City Council to adopt partial plastic bag ban this week?

This is the plastic bag recycling bin at the south entrance to the Jewel-Osco at Harlem and Foster on Chicago's Northwest Side.

The Chicago City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on an ordinance that would prohibit this Jewel store and other chain grocery stores in the City from giving out plastic bags to their customers after August 2015. A "compromise" worked out with the ordinance's sponsors will give smaller retailers (stores with under 10,000 square feet of space unless part of a chain of three or more stores) a reprieve from the ban until August 2016. The Chicago Sun-Times Politics Early & Often site provided the text of the proposed ordinance:

Plastic bag ordinance

Retailers subject to the ordinance would be required to provide paper, cloth or "compostable" plastic bags that meet specified standards of biodegradability.

This is touted as a great environmental victory instead of just another regressive tax. It might be beneficial to the environment if the use of plastic bags would really be eliminated, but the proposed ordinance is also a regressive tax.

Bags are not free. I had a post on Page One back in 2011 that looked at the differences between the costs of paper and plastic bags. Paper bags cost significantly more than plastic ones; that's why grocers started using plastic. If this new 'environmental' ordinance passes, the costs of switching back to paper or using "compostable" plastic bags will be passed along to consumers. More well-to-do consumers may already be using cloth or other reusable bags (that they pay for). But, under the proposed ordinance, everyone will have to buy them, or pay increased costs at check-out to cover the costs of new bags. This will raise prices for rich and poor alike. It is for this reason that this new tax, like the sales tax, is regressive.

And the plastic bags have their uses. For example, dog owners will still have to have something to dispose of what dogs do, only now they will have to pay for their doggie-doo bags. It would be best, of course, if the dog owners used "compostable" bags, but the ordinance won't guarantee that.

Plastic bags are also helpful when carrying meat home from the grocer, even in enviornmentally-sound cloth bags. If blood from fresh meat contaminates those cloth bags and the bag owners don't launder them properly, what sort of public health concerns will that create? The ordinance doesn't consider that either.

The environmental benefits of the ordinance were touted by Ald. George Cardenas (12th), who chairs the Health and Environmental Protection Committee. He was quoted in a recent post on the CBS2 Local site. Cardenas said said plastic bags by the hundreds and thousands litter city streets in many wards.

“You see litter, and you see plastic, and you see plastic bags. That’s what you see,” he said. “And we clean it up on a daily basis. Every week we have a task force from the Streets and Sanitation [Department] to go out and clean.”

But that's why they have bins like the one pictured above, at my local Jewel, so people can recycle the plastic bags, not let them blow away in the breeze. We just passed the 44th anniversary of Earth Day. Weren't we supposed to have eradicated litter bugs by now? Wouldn't the truly "green" solution be to encourage recycling?

And it's quite interesting to note that, despite the concerns of aldermen that plastic bags are winding up as litter, the City of Chicago does not even accept plastic bags for recycling. Chicago residents finally have their blue bins -- but plastic bags are not permitted in those bins (from the City of Chicago website, highlighting supplied):

Will my local Jewel still collect plastic bags when it can no longer issue them? Will anyone?

I don't know if the ordinance will really kill jobs, as some of the more strident critics charge. It will presumably give a price advantage to stores just outside the City limits -- bad news for my local Jewel, located just inside the City boundaries. The bag ordinance is a regressive tax, hurting poor people more than rich ones, and yet not contributing one thin dime to the City coffers for the benefit of either rich or poor. Instead of a ban, the environment might be a lot better served if people would just pick up after themselves and use the recycling bins already at their local groceries.

I hope the City Council will again reject this proposal. I'm not, however, holding my breath.

One in four Illinoisans think ours is the worst state in which to live

This table is reproduced from a Gallup poll discussed in a post on page one. You may need to enlarge or clarify this table, depending on the device on which you are viewing this.

Illinois fares poorly in Gallup poll of state residents' trust in their home state governments

This table is reproduced from a Gallup poll discussed in a post on page one. You may need to enlarge or clarify this table, depending on the device on which you are viewing this.

