“Judicial Accountability” is perhaps one of the last things on the minds of concerned, law-abiding citizens, especially for those who rarely enter our civil or criminal court venues. But as more people are learning, the cost of fraud, especially when it happens by unscrupulous lawyers and judges, is having a ripple effect.
Illinois boasts 3 of 10 jurisdictions on the national radar screen that are well-known “Judicial Hellholes” for fairness in civil proceedings, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This issue is well-supported by other groups with a vested interest in social justice.
What is the societal cost and impact of this problem? More people, and more companies, are leaving Illinois in favor of more civil and business-friendly environments.
That cost, in terms of increased job losses, crime, and residual issues that correlate to civil unrest, is passed on to you, the average citizen, in the form of higher taxes, and the a growth of government.
The real catalyst to this problem is Illinois’ political landscape of supporting patronage between judges, lawyers, bar associations, law enforcement, and other governmental agencies that thrive on the demise of civil liberties, and the unchecked benefits of engaging in legal fraud for political or economic gain.
The most telling indicator of these burdens results in requests for tax and budget increases in order to help pay for problems that the State and it’s judiciary helped to create. It also manifests itself on the evening news, when we hear of frequent and persistent crime that evolves from disenfranchised urban communities who are the most adversely impacted by a runaway legal system.
Citizens who are directly impacted by our legal system in even the smallest ways possible find it nearly impossible to obtain fairness in the most minuscule issues that include responses to erroneous parking or traffic violations.
In less obvious and indirect ways: the lack of response by civil servants (including lawmakers who are closely aligned with trial lawyers) to act responsively to citizen requests for help and information, (including FOIA requests), even if for low-level county employees, if their job was obtained as a result of political patronage.
While there are forces at play in Illinois and elsewhere who are working to stem the tide of patronage our political landscape, a faster and more practical way to affect such change within our legal system would be to pass a strong deterrent that holds fraudulent conduct by lawyers and judges as null and void under the context of enacting our state’s first Judicial Accountability law.
The benefit to such a law is simple and far-reaching: to keep lawyers and judges honest and accountable in accordance with their oath of office.
Agree? Then join this campaign and help us lessen the societal cost and impact of an out of control legal system, and make our courts fair and accessible to everyone.
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