Per Tuesday’s column, should you, like me, embark upon an attempt to untangle judicial campaign finance, you’ll note that, unlike it is with other candidates, judges and former judges get to redact their personal information. It’s all part of that hypocritical judicial chickenshit: “I don’t want to have to face any consequences for my terrible decision making, absurd imperiousness, and the kind of bench behavior I’d never tolerate from a defendant.”
Don’t get me wrong, the 16th Circuit boasts some fine men and women in black, but they’re getting lost in an ever increasing Judicial Center idiocracy. My theory has generally been that, considering this video camera, drone, and crazy-assed Internet era, I’ve given up trying to hide anything about me. If someone’s serious about bumping me off, there ain’t a whole lot I can do about it.
That said, if any of my adoring throng shows up at my front door, rest assured, it will make the attack cats very nervous.
But apparently, Mayor Hull—who’s no longer a judge—still clings to the notion that he can stave off the pitchfork-and-torch-bearing crowd. And if you avail yourself of his campaign documents and publicly posted political contributions, his personal data is clearly missing.
The irony there is, though the former judge has gone to great lengths to keep the rabble at bay, presumably out of fear that someone might treat him the way he treats everyone else, he forgot about one particular Internet attorney advertisement that includes his home address, cellphone number, and even a photograph of his residence. You really can’t make this shit up, can you? Not exactly the meticulous attention to detail one might expect from a man who once presided over a courtroom and plays at being mayor.
When I suffered a temporary legal setback on a longstanding case last year, a Kane County judge, either Hull, Rene Cruz, or both, couldn’t help themselves. They ran straight to the Chronicle with the news, triggering a hit piece that might’ve cost me a job I truly enjoy. So, I would be well within my rights, karmic or otherwise, to post a direct link to Mayor Hull’s personal information right here.
After all, he clearly posted it for everyone to see. But unlike most Kane County judges, I have a moral center and a conscience, so there will be no such link.
But let me make myself perfectly clear. If any judge EVER pulls a stunt like that again, or I merely suspect they’ve pulled a stunt like that again, the ENTIRE circuit better prepare themselves for their Kane County constituents to learn far more about them than they ever dreamt possible. And the most politically passionate folks will be the first to know, too.
Put more simply, the days of hiding behind the bench are over. You have been warned. And if Hull’s data is still up next week, then I will post it. If he doesn’t care about it, then neither do I.
Remember when I said I’d come out of retirement the second a judge or former judge disappointed me? You can thank Clint Hull for my return. And trust me, the Kane County judiciary will NEVER be the same. That process starts with the Chief Judge, who’s either unable or unwilling to rein his cohorts in. I’m beginning to wonder if he can even spell “judicial integrity,” much less apply it.
And this is only step one. I like to call it “razing the bar.” They’re in my courtroom now, and I’m going to behave exactly like they do in theirs.