Judicial blogger appears on this week's North Town News Magazine

I am a guest on this week's edition of North Town News Magazine, talking about the results of the March judicial primary with host and moderator Avy Meyers.

My thanks to Avy Meyers and his entire technical crew Sonny Hersh for allowing me to appear.

The program airs tonight at 7:30 on CAN-TV, Channel 19 on Chicago cable systems, with a rebroadcast tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. The show is also seen in Evanston on Channel 6 tonight at 5:00 and Sunday night at 10:30. NTNM is also broadcast on a number of other suburban cable systems on Mondays at 6:00 p.m. Check your local listings for air times in your area.

Definitely not a good sign

Non Sequitur comic, by Wiley Miller, obtained from Yahoo! Comics.

The burdens outweigh any benefit of MLB’s new ‘security’ procedure

At first, I thought it was an early April Fool’s joke.

I got off the Red Line a good 25 minutes before the scheduled first pitch yesterday, passing the usual Opening Day phalanx of police officers on my way to Gate 5 where I planned to get to my seat in plenty of time for the National Anthem.

The operative word in the preceding sentence is “planned.”

It soon became evident that the lines to get into U.S. Cellular Field were outrageously long – and not moving in any appreciable way.

My host suggested we try the Stadium Club (he’s a member), and we crossed 35th Street, passing many other peace officers en route. But the line for the Stadium Club was also extremely long, and it funnels into a small elevator (or maybe two – I don’t get out much), so we got in the adjacent line for Gate 2. Eventually, after the game was well underway, because we had 100-level tickets, we were allowed to go to Gate 1, where we were wanded and finally allowed to climb the stairs into the park – where, as usual, we still had to show our tickets to at least two other ushers before we could finally get to our seats. I didn’t see as many uniformed police officers after we got in line – we saw some – but mostly, at that point, we saw Sox Security personnel (many of whom are moonlighting police officers).

The long lines weren’t an early April Fool’s joke: According to the Sun-Times this morning, the debacle at the Cell yesterday is a manifestation of MLB’s new security program, which we are all encouraged to accept with stoic passivity.

I dissent.

Seriously, who came up with this brilliant plan for MLB – Jeffrey Loria?

It’s one thing to turn a trip to the airport into an excursion into one of the outer circles of Dante’s Inferno; it doesn’t matter, much, because at the end of the TSA ordeal is the soul-crushing tedium of modern airline travel. But now misguided security guidelines are messing with America’s Pastime. This is serious.

I suspect that the MLB plan is probably a reaction to the tragedy last April at the Boston Marathon. That was an unspeakably awful crime. According to Wikipedia, three people were killed, and 264 more were injured, many of them horribly. People in Boston and around the nation felt deeply for the victims and their families; Americans took the losses personally. The whole nation paused a few days later as we watched the unfolding news of the manhunt for the surviving bomber.

But there were roughly 500,000 people at the Boston Marathon last year. Necessarily, almost all of them got home safely that day. You may recall news reports about many runners or spectators who didn’t even learn of the tragedy until after they’d returned to their homes or hotels.

Maybe it’s because I’ve spent most of my professional career dealing with insurance companies, but, for me, everything comes down to analyzing risks and burdens.

I am not a statistician or an actuary. Like almost everyone else (except, possibly, for professional statisticians and actuaries), my sense of risk is at least partially informed by my ‘gut feelings.’ Because of my background, though, my gut feelings are not unduly fueled by hysterical news outlets. And I have perhaps a greater appreciation for risk statistics than most, even if I lack the ability to calculate the odds myself.

I therefore find it significant when the odds of dying in a terrorist attack are calculated at 1 in 20,000,000, as Ronald Bailey calculated in this 2011 piece on Reason.com. (I tracked down that link after seeing it cited in an April 2013 Wonkblog post on the Washington Post website).

You can compare the relative risks of death by terrorism with death by other causes by following either of those links.

