Disability and Elder Law (CDEL), which provides pro bono legal services to low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities, serving as a member of the Governing Board of Directors for CDEL for nearly 15 years. She is also the Secretary of the St. Joan of Arc School Parent/Student Organization and has been a volunteer serving the needy at a soup kitchen run by the Evanston Ecumenical Council of Churches. Her husband, T.J., is is a partner in the Litigation Group at the law firm Freeborn & Peters, LLP and is the son of retired Cook County Sheriff Michael F. Sheahan.

Per email received from the Sheahan campaign, a kickoff fundraiser has been scheduled for tomorrow night, June 6, at English, 444 N. LaSalle Street, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Individual tickets are $150 each. Sponsorships are available ($250 – Friend, $500 – Benefactor, $750 – Sponsor, and $1,500 – Co-Chair). Attorney Robert A. Clifford of Clifford Law Offices is hosting the event and chairing Sheahan's campaign. To reserve tickets or for more information about the event, call Brittany Riordan at (312) 259-9341.

Greg Ahern announces 2014 election bid

Judge Gregory Emmet Ahern, Jr., who was appointed late last year to the countywide Neville vacancy, has announced plans to run for election in the 2014 Democratic primary. That's a link to Ahern's campaign website in the preceding sentence; the campaign also has a Facebook page up and running.

Ahern was a candidate for the 6th Subcircuit vacancy in the 2012 primary. At the time of his appointment to the bench, Ahern was serving as a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney. Ahern's campaign website notes that, while an ASA, he prosecuted more than 50 felony trials, including more than 25 first degree murder cases.

Illinois Judges Foundation plans July 23 Comedy Night

The Illinois Judges Foundation and its Auxiliary Committee are hosting a Comedy Night fundraiser on Tuesday evening, July 23 at the Second City e.t.c. stage, 230 W. North Avenue.

A reception begins at 6:00; the show starts at 7:15.

Tickets are $100 each, and sponsorship opportunities are available.

To purchase tickets or for questions about sponsorships or any other questions about the event, visit this page on the IJF website, send an email to ijf@chicagobar.org, or call Kevin Fagan at 312-554-2008 or Christine Athanasoulis at 708-705-4355.

Linda J. Pauel plans 10th Subcircuit judicial bid

Linda J. Pauel, who was a candidate for the countywide Dolan vacancy in the 2010 Democratic Primary, has announced her 2014 candidacy for judge in the 10th Judicial Subcircuit.

Pauel's campaign website is pauelforjudge.com. In a statement on her Facebook page, Pauel wrote, "We need qualified and fair-minded people in all branches of government, my focus is the judiciary."

A 1991 graduate of the IIT Chicago-Kent Law School (from which she graduated summa cum laude and with the Order of the Coif), Pauel is employed by the City of Chicago Law Department.

Judge Mary Anne Mason assigned to Appellate Court

In an order entered yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court assigned Judge Mary Anne Mason to the Illinois Appellate Court.

Judge Mason, who presently sits in the Chancery Division, will assume her new duties on July 8, after Justice David P. Sterba retires.

Justice Sterba was also serving in the Appellate Court by assignment. His July 1 resignation will open up a vacancy in the 15th Judicial Subcircuit for the 2014 election cycle.

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UPDATED to insert link to corrected appointment order issued earlier today. Also, the Supreme Court has today released this press release concerning Judge Mason's appointment.

Norwood Park Memorial Day Parade photos

We were a little late arriving this year. It couldn't be helped. My regular photographer brought a very young assistant with her this year and said assistant had to be off-loaded on Grandpa before my photographer could set up.

We missed most of the politicians and the squad of riflemen dressed in uniforms from the Revolution to World War II that set off a volley on our corner.  My photographer may have dawdled a little on purpose; she thought her young assistant would have some problems with the gunshot noise (and she did have trouble, later on, when a muscle car revved too loudly as it went by).

But my photographer was able to capture a lot of the groups that came out to honor America's fallen heroes in Norwood Park's 2013 Memorial Day Parade.

The Taft High School Navy JROTC

And you can't have a parade without bands....

