The state of the State

In December the Illinois Supreme Court will have three new members, joining three judges who took office only two years before. All told, six out of the seven judges will have changed within two years.

In fact, the justices in December will be very young in high court experience. Before the 1990 elections, the seven Supreme Court justices had a collective 114 years on the court. In December, the seven justices will have a combined total 14 years on the court. In December the court's senior member will be Fourth District Justice Benjamin K. Miller, a Springfield Republican, who joined the court in 1984.

More than longevity is changing. The Illinois Supreme Court had consisted exclusively of white males until 1990, when First District Justice Charles E. Freeman, the court's first black member, was elected as a Democrat from Cook County. The 1992 candidates include both blacks and women.

A pair of retirements created two vacancies. First District Justice William G. Clark, 67, a Chicago Democrat, and Second District Justice Thomas J. Moran, 71, a Lake Forest Republican, who joined the Supreme Court together in 1976, announced in December that they would resign on December 7, 1992. Although their terms would not end until 1996, both justices chose to retire now to allow candidates for their seats to seek nomination and election in 1992.

The third vacancy came from the June 3 death of Fifth District Justice Horace L. Calvo, a Democrat who joined the court in 1988. The court named Democrat Joseph H. Cunningham to fill the vacancy until the 1992 election.

Dennis Rendleman, general counsel for the Illinois State Bar Association, says this could be a period of great change on the court. New members will bring new viewpoints, varied backgrounds and their own agendas. Dave Anderson, director of public relations for the Illinois State Bar Association, says that there are many possible coalitions that could form within the new court.

Despite the significance of the 1992 election to the makeup of the Supreme Court, little attention will be paid the races. "This leaves a lot of mystery about who the candidates are and what they stand for," says Jack Van Der Slik, a political scientist at Sangamon State University (SSU). That shows up in low voter turnout. The number of votes cast for judicial candidates is significantly lower than for other elections, adds Van Der Slik.

Although most of the attention given state governments goes to the governor or to the General Assembly, the Supreme Court is a coequal branch of government. It was the Supreme Court that had the final say on the legislative maps. It was the Supreme Court that nixed the Tax Accountability Amendment. It will be the Supreme Court that decides whether the state's current school financing scheme violates the Illinois Constitution.

While the profile of the court will continue evolving with the 1992 election, the political makeup of the court isn't expected to shift. The current four-to-three partisan edge that Democrats enjoy is unlikely to change. The only conceivable political upheaval would be a Republican victory in the Fifth District (Calvo's southern Illinois seat), says Frank Kopecky, in SSU's Center for Legal Studies.

The March 17 primary will eliminate 15 of the 20 candidates. Primary winners will square off in the November election. The candidates are profiled on the following pages.

8/February 1992/Illinois Issues

Primary candidates for Illinois Supreme Court

First District (Cook County)
William G. Clark vacancy

Democrats

Thomas P. Durkin, 49, Chicago, has been a judge for 13 years. He has served six years in the sixth municipal court and another seven years as a Cook County criminal court judge.

Durkin received his J.D. from Loyola University in Chicago in 1967. From 1967 until 1969 he worked as an assistant Cook County state's attorney; he then became a partner in the Chicago law firm of Ackerman, Durkin and Egan. Durkin is on the faculty of Loyola Law School and the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.

Durkin says the court needs to improve its public image in light of a decade of unfortunate scandals. Durkin also says the high court must struggle to streamline handling "the explosion of criminal and civil cases."

Edna Selan Epstein, 53, Chicago, founded the Edna Selan Epstein Law Offices in 1989. Before that she specialized in commercial litigation, as an associate then as a partner at Sidley and Austin from 1976 to 1989. Epstein spent three years in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, first as head of sex felony prosecutions and then in the civil, criminal and appellate divisions.

Epstein received her J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1973 and lectured there from 1980 to 1982. She continues to lecture at various trial advocacy courses.

Epstein says the Supreme Court is highly political and should not be. She would like to depoliticize the judicial selection process and make the court more accessible, visible and respected.

Michael J. Howlett, 43, Chicago, was the lieutenant governor candidate on Adlai Stevenson's Solidarity Party ticket in 1986. He served as deputy outside counsel for the House Committee investigation of U.S. House Speaker James Wright (D-Texas).

In 1973 Howlett earned his law degree from the University of Notre Dame. He served as the assistant U.S. attorney and was an associate judge in Cook County from 1983 until 1986.

