Not Recommended!
Just in case you didn’t believe me or the 50 commenters on that first column exposing Judge John Dalton’s regular cruelty, the Illinois State Bar Association just released their 16th Circuit judicial evaluations this week. Those 0 to 100 ratings are compiled from surveys sent to all Kane County Bar Association members.
As a result of those 164 assessments, in an unprecedented move, the ISBA smacked Dalton with their dismal “Not Recommended” rating. And when I say “unprecedented,” I mean none of my astute legal friends can remember a single sitting Kane County judge who wasn’t recommended for retention by the ISBA.
Here are the actual numbers:
37.65 Meets requirement of the office
58.64 Integrity
49.95 Impartiality
58.02 Legal ability
30.02 Temperament
50.03 Court management
59.63 Sensitivity
To put those sad scores in perspective, let’s compare them to Judges John Barsanti’s, Donald Hudson’s, Clint Hull’s and Rene Cruz’ evaluations. They’re also up for retention or election:
Barsanti Hudson Hull Cruz
95.92 98.68 93.90 95.20 Meets requirements
96.58 98.68 98.15 98.25 Integrity
93.24 98.04 92.96 93.81 Impartiality
100 98.69 98.61 93.45 Legal ability
94.59 99.35 97.18 97.08 Temperament
95.92 98.68 98.14 96.07 Court management
94.59 98.04 94.88 99.12 Sensitivity
Now you can see how truly terrifying Dalton’s numbers really are. They’re another excellent reason to vote “No” and send this miserable excuse for a judge back to the private sector.
Digging a deeper hole
Remember when I said, “Just when you think the Daily Herald has finally hit rock bottom, they simply dig a deeper hole?” Apparently, they’re dead set on proving my point, because they inexplicably endorsed Kane County Sheriff Don Kramer over the eminently more capable Ron Hain.
And in a turn the Ripley folks would find fascinating, their editorial board wrote that endorsement with absolutely no mention of the Delnor hostage tragedy. I’ll pause for a bit to let you take that in…
Yes! The Daily Herald actually endorsed a Sheriff who didn’t bother to show up at the scene of one of the worst criminal events in Kane County history because he “hurt his big toe.” I’m sure the nurse who was raped, beaten and shot takes a great deal of solace in that bizarre excuse.
And Kramer didn’t reach out to the SWAT team member who was also shot until three or four days later, either. Now, that shows real leadership, doesn’t it?
Of course, those DH snowflakes pulled this stunt because Chairman Chris Lauzen has offended their delicate sensibilities by occasionally calling them out. So, since Kramer and Lauzen have clashed in the past, that paper automatically takes the other guy’s side. So much for journalistic integrity.
We’ll run a full column on this topic next Monday or Wednesday.
Digging a deeper hole part 2
Along the very same lines, the DH endorsed Independent Olynda De Hoyos over Democrat Anita Lewis for Kane County Board District 3. Their theory was, since Lauzen supports Lewis’ run, De Hoyos would automatically be an “independent voice.”
First, the DH completely ignored the fact that De Hoyos is just another Aurora Township dysfunctional Democratic shill intent on turning that generally functioning county board into another partisan battleground. Though her volunteer work is laudable, she brings absolutely no applicable experience to the government table.
But the kicker is, like many of her Hispanic brothers and sisters, Ms. De Hoyos has never voted in any election – ever! And if you refuse to engage in the process, should you really become a critical part of that process?
Though it happens all the time, that doesn’t mean I agree with the Chairman, or any other political leader, who runs candidates against sitting board members. All it does is set up a tit-for-tat downward spiral that always gets in the way of good governance.
But for a purportedly neutral newspaper to regularly endorse candidates on the grounds their editors don’t like the Chairman is exponentially worse. Like I said, digging a deeper hole.
The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office is hiring!
While State’s Attorney Joe McMahon and his top staffers were off getting a Cook County verdict a first-year law student could’ve secured, the KCSAO continues to hemorrhage assistant state’s attorneys at an alarming rate.
To wit, at least 10 prosecutors have walked away from that Route 38 and Peck Road morass in the last six months. The kicker is, the last one resigned via a Post-it note attached to his supervisor’s office door.
So much for office morale!
McMahon continues to insist that his participation in the Jason Van Dyke prosecution came at no net cost to the Kane County taxpayer. But constantly having to train right-out-of-law-school attorneys as you consistently lose experienced prosecutors is a very steep price.
The latest word is McMahon is angling for Judge James Hallock’s soon to be vacant seat. I suppose we can all take solace in the fact that our taxes have been going to the “Joe McMahon Career Advancement Fund.”
He certainly has no interest in being State’s Attorney!
The kicker is, the last one resigned via a Post-it note attached to his supervisor’s office door.
Well, that’s what the supervisor gets for not having an open-door policy!
Pan,
All kidding aside, that’s how bad it is at the KCSAO.