No neighborhood parade is complete without lots and lots of school groups, scout troops and packs.

Norwood Park Lutheran Cub Pack

Cub Scouts from St. Monica's

The St. Thecla group brought its own classic car

Cub Pack from St. Tarcissus

Immaculate Conception Parish Girl Scouts

For more pictures from Monday's parade, click here to turn to Page Two.

Death of a Downstate judge, downfall of another

Joseph D. Christ was serving as an Assistant State's Attorney in far Downstate St. Clair County when the judges of the 20th Judicial Circuit elected him as an associate judge this past February.

Ten days after he was sworn in, Judge Christ was dead.

At first, the death of the 49-year old, married father of six was attributed to natural causes. That's what Marlon A. Walker reported in the March 12 editions of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Walker wrote that Christ died on a duck-hunting trip with friends.

More specifically, he died in a Pike County hunting lodge owned by fellow Judge Michael N. Cook.

And then, as Robert Patrick reported for the Post-Dispatch, the Pike County Sheriff (who doubles as Pike County Coroner) found cocaine underneath Judge Christ's body. Toxicology reports suggested the presence of both cocaine and alcohol and authorities are now convinced that Christ died of a drug overdoes.

Judge Cook was only other person in the hunting lodge when Christ died and Cook was arrested on federal drug charges on May 22. But these charges are not related to the death of Judge Christ.

Beth Hundsdorfer of the Bellville News-Democrat wrote in a May 27 story published on the Post-Dispatch website that Cook appeared for an initial hearing before the federal magistrate last Friday "wearing cut-offs, a 'Bad is my middle name' T-shirt and shackles as he was arraigned on federal charges of possessing a weapon while using drugs and possession of heroin." Cook was arrested in the home of a 34-year old friend and former client, Sean McGilvery, who has also been charged, according to Hundsdorfer's article, "on two federal counts, conspiracy to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute heroin."

On May 28 the Springfield State Journal-Register carried an AP story claiming that a St. Clair County probation worker, James Fogarty, admitted to an FBI informant that he'd provided cocaine to both Judges Cook and Christ.

Paul Hampel writes in the May 29 Post-Dispatch that Cook has resigned from the bench -- or tried to. The Supreme Court had not yet received Cook's resignation letter and, according to Hampel's article, "The Supreme Court requires that a judge’s resignation be in writing to the chief justice, with a copy to the justice in the district in which the resignation takes place and to the director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts." The delay may be caused by the fact that Cook's access to the outside world is currently limited: Though free on bail, Cook has entered a drug treatment facility.

St. Louis television station KSDK reports that Judge Cook handled 90 percent of the circuit's drug court cases.

Cook, 43, was elected an associate judge in St. Clair County in 2007. He was appointed a circuit judge by the Supreme Court in October 2010, a month before he would have won election to the bench in an uncontested race.

The mysterious pricing of medical services -- the government reveals what it is charged and what it pays for a variety of medical services

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), f/k/a the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), recently released a massive report on health care costs comparing, according to the agency's press release, "comparing the charges for services that may be provided during the 100 most common Medicare inpatient stays" that hospitals bill to the government.

Quoting from the CMS press release:

These amounts can vary widely. For example, average inpatient charges for services a hospital may provide in connection with a joint replacement range from a low of $5,300 at a hospital in Ada, Okla., to a high of $223,000 at a hospital in Monterey Park, Calif.

Even within the same geographic area, hospital charges for similar services can vary significantly. For example, average inpatient hospital charges for services that may be provided to treat heart failure range from a low of $21,000 to a high of $46,000 in Denver, Colo., and from a low of $9,000 to a high of $51,000 in Jackson, Miss.