Howlett has taught at the University of Chicago Law School for nine years and has been a partner in the Chicago law firm, Pope and John. He says Illinois' "legal culture" must be improved so that judges and lawyers are proud of what they do and litigants feel secure their cases will be fairly decided.

Blanche M. Manning, 57, Chicago, has been a First District appellate court judge since 1987. A judge since 1979, she served as both an associate judge and a circuit court judge in Cook County. In 1988 and 1991 she was presiding judge for the first division. Manning has also been an assistant Cook County state's attorney, supervisory trial attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and an assistant U.S. attorney.

Manning received her J.D. from John Marshall Law School in 1967. She received a master's degree in urban studies from Roosevelt University in 1972.

Manning says that the Supreme Court must instill confidence in the judiciary. She says the court should address the need for services to the indigent.

Mary Ann McMorrow, 62, Chicago, has served as a First District appellate court judge since 1985. From 1976 to 1985, McMorrow worked in the domestic relations and law divisions of the Cook County Circuit Court.

McMorrow served as an assistant Cook County state's attorney. In private practice she specialized in civil and criminal trials as well as appellate court review. She was president of the Women's Bar Association in Illinois in 1975 and 1976.

McMorrow says the most important challenge facing the court is the need to create an alternative means of dispute resolution to ease the backlog of litigation. She says she would bring a "new and different viewpoint to the court, along with a willingness to reexamine some rules of law to make them meet the needs of today's society."

John P. Tully, 55, Chicago, First District appellate judge since 1990, was elected a Cook County circuit judge in 1984. Tully presided over jury trials for four years and over housing and probate cases for one year each.

Before joining the bench, Tully spent 14 years as a trial lawyer in family practice. He specialized in personal injury and domestic relations cases and authored the book, Divorce Without Tears.

Tully describes himself as a candidate who "gets out and shakes hands" and adds that he has won four county elections without backing from the Democratic party. He says it is "time for Cook County to have someone represent its interests and be an open, free thinker in times of high crime and high taxes."

Ellis E. Reid, 57, Chicago, presiding judge of the first municipal district of the Cook County Circuit Court since 1990, supervises more than 82 judges, the second largest number in the nation. Reid has been a judge since 1985.

Reid received his J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1959. In private practice, Reid specialized in personal injury and jury call cases. From 1970 to 1972, he worked as the special assistant state's attorney.

Reid says that he has the "common touch and common sense to make a good justice." As chair of the Illinois Judges' Association Inter-Bar Relations Committee, Reid says that he is familiar with most Illinois judges and has a feel for what happens in the state's 102 counties.

Dom J. Rizzi, 59, Northbrook, has been a First District appellate judge since 1978. Before that he was a circuit court judge for a year.

Rizzi has a J.D. degree from DePaul University and was a trial and appellate lawyer from 1961 until 1977. He teaches at Loyola Law School. Rizzi was a founding member and past president of the Appellate Lawyers' Association of Illinois.

Rizzi believes that the court must remove politics and party liaisons from the judiciary. He favors merit selection. He says that the auditor general should be able to audit all funds the court holds. And he says that the court should have its own inspector general to investigate wrongdoing on the court.

Jill K. McNulty, 56, Chicago, has been a First District appellate judge since 1990. She was named an associate judge in 1979 and won election as a circuit court judge in 1982.

McNulty received her J.D. from Northwestern University Law School in 1960. She taught for 10 years as a law professor at Illinois Institute of Technology-Chicago Kent College of Law. She received the Illinois Judicial Council's Meritorious Service Award in 1990.

McNulty says that her election could diversify the judiciary by initiating the participation of qualified women on the high court. She wants to bring high standards of scholarship to the court and to restore public confidence in the judiciary.

Republicans

Themis Anagnost, 78, Chicago, has spent more than 51 years in all branches of law. He received his J.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology-Chicago Kent College of Law and his L.L.M. from John Marshall School of Law.

During 51 years in general law practice, Anagnost says he has handled every category of legal case and has maintained a library of appellate and Supreme Court decisions.

Anagnost says that his career in law qualifies

February 1992/Illinois Issues/9

The state of the State

him for the court and that his lifetime of diverse study in the classics and history will provide fresh perspectives and promote creative solutions. Anagnost wants to initiate discussions with state lawmakers to aid in drafting legislation so that misinterpretation is minimized.

Robert Chapman Buckley, 68, Arlington Heights, has been a First District appellate court judge since 1978. He was a circuit court judge for six years. A lifelong Democrat, he ran unsuccessfully for the Supreme Court as a Republican against Charles E. Freeman in 1990.

