Three St. Clair County judges will remain on the ballot, appeals court rules

Three St. Clair County judges who chose to run for election rather than retention will remain on the ballot, a state appeals court has ruled.

St. Clair County Chief Judge John Baricevic and Circuit Judges Robert Haida and Bob LeChien each filed paperwork to retire in December 2016, but then followed up with paperwork to run for the vacancies they created in the November 2016 general election. Usually, judges run for retention, where 60 percent of the voters must cast their ballots to return them to the bench. In an election, the judges would need only a simple majority of votes to win.

Belleville City Clerk Dallas Cook said Friday he didn’t know about filing an appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. He said he was $80,000 in debt because of the legal battle. Another appeal would require finding a financial backer within the next 30 days.

“The time is ticking. My pockets are empty,” Cook said. “I need someone with deeper pockets than me to step up and take up this fight to make judges do things the right way.”

Because the three judges aren’t specifically barred from retiring then running for the seats in a general election by the Constitution, the appellate justice found they had to allow the judges to remain on the ballot.

“Judges get elected to follow the Constitution. Every day when we go to work, we try to follow the Constitution. As candidates, we try to follow the Constitution,” Baricevic said. “The Appellate Court in their order affirmed that we were following the Constitution. I’m pleased with that decision. The voters will decide. That’s all we ever wanted was for the voters to have the choice.”

Cook filed an objection with the Illinois State Board of Elections to the judges’ nomination papers, saying under Illinois law the three judges must run for retention. The board took no action.

Then Cook filed a lawsuit against the board in Sangamon County Circuit Court. At a hearing in February, the court denied his petition.

On Thursday, the Fourth District Appellate Court in Springfield said in an 11-page decision the three judges should remain on the ballot. It was a unanimous decision by justices John Turner, Thomas Harris and Lisa Holder White.

“While legitimate public policy arguments may exist for limiting elected judges to the retention process only, the 1970 Constitution was not written with such a limitation, and we are bound to uphold the constitution as it is written,” the opinion stated.

Without a financial backer, it appears the fight may end with this decision, Cook said.

“I know I am right but three strikes and you’re out,” Cook said. “Sometimes the good guy doesn’t win.”

This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Three St. Clair County judges will remain on the ballot, appeals court rules."