Judging Others

By Kevin Robinson in News on Nov 7, 2006 2:50PM

There was quite a lively discussion yesterday afternoon in the Chicagoist offices. One we wanted to share with you, gentle reader, on this most special of days. As we were talking about the Illinois Bar Association's endorsements of judges to be retained, we got to talking about how weird it is to vote for them. Some of us felt that there shouldn't be judicial elections, arguing that the Constitution intended for the judiciary to be independent -- appointed by the executive, with the advice and consent of the legislature. They should be divorced from the political whims of the electorate, and if we want to have a true system of checks and balances, this principle must be upheld. Others felt that since we don't live in a utopian society, such a tactic is ineffective, and the people are the means to vote out judges who abuse their position of power; to do otherwise is to shirk one's civic duty.

Now we here at Chicagoist aren't really that smart, but we like a good argument as much as the next guy. And what an argument we had. Scott Smith threw a three-ring binder at Kevin, Olivia yelled at Matt, Rachelle punched Tankboy, and Chuck just sobbed in the corner, rocking gently back and forth. We thought it would be fun to ask you for your two cents on this matter. Did you vote for the judges? Why or why not? And how did you know for whom to vote? We hope you join our conversation and let us know what you think in the comments (we really do read them all). And no matter how you voted, we'd love to have you join us tonite at Daily Bar and Grill in Lincoln Square (4560 N. Lincoln Ave.) for an election night watching party, starting at 6.