Some Madison County voters may have to wait ‘a decade or more’ to elect a circuit judge
Two Republican judges running to keep their seats in Madison County had to sell their homes and move following recent changes to circuit court elections. But they say the bigger issue is the long-term impact on voters.
Two-thirds of Madison County voters may not have a say in electing circuit court judges for years if changes by the Illinois legislature remain in place, said Judge Amy Sholar of the Third Judicial Circuit. It’s one of 23 circuits statewide.
“It’s a personal challenge for us, but more importantly it affects the voters of Madison County,” said Sholar, who is running for her seat after the state Supreme Court appointed her last year.
Before the changes went into effect, voters anywhere in the county could elect judges for six-year terms.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law in January changing how Madison County votes for judges. It divides the county into three sections called subcircuits. Candidates must run in the subcircuit where they live. The change is effective this year for Madison and Lake counties, where there are vacancies; other circuit courts will follow in 2024.
Democratic House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch has said the subcircuits will allow communities to elect judges who represent their interests and create diversity on the bench. Welch could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Sholar says “political forces are at work” behind the change that affects her and Judge Christopher Threlkeld. State Democrats control the legislature, which has administrative control over the circuit courts.
To run for her seat, Sholar and her husband had to sell their Godfrey home, which they just finished renovating a year ago. They moved into a rental home roughly a mile and a half away. Threlkeld, who has held his seat since February 2020, sold his Edwardsville home of nearly 25 years to move with his wife into an apartment in Wood River. Both judges hope to buy homes in the subcircuit.
“If I could have just moved the boundary a little bit, I would have been just fine,” Threlkeld said.
There were only two judicial openings this year, with a total of eight judges in the circuit. The law mandated that the first subcircuit will elect those two positions. The next three will be elected by voters in the second subcircuit, and the last two from the third subcircuit.
“Given the length of time that judges typically sit on the bench before retiring and going through retention and so forth, this could mean that people in the Third Judicial Subcircuit may be waiting for a decade or more before they get to elect a circuit judge,” Threlkeld said.
Like other candidates, Threlkeld and Sholar have to gather signatures to get on the ballot. The candidates had been circulating petitions countywide, but the change meant they had to limit themselves to the first subcircuit. Both say they have enough signatures to submit before the March 23 deadline, and said voters were supportive, if not a little confused.
“I’ve had people say to me, ‘Wait, you can hear my divorce case but I don’t get to vote on you?” Sholar said. “They want an opportunity to speak just like everybody else.”
The Madison County state’s attorney, also a Republican, challenged the law in court. The case was dismissed, but State’s Attorney Tom Haine filed an appeal this week.
Haine’s lawsuit claimed the change burdened Madison County election officials. County Clerk Debra Ming-Mendoza said her office has finished updating information for candidates. Registration cards telling voters which races they’ll vote in go out this week or next.
Sholar and Threlkeld say they expect to be on the ballot.
“It was a big shift, I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Sholar said, “It’s a job I always wanted and believe in regardless of the subcircuit. I’m going to work for all of Madison County.”
