Happy New Year to everybody, and updates on rampant corruption in Illinois Court and "Bait &Switch" scam with judicial elections. Please feel free to publish on your blogs; and pass to other anti-corruption groups. Lets make 2018 as "ZERO Tolerance to Corruption" year.
In an order entered yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Clare J. Quish, a partner at Schuyler, Roche & Crisham, to the countywide vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Michelle D. Jordan. Quish’s appointment is effective June 28 and will terminate on December 3, 2018; which appears to be a typical Illinois “bait and switch” scam with judicial elections; and sales of jobs to preferred cronies.
According to public records, 272 lawyers applied for this judicial position and paid $40,000.00 just to be slotted. Which means that IL Supreme Court and Board of Elections received minimum $10,800,000.00 from lawyers who were thinking that they are honestly compete for this judicial job opening.
But the seat went to Justice Theis’ former Law Clerk, Clare Quish from a wealthy well-connected family*, who was also on IL Supreme Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness. According to Clare Quish, she will restore public confidence in justice.
Clare Quish is the second partner from Schuyler, Roche & Crisham’s law Firm appointed by Justice Theis; and her second Law Clerk in this Court.
The first one was Judge Jean M. Prendergast Rooney, who also clerked for Theis in Appeal Court. Rooney was from a well-connected bankers, lawyers, realtors family who donated substantial amounts of money for well-connected Justice Theis’ election.
Both Justice Theis’ clerks -Claire Quish, Jean Prendergast and their employer Schuyler, Roche& Crisham donated substantial amounts of money for Justice Theis election.
Claire Quish also donated substantial amounts of money $40,200.00, to IL Democratic Party (aka Mr. Michael Madigan)
A 2000 graduate of Loyola University School of Law, where Justice Theis is a mentor, Quish began her legal career as a law clerk to then-Appellate Court Justice Mary Jane Theis. In the 2004-05 school year, Quish was an Adjunct Professor of Appellate Advocacy at Loyola. Judge Jane Prendergast Rooney also graduated from Loyola.
Both of these appointments were made at the recommendation of Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis who always welcomes to the bench generous, well-connected cronies from Supreme Court’s famous “Family and Friends Club”.
While IL Supreme Court carefully avoided to mention Clare Quish’s connections with Justice Theis, Quish posted them on her election page, and even accompanied by pictures where Justice Theis takes a judicial oath from her second former law clerk after cheating 272 lawyers of fair election.
Public comments posted on http://leyhane.blogspot.com/
5 comments:
So it happens again. This time, I for one am again happy that I applied for the countywide Jordan vacancy and was NOT selected. Why you ask? Well, because in past years I thought I had a shot. I thought my judicial references mattered. I thought my bar evaluations mattered. I thought my answers to the ridiculous essay questions mattered. I thought my clean ARDC record mattered. I thought how many bench and jury trials mattered. I thought opinions of opposing counsel mattered. They do not.
I have come to learn they really do not carry as much weight as the one factor that really does matter: BEING THE INSIDER. Even at this level. Even though this Supreme Court Judge set up a bipartisan blue ribbon screening committee in an effort to demonstrate transparency in her process, being the insider is all that matters. Her process has given us a judge who, as an attorney, was actually sitting on the Justice’s screening committee. Now, after presumingly months of painstakingly reviewing applications from all four far away corners of the county, and everywhere in between, the blue ribbon committee rubber stamps, and the Justice, in her supreme wisdom and fairness, settles on her former law clerk. Yes, her former law clerk. Let that soak in for awhile.
Getting back around to why I am happy I was not selected for this vacancy. This appointment demonstrates to me that I, and most likely most of you as well, will never be selected for a judicial vacancy in Cook County. Unless of course you are an INSIDER. Which I, and most of you, are not. Political or otherwise. We are saved a ton of needless future work. No need to labor over applications for future vacancies. No need to anxiously wait for the letter or phone call that never comes. I am done.
So, no sour grapes here. I want to end on a positive note. My most sincere congratulations to new Judge Quish. I will be the one you are looking down at from the bench in traffic court in a few weeks. Congratulations to the blue ribbon selection committee, especially co-chairs Justice Gallagher and Judge Anderson. Well done boys. And Congratulations to Justice Theis. Very well done Justice. Another outstanding job.
Sincerely,
The Guy Nobody Sent
The Guy Nobody Sent
Anonymous said…
In addition to being the Justice’s former law clerk, Quish also serves on a Supreme Court Committee. It is not unreasonable to think that Quish expressed her interest in becoming a Judge to her former boss. In fact, why wouldn’t she? Further speculating, it is not unreasonable to believe that Justice Theis was well aware that Quish was interested in the Bench. That being said, I find it outrageous that Justice Theis employed the “blue ribbon selection committee” in filling the Jordan vacancy with Quish. It is just stupid and it gives more than the appearance of impropriety. Moreover, everyone else that applied must feel that by appointing Quish they were slapped in the face. The Theis selection process, with respect to this vacancy anyway, looks like a total sham.
My unsolicited advise to Justice Theis is just appoint (as E.P. says) the “friends and family” absent the fake dog and pony show blue ribbon selection committee. No fluffy press releases telling us how great Quish or before her, Conlon, are. You can do that Justice, you are a Supreme. Then, every once in a while, have a real honest to goodness competition using your selection committee. Make it fair and honest.
And if Quish was not enough, please do not get me started on the Mikva appointment to the Appellate Court. If the Mikva name sounds familiar to anyone with respect to Democratic Politics, it should.
I score these two Theis appointments: “Friends and Family” 2 “Outsides” 0 And the game is called because a flash flood of good old Cook County Patronage has overtaken the playing field.
Anonymous said…
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Jan 3
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To: Attorney General Madigan and Jerome Larkin, administrator of the IARDC.
We have heard from the Chicago Tribune and others that to become a Judge in Cook County, a bundle of cash has to be paid to an official of the Democratic Party. A columnist writing in the Chicago Tribune averred that it was $50,000 cash in a gym bag, however, the street has it at over $100,000. Chicago Summer in the highlighted paragraph suggests a more widespread corruption (fraud). In fact she has suggested in her e-mails a major cesspool of corruption open and notoriously conducting a criminal enterprise in Illinois. (shades of OPERATION GREYLORD).
Indeed, I recognize that the IARDC considers any compliance with either Rule 8.3 or 18 USCA 4 to be ethically challenged for a lawyer, and recorded by Jerome Larkin as being akin to "yelling fire in a crowded theater!" however, I join with Chicago Summer in demanding that Ms. Summer's allegations of corruption, fraud, and serious criminal conduct being perpetrated in the Courts of Illinois receive an HONEST INVESTIGATION and if the allegations of corruption be found accurate that the miscreants and all the political people who directly or indirectly aid and abet the criminal enterprise be HONESTLY and DILIGENTLY prosecuted.
It is really time for a Illinois to clean house. Illinois is on the verge of Bankruptcy and has become such a cesspool that many of its citizens are literally FLEEING THE STATE! The sham political contributions are INCOME and should be taxed. Illinois citizens should not be burdened with oppressive taxes when so many members of the POLITICAL elite (and Judicial elite) are give an unauthorized reprieve from paying takes on the booty derived from their criminal activities.
Ken Ditkowsky
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