Buckley received his J.D. from Georgetown University. He was in private practice from 1953 to 1966 and is a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force.

Buckley served as presiding judge in the first division from 1983 to 1986. He chaired the Illinois Appellate Court Executive Committee in 1989. He is currently pursuing a federal court suit to block the Supreme Court's rule prohibiting candidates from discussing the issues. He calls the rule unconstitutional.

Second District (Northern Illinois)
Thomas J. Moran vacancy

Republicans

John L. Nickels, 61, Maple Park, has been on the Second District appellate court since 1989. He was elected as a circuit judge in 1982.

Before joining the bench, Nickels practiced law for 27 years. His general practice included business and farm law, estate planning, and probate and trust work. Nickels has also been an elected trustee of Waubonsee Community College, a member of the Kane County Zoning Board of Appeals and the Kane County Planning Commission.

Nickels says his experience would allow him to make a significant contribution on the court. He says that the court must meet the challenge of "combating organized crime, drug crime and gang activity without greater invasion of individual rights."

George William Unverzagt, 61, Bloomingdale, has been a judge of the Second District appellate court since 1979. Unverzagt was elected circuit judge in 1970 and served as chief judge of the circuit court of DuPage County from 1975 to 1979.

Unverzagt received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1959 and began his career as an attorney for the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad. From 1961 until 1970 he worked in private practice in DuPage County.

Unverzagt has been an alderman for Elmhurst, a Republican precinct chairman and the village attorney for Willowbrook, Villa Park, Wayne and Oakbrook. He says he would bring "industry, integrity and independence" to the Supreme Court.

Thomas J. O'Donnell, 50, Darien, spent seven years as an assistant Cook County state's attorney before opening his private practice in 1982. O'Donnell has tried cases, ranging from misdemeanors to federal crimes and civil rights.

O'Donnell received his J.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology-Chicago Kent College of Law in 1974 and his L.L.M. from DePaul University.

The Supreme Court, says O'Donnell, "is spinning along without a conscience" and should be making an aggressive effort to upgrade public opinion of attorneys and the judiciary. He says that he would be an outspoken opponent of merit selection for judges and a "voice of reason and conscience on the court."

John L. Moore, 60, Oregon, has been a circuit court judge since 1978. He received his J.D. from Northwestern University in 1956. He was in private practice from 1957 until 1964 and was Ogle County state's attorney from 1964 until 1968.

Moore was a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Criminal Jury Instruction from 1976 until 1981. He chaired the Northwestern Illinois Criminal Justice Commission in 1976 and 1977.

Moore says his 20 years experience and intellectual capacity would help him make good decisions while serving on the Supreme Court. He also says that as the administrative body of the court system, the Supreme Court could be more forceful in regulating the system that has been damaged by a "few rotten apples."

Fifth District (Southern Illinois)
Horace L. Calvo vacancy

Democrats

Carl H. Becker, 64, Red Bud, lost a 1986 primary bid to run for the Supreme Court. Becker, now retired as resident circuit court judge of Randolph County, began his judicial career in 1963, serving as circuit court judge until 1989.

Becker graduated from Valparaiso University Law School and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1955. He practiced law in Effingham from 1955 to 1956, before joining the Chicago Title and Trust Company from 1956 until 1961. He was city attorney of Red Bud in 1961 and 1962.

Becker says his wide range of experience will allow him to understand fully the results of any decision by the court. He says the court must address loss of public trust in the legal system.

Moses W. Harrison II, 59, Caseyville, has been a Fifth District appellate court judge since 1979. Before that he spent six years on the circuit court.

Harrison received his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis. He has served as president of the Madison County Bar Association and was a member of the. Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors.

Harrison says he knows the problems of the people of Illinois from his 15 years of private practice and 18 years as a judge. He says that he could listen to and reason with his colleagues to develop "good and reasoned decisions on the Supreme Court." Harrison also says that the court should "promptly deliver services to every citizen so they know courts are available to all."

Charles W. Chapman, 50, Edwardsville, has been a Fifth District appellate court judge since 1988 and was a circuit court judge for nine years before that.

Chapman will finish his L.L.M. at the University of Virginia in May. He received his J.D. from St. Louis University in 1967. From 1968 until 1979 Chapman handled both trial and appellate cases in his private practice. He received an award for outstanding state trial judge by the American Trial Lawyers' Association in 1984.

Chapman teaches trial advocacy and directs the night school program at St. Louis University. He has contributed to a manual of complex litigation and coauthored a book on product liability. Chapman says the Supreme Court needs to reduce delays in the legal system.