I also looked at the publication Injury Facts (2013 edition), published by the National Safety Council, for comparison purposes. The NSC did not provide a calculation for the risk of death at the hands of a terrorist. The NSC’s figures were based on 2009 mortality figures and there were no deaths in America caused by terrorism to use as a basis for calculation of the odds in that year. (According to the NSC methodology, unless at least 20 people die annually from a given risk, any calculation of odds would likely be “unstable from year to year” and the calculations were not included for that reason. The article on Reason.com used cumulative figures from five years, from 2005-2010, and included Americans killed in terrorist attacks overseas, before taking an average.)

According to the NSC, over 36,000 Americans died in motor vehicle accidents in 2009, making the annual odds of dying in a motor vehicle accident 1 in 8,477. So the risk of death from traveling by motor vehicle is orders of magnitude greater than the risk of dying in a terrorist attack (1 in 20,000,000).

If safety is the real goal, we should perhaps prohibit people from driving to ballgames. But people can die using public transportation as well – again, using the 2013 edition of Injury Facts – Americans had a 1 in 13,954,843 chance of dying in a bus accident and (here’s a coincidence) the exact same chance of dying in a railroad accident. Not a lot of risk, admittedly – but the odds are still better that you might die in an accident on the way to the ballpark as opposed to dying in a terrorist attack at the ballpark.

You are at least twice as likely to die from a lightning strike (1 in 9,903,437) as be killed by terrorists.

But here’s where the ‘gut feelings’ come in: We know we can virtually eliminate the risk of getting struck by lightning if we stay inside during a storm. On the other hand, if we venture from our homes to go to the ballpark, we can’t avoid the risk of terrorism. Also, we can intuit that ‘soft targets’ like ballparks may be attractive to terrorists; therefore, however low the risk of terrorism generally, we find it easy to believe that the risk would be far greater when people are concentrated together at a ballgame or a concert or a shopping mall or a school or a movie theater or a railroad station or a church or.... Hey, wait a minute: There are so many ‘soft targets’ that maybe we shouldn’t consider the risk of being in this place any greater than the risk of being in any other place. There have been terrible tragedies in several of these types of places, of course – not caused by terrorists, actually, but by deranged lunatics with guns and opportunity who, sadly, were lucid enough to pick out targets where there weren’t a lot of armed police officers on the lookout for trouble. So the police presence yesterday at the Cell provided some real security.

On the other hand – back to those nervous gut feelings again – wouldn’t special occasions like the Super Bowl or Opening Day be more attractive targets for terrorists? Well, maybe so – except that these kinds of events present the least soft of any soft target you can imagine even without subjecting patrons to wanding at the entrance gates. Because once again there’s that problem (for the wannabe terrorist) of lugging his bombs or other weapons past all those police officers. What do you think those police officers were doing all along 35th Street and around the stadium? Do you think they were just soaking up atmosphere?

If a person is hellbent on committing some heinous act in the name of some cause, and if that odious person is truly prepared to die in the effort, he will find a place and time to commit his crime whether people are wanded at the entrance to sports arenas or not. But the terrorist or armed lunatic is not going to go anyplace where he must run a gauntlet of uniformed police in order to reach his ‘soft target.’ In my experience, there are always lots of police in attendance in the vicinity of U.S. Cellular Field when the White Sox have a home game. The extreme slowdowns caused by yesterday’s enhanced security wanding exercise, therefore, were a waste of time and effort and failed to make anyone safer.

The burden imposed (keeping thousands outside the stadium until the second or third inning) did not outweigh the benefit of reducing the already minuscule risk of terrorism. Besides, it must have cost the White Sox tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost concession sales.

I’m all in favor of staying safe. But I want real safety, not an illusion, and particularly not an illusion that takes 45 minutes to navigate.

Facts and figures show the Associate Judge applicant pool was very deep

In announcing the 26 Associate Judge finalists, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans stated, "These candidates are capable, talented individuals. All of them were found either 'Qualified' or 'Recommended' by all of the bar organizations participating in the process."

But, in addition to announcing the successful applicants, the Nominating Committee also released a fact sheet about the entire applicant pool. These were figures for the 236 applicants that completed the process (41 applicants withdrew, for one reason or another, presumably including the 12 applicants who won nomination in the primary). The numbers show that the Nominating Committee had a plethora of well-qualified individuals from which to choose.