Just for fun, I looked at the report and selected a number of Chicago area hospitals comparing prices billed for treatment of chest pains. Interestingly, at least in this miniscule sample, the amounts paid are not necessarily proportionate to the amounts billed. These are my notes:

Treatment for "Chest Pain"
Hospital Name	Amt. Billed	Amt. Paid
Swedish Covenant	$23,159	$4,229
Jackson Park	$22,150	$5,023
Resurrection Medical Center	$20,641	$3,679
Mt. Sinai	$17,735	$5,671
Little Company of Mary	$17,392	$4,042
Advocate Christ Medical Center	$16,155	$4,843
Mercy Hospital	$10,553	$5,040
Stroger (Cook County) Hospital	$7,616	$4,229

Now the CMS press release suggests (but, in fairness, does not claim) that the amounts billed to the government are also the amounts billed to private insurers for the same services. I don't believe that to be the case. Based on my experience in handling injury claims, it seems to me that hospitals bill one price to Medicare and Medicaid but a different (and lower) price to private insurers. The amounts billed may even vary from insurer to insurer. It seems to me that Blue Cross might negotiate a different rate for (say) an overnight hospital stay than United Health, while the government receives still a third figure for the overnight stay of a Medicare or Medicaid recipient. Perhaps someone with knowledge on this point might leave a comment -- although I'd bet that hard data on every hospital's private insurer billing is guarded like the Colonel's original recipe or the formula for Coca-Cola.

I can understand how a service might be priced differently from hospital to hospital: One hospital's treatment philosophy might differ from another. Hospital A may have more experienced (older and pricier) physicians on staff than Hospital B. One can imagine all sorts of reasons -- although some of the variances revealed by this report seem rather extreme.

Still, for me, the real question is how the health industry gets away with no-set-price pricing for the same service at the same hospital. Can you imagine going into your neighborhood Jewel and finding that the same box of one dozen eggs or gallon of 2% milk might have three or four different prices depending on who brings it to the checkout line?

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HT to the ISBA listserv, where I first saw a discussion of this report.

For further reading, see the Washington Post Wonkblog, One hospital charges $8,000 — another, $38,000

James Crawley announces 2014 judicial bid

Chicago attorney James P. Crawley has announced that he plans to run for judge in the 2014 judicial primary.

An Illinois attorney since 1990, Crawley practices law with James P. Crawley & Associates, Ltd.

Crawley says he will seek slating from the Democratic Party for either a countywide judicial vacancy or in the 10th Judicial Subcircuit, where he resides (Crawley is a resident of the Jefferson Park neighborhood).

Crawley's campaign says that Crawley's "volunteer activities include serving on the board of Jane Addams Hull House–Uptown Center, and AIDS Care, Inc., a residential facility for people living with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. He served on the citizens’ advisory council to the Chicago Police Department, and has donated to inner-city youth organizations such as Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, the Women Everywhere Project, and Windy City Hoops, which organizes activities in neighborhoods hard hit by gang violence."

According to his campaign announcement, Crawley was born in Joliet, and raised in a family of union workers. He received his undergraduate degree in 1986 from Loyola University Chicago and his law degree in 1989 from Saint Louis University School of Law. During his college years, Crawley served as an aide to then-U.S. Senator Paul Simon.

Crawley advises that he is a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Chicago Bar Association and Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago. Crawley is also a member of the trial bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Crawley has been married since 2008, his campaign announcement states.

Daniel E. Ingram is the Chair of Crawley's campaign committee, Citizens to Elect James Patrick Crawley. The committee can be reached by email at CrawleyForJudge@gmail.com.

Michael Strom announces 9th Subcircuit judicial bid

It begins.

Chicago attorney Michael A. Strom has announced his candidacy for judge in the north suburban 9th Judicial Subcircuit.

Licensed in Illinois since 1977, Strom is currently of counsel to Strom & Associates, Ltd.. He was formerly an attorney for CNA Insurance.

Strom is the 2012-2013 President of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers and for 27 years has worked as a teacher and coach with the Chicago Coalition for Law-Related Education, teaching course work on criminal and civil trial process at South Shore High School and coaching high school mock trial teams that in city-wide competitions. (Strom's LinkedIn page notes that South Shore has won two citywide championships during his tenure.)

Strom's campaign committee can be reached at stromforjudge2014@gmail.com.

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Attention 2014 Cook County Judicial Candidates: If you're ready to go public with your 2014 plans, send me an email. Use that link or the link in the Sidebar of this blog.