Republicans

Don W. Weber, 43, Edwardsville, an attorney in Collinsville, served as Madison County state's attorney from 1980 to 1984. He prosecuted the Paula Sims kidnapping/murder case and is coauthor of Precious Victims, a bestseller about the case.

Weber received his J.D. from St. Louis University in 1975. He also holds a bachelor's degree in ceramic engineering from the University of Illinois. He has done various stints as a prosecutor in Madison, Jersey and Ford counties, while maintaining his private practice.

Weber is a former Collinsville streets commissioner and was a delegate to the 1980 and 1988 Republican national conventions. In 1976 and 1984 he was an alternate delegate.

John E. Rhine, 39, Mount Carmel, is a partner in the law firm of Fowler, Rhine and Ernest. He graduated from the University of Illinois Law School, magna cum laude, in 1977.

From 1977 until 1978, Rhine served as clerk to Supreme Court Justice Robert C. Underwood. He was a special assistant attorney general from 1980 to 1982. He is chairman of the Law Office Economics Section of the Illinois State Bar Association and a director of Voices for Illinois Children.

Rhine believes that the court's decisionmaking process could benefit from a young downstate, rural-based judge. He says he would bring an eagerness to modernize the judicial system and says reforming the administration of justice should be a top priority.

10/February 1992/Illinois Issues

Letters

Pensions and truth of consequences

Editor: Mike Klemens' "State pensions: the truth and the consequences," (November 1991) is an excellent analysis of the funding dilemma faced by state policymakers. As Klemens says, "The day is coming when state contributions will have to be increased. That's the truth."

Unfortunately Klemens' otherwise accurate article contains a major misrepresentation by State University Retirement System (SURS) Executive Director Dennis Spice. Spice is reported to have claimed that the adoption by the SURS of a pension pick-up and early retirement plan similiar to the plan recently negotiated for state employees "would move up from 2018 to 2000 the date at which the system (SURS) goes broke."

Spice's assertion is nonsense. Spice has admitted to me that his doomsday scenario is based on an assumption that the state would not make good on the pension pick-up part of the deal — that the state would not make the legally required pension contributions on behalf of the employee.

I can assure Mr. Spice and Mr. Klemens that neither AFSCME, the State Employee Retirement System (SERS), or Gov. Edgar would have agreed to the Early Retirement/Pension Pick-Up program if this scenario was even a remote possibility.

Both the SERS and SURS statutes are clear. Employer pension "pick-up" of employee contributions is permitted. But whether the employee pays it, the employer pays it or they share in the contribution, the contribution must be made into the employee's account. The law is unambiguous in this regard.

In addition, funding for the state employee pension pick-up is assured by an appropriation for that purpose. Finally, the pension pick-up is mandated by AFSCME's contract with the state of Illinois.

Mr. Spice has some valid points to make:

• The state has been underfunding its pension systems for years, and the burden of pensions being earned by current employees is being shifted to future taxpayers.

• Illinois needs a long-term funding plan for these pension systems — but a plan with teeth, not empty promises like SB 95.

• Early retirement adds to the unfunded liabilities of state pension funds. Although the impact of early retirement on pension funding is negative, it is not a disaster.

What is really at issue here is priorities. Spice's priority is obvious — but there are other priorities to be considered.

Bluntly stated, stopping an early retirement bill for university employees will not solve the funding crisis of the SURS. It will prevent university employees from participating in two valuable benefits that state employees are enjoying — the opportunity for a significant number of workers to retire early and the opportunity to gain what is in effect a salary increase through a pension pick-up provision.

The prospects for additional state funding for Illinois public universities for fiscal year 1993 are not bright. If Illinois public universities don't push — and push hard — to enact an early retirement program for their employees, university employees will, once again, end up on the short end of the stick.

Hank Scheff
Director of Budget and Benefit Analysis
AFSCME Council 31

Readers: If there is any misrepresentation, it's mine. Mr. Spice told me that his "doomsday scenario" assumed level state pension funding and no pension pick-up. That does not strike me as outrageous, given Illinois' historic pension underfunding. In the future will Illinois pay both workers' and its own pension contributions? Or will it reduce its contributions by the amount it picks up for its workers? Bluntly stated, the early retirement scheme funds today's AFSCME raises by increasing tomorrow's burden. The extension Mr. Scheff espouses would provide university workers a raise, a raise paid by future taxpayers. MDK

February 1992/Illinois Issues/11