In short, while every one of the 26 finalists was rated Qualified or Recommended by every evaluating bar association (the Chicago Bar Association and the member bar groups of the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening), a lot of the candidates passed over can say the same. According to the Nominating Committee's figures, some 88.14% of the applicant class were found qualified by the Chicago Bar Association (the figures for the CBA aren't broken down further, but I can think of at least three unsuccessful applicants who were deemed Highly Qualified by the CBA).

The Nominating Committee did provide a more detailed breakdown for the Chicago Council of Lawyers evaluations of the associate judge applicants. Some 83.06% of the applicants were deemed Qualified or better by the CCL. The CCL deemed two of these Highly Qualified (neither was chosen by the Nominating Committee). The Council found 29 applicants Well Qualified (nine of these made the short list, according to figures provided by the Nominating Committee).

The Cook County Bar Association gave favorable marks to 91.95% of the applicants. Five candidates were deemed Highly Qualified; none of these made the short list, according to the Nominating Committee fact sheet.

The Illinois State Bar Association deemed 88.13% of the applicants Qualified or better. Nine were rated Highly Qualified by the ISBA. Only one of these, however (James Robert Carroll), made the short list.

The Decalogue Society of Lawyers found 87.72% of the applicants Recommended or better. The Decalogue Society found 39 applicants Highly Recommended; eight of these (Carroll, Shauna Louise Boliker, Kevin Thomas Lee, Myron Franklin Mackoff, Sanju David Oommen, Linda Johanna Pauel, Debra Ann Seaton, and Stephen Stern) are on the short list. Of course, that necessarily means that 31 are not.

There are seven candidates on the short list who were rated Highly Recommended by the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (Carroll, Bolliker, Oomen, Pauel, Stern, Gregory Emmett Ahern, Jr. and Devlin Joseph Schoop). But LAGBAC found 28 candidates Highly Recommended (83.05% of the applicants being deemed Recommended or batter).

The Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois found 89.41% of the applicants qualified, 18 of these deemed Highly Qualified per the Nominating Committee's fact sheet. Only two of these (Carroll and Alfredo Maldonado) made the short list. The Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois gave favorable marks to 89.41% of the applicants. Nineteen of these were considered Highly Recommended by the PRBA but only one (Stern) is among the finalists.

Several Alliance members have only one favorable rating (Qualified or Recommended is the best rating given). The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area found 89.41% of the applicants Qualified. The Black Women Lawyers' Association found 83.47% of applicants Recommended. The Hellenic Bar association found 87.29% of the applicants Recommended, while the 89.83% of the applicants were Recommended by the Women's Bar Association of Illinois.

Looking at the list myself, I believe there were 13 current judges in this pool of applicants, including one recalled Associate Judge. Four of these won their primary races. Of the nine remaining, only two (Ahern and Michael Francis Otto) made the short list. There were nine former judges in the applicant pool as well; none of these made the short list.

By my calculations, eight of the nine finalists who were not selected in 2012 (the last time Associate Judges were chosen) reapplied. But only two of these former finalists (Maldonado and Rossana Patricia Fernandez) made the short list.

Sixty-six percent of the applicants were male, 34% female, according to the Nominating Committee. The Nominating also reported that 77% of the applicants were Caucasian, 16% African-American, 4% Hispanic, and 3% Asian.

After the short list was announced Friday I heard from some disappointed applicants, some of whom were kind enough to offer me condolences as well (I was an also an unsuccessful applicant -- again). It took me awhile to think of an appropriate response, but this is what I eventually came up with: We may not be in select company, but we are in good company. The facts and figures bear this out.

Spring cleaning -- time to archive the candidate websites

Hard to believe the primary was only two weeks ago. Almost two weeks ago.

But several of the candidate websites have already come down, and it's time for them to be retired from the Sidebar on Page One as well.

I'm keeping the list here for archival purposes. Some of the sites will be live indefinitely and those looking for ideas for the future may find in these some ideas to imitate (or reject).

Without further adieu then, herewith the list of 2014 Appellate Court candidate websites:

• David Ellis
• Shelly A. Harris
• Sharon Oden Johnson
• Freddrenna M. Lyle
• John B. Simon
• Susan Kennedy Sullivan

And here is the list of 2014 Circuit Court candidates:

• Brian Alexander
• John Michael Allegretti
• Michael Barrett
• Andrea Michele Buford
• Cynthia Y. Cobbs
• Patrick Kevin Coughlin
• James Patrick Crawley
• Gina Crumble
• John Curry
• Thomas M. Cushing
• Sondra Denmark
• Diana Embil
• Jerry Esrig
• Stephen J. Feldman
• Monica A. Forte
• John S. Fotopoulos
• Carolyn Joan Gallagher
• Lauren Brougham Glennon
• Megan Goldish
• James Edward Hanlon, Jr.
• Anjana Hansen
• Marianne Jackson
• James L. Kaplan
• Kelly Maloney Kachmarik
• Scott Michael Kozicki
• Daniel J. Kubasiak
• Robert D. Kuzas
• Anthony C. "Tony" Kyriakopoulos
• Chris Lawler
• John J. Mahoney
• Maritza Martinez
• Linda L. Mastandrea
• Ralph Eugene Meczyk
• Mary Alice Melchor
• Pamela McLean Meyerson
• Nathan Benjamin Myers
• Bridget Anne Mitchell
• Caroline Kate Moreland
• Katherine A. O'Dell
• Michael Francis Otto
• Robbin Perkins
• Daniel L. Peters
• James Paul Pieczonka
• Maureen Masterson Pulia
• William B. Raines
• Martin D. Reggi
• Judith Rice
• Kristal Rivers
• Abbey Fishman Romanek
• Joanne Rosado
• Diana Rosario
• Gary W. Seyring
• Patricia O'Brien Sheahan
• Owens J. Shelby
• Patricia S. Spratt
• Brian Joseph Stephenson
• Nyshana K. Sumner
• Michael A. Strom
• Alfred M. Swanson, Jr.
• Peter J. Vilkelis
• Steven G. Watkins

41st Ward electonics recycling event tomorrow

It doesn't look anything like Spring outside at the moment, but (according to the calendar, at least, if not the climate) it's time again for Spring Cleaning.

Tomorrow, 41st Ward Alderman Mary O'Connor is hosting an electronics recycling event at St. Thecla's Church, 6725 W. Devon. Here is your chance to get rid of those old TVs and printers and other electronic stuff gathering dust in your garage -- and to do so responsibly and in compliance with state law which prohibits sending these kinds of electronics to landfills.

If you're not certain what will be acceptable for drop-off, contact the 41st Ward office at (773) 594-8341 or email ward41@cityofchicago.org.

To be fair, I don't think we can blame this latest CTA disaster on the Ventra Card

At least not yet.

Pictures from yesterday's Northwest Side Irish Parade

More coverage of yesterday's parade in this post on Page One.

You'd think, as cold as it was, that there'd be no competition for good spots on the parade floats. These kids were taking no chances, however; they had their places staked out on the Sheet Metal Workers Union float early on.

Ditto for these kids promoting the St. Baldrick's Foundation:

Sure, everyone thinks it must be all sorts of glamorous fun to be the Queen of a parade or a member of her court. But maybe not when you have to sit in the back of a convertible a half hour before the parade begins. Especially when the temperature isn't quite 20 degrees.

And you have to keep smiling all the way down the parade route, too.

If it was tough for the parade queen and court, how much tougher must it have been for the Irish dancers? You can't have a St. Patrick's Day parade without at least three schools of Irish dancing -- but Sunday had to have been difficult.

Here are some of the dancers from the Trinity Academy of Irish Dance waiting with their parents before the parade.

And here are some of the dancers and their parents from the Mullane Healy Godley School.

I was still there when the Trinity Dancers came down the street.

I had to leave before any of the marching bands made it down Northwest Highway. This is the Notre Dame and Resurrection Marching Band assembling near Onahan School.

I was there when the St. Patrick's High School Jazz Band came down Northwest Highway.

All parades bog down at times. If delays yesterday seemed pronounced because of the cold, these were merely moments of opportunity for the kids watching the proceedings -- a chance to make sure that not a single piece of candy tossed from those trolley buses or floats went to waste.

The photographer may have succumbed to the chill, but the parade-goers faced the elements with indefatigable good cheer.

But, dear St. Patrick, would it be too much to ask for things to be just a little warmer next year?

Chicago Citizen Newspapers Judicial Candidate Forum March 8

L-R Atty. Nyshana Sumner, Judge Alfred Swanson; Judge Freddrenna M. Lyle; Atty. Mary Alice Melchor; Judge Andrea M. Buford; Judge Lewis Nixon; Larissa M. Tyler, Managing Editor, Chicago Citizen Newspaper/QBG Foundation Exec. Dir.; Judge LaGuina Clay-Herron; Atty. Patricia S. Spratt; Atty. Kristal Rivers; Atty. William "Bill" Raines; Judge Sharon O. Johnson; Atty. Steven G. Watkins; Atty. Diana Rosario and Judge Cynthia Y. Cobbs.

The Chicago Citizen Newspaper held a candidate forum on March 8. Here is a link to newspaper's coverage of the event. The accompanying photograph and caption are taken from the Citizen website.

If they didn't already know about it (regular FWIW readers are extremely well informed), FWIW readers learned of the forum in this February 11 post.

Judge Freddremma M. Lyle interviewed on an NTNM election special

Appellate Court candidate Freddrenna M. Lyle (Gordon vacancy) was interviewed by Avy Meyers for a North Town News Magazine Election Special and this interview has now been posted online. With the permission of NTNM host and moderator Avy Meyers and his entire technical crew Sonny Hersh, you can watch the interview here.

Organizing the Data: Appellate Court - Murphy vacancy

This candidate is unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary; no Republican filed for this vacancy.

David Ellis -- #134

Campaign Website

Bar Association Evaluations

The Chicago Bar Association says:

David W. Ellis is “Qualified” for the office of Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court. Mr. Ellis was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 1993 and has experience in complex commercial litigation, legislative drafting, and appellate practice. Mr. Ellis has excellent writing skills and has authored ethical opinions, briefs, and legal memoranda used in the legislative process. Mr. Ellis is well regarded for his knowledge of the law, analytical skills, and even temperament.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers says:

David Wayne Ellis was admitted to practice in 1993. He is the Chief Counsel to the Illinois Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. He represents the Speaker in litigation matters, advises the Speaker on legislative issues such as legislative redistricting cases and the recent lawsuit against Governor Quinn over his line-item veto of legislative salaries. He also negotiates various legislative provisions. He served as House Prosecutor in the Blagojevich Senate Impeachment trial and served as a Special Assistant Attorney General defending the 2011 Illinois redistricting map in federal court against alleged violations of the federal Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause. From 1996 to 1998 he was an associate with Cahill, Christian & Kunkle doing civil litigation. From 1993 to 1996 he was an associate with Phelan Pope & John doing civil litigation. Mr. Ellis is reported to have good legal ability and temperament. He has extensive legislative experience as Chief Council to Speaker Michael Madigan and has significant experience in litigation-related matters. He has experience in substantial number of community activities, including pro bono representation in litigation matters. Mr. Ellis reports handling four appellate matters as principal counsel and many respondents noted the high quality of his written work. The Council finds him Qualified for the Illinois Appellate Court.

Other Bar Association Evaluations:

Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area

Qualified

Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago

Recommended

Cook County Bar Association

Recommended

Decalogue Society of Lawyers

Recommended

Hellenic Bar Association

Recommended

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois

Highly Qualified

Illinois State Bar Association

Qualified

Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago

Recommended

Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois

Highly Recommended

Women’s Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

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Brian Alexander interviewd on an NTNM election special

Ninth Subcircuit candidate Brian Alexander (Preston vacancy) was interviewed by Avy Meyers for a North Town News Magazine Election Special and this interview has now been posted online. With the permission of NTNM host and moderator Avy Meyers and his entire technical crew Sonny Hersh, you can watch the interview here.

This is the second time that Forte has been interviewed on NTNM in this election cycle. You can see his earlier interview by following this link.

Organizing the Data: countywide Burke vacancy

This candidate is unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary; no Republican filed for this vacancy.

Maritza Martinez -- #143

Campaign Website

Bar Association Evaluations

The Chicago Bar Association says:

Maritza Martinez is “Not Recommended” for the office of Circuit Court Judge. Ms. Martinez was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 1989 and was previously evaluated and found “Qualified.” Based on newly discovered information involving Ms. Martinez’s conduct in a court proceeding, the candidate was re-evaluated. Ms. Martinez’s poor judgment and lack of candor resulted in a “Not Recommended” finding.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers says:

Maritza Martinez was admitted to practice in 1989. She is an Associate in the Law Offices of Victor J. Cacciatore where she has a litigation practice in criminal defense, civil law, and administrative matters. She is a Commissioner for the Illinois Court of Claims. She has been an associate at the Law Offices of Robert Fisher doing criminal defense work. In 2004, she was at a small firm doing insurance defense and catastrophic loss work, and from 1991 until 2004, she was with the City of Chicago Department of Law doing prosecution and civil rights defense. Prior to 1991, she spent two years at a small firm doing real estate work. Since November 2007, she has also served part-time as a hearing officer and Commissioner with the Illinois Court of Claims, conducting trials and making recommendations to the Court of Claims judges regarding the disposition of various claims against the State of Illinois. She also currently serves on the Inquiry Board of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. Ms. Martinez has litigation experience in both state and federal courts. In 2009 the Council stated in its evaluation: “Ms. Martinez is reported to have good legal ability and is considered knowledgeable about her areas of practice. She has had litigation experience in a variety of areas and she is reported to possess a good temperament. She is active in community activities. The Council finds her Qualified for the Circuit Court.” The results from the current evaluation show that Ms. Martinez has had additional litigation experience in complex areas and she continues to be praised for her temperament, her fairness as a Commissioner, and for her skills as a lawyer. The Council finds her Qualified for the Circuit Court.

Other Bar Association Evaluations:

Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area

Qualified

Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago

Recommended

Cook County Bar Association

Recommended

Decalogue Society of Lawyers

Recommended

Hellenic Bar Association

Recommended

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois

Qualified

Illinois State Bar Association

Qualified

Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago

Recommended

Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

Women’s Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

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Monica A. Forte interviewed on an NTNM election special

Ninth Subcircuit candidate Monica A. Forte (Meyer vacancy) was interviewed by Avy Meyers for a North Town News Magazine Election Special and this interview has now been posted online. With the permission of NTNM host and moderator Avy Meyers and his entire technical crew Sonny Hersh, you can watch the interview here.

This is the second time that Forte has been interviewed on NTNM in this election cycle. You can see her earlier interview by following this link.

Organizing the Data: countywide Egan vacancy

This candidate is unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary; no Republican filed for this vacancy.

Donald J. Kubasiak -- #147

Campaign Website

Bar Association Evaluations

The Chicago Bar Association says:

Judge Daniel Kubasiak is “Qualified” for the office of Circuit Court Judge. Judge Kubasiak was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 1981 and concentrated his practice in corporate and tax matters. Judge Kubasiak was appointed to the bench in 2012 and is currently assigned to Traffic Court in the First Municipal Division. Judge Kubasiak is well regarded for his knowledge of the law, diligence, and even temperament.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers says:

Hon. Daniel J. Kubasiak was admitted to practice in 1981. He was appointed to the Circuit Court by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2012 and is currently assigned to Traffic Court. Before becoming a judge, he had been in private practice for most of his career with the exception of serving as Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Chicago between 1983 and 1987. He had substantial experience in more complex litigation matters. As a lawyer, he is considered as having good legal ability and temperament. He is praised for his litigation skills. As a judge, he is praised as being diligent and respectful to all those before him. The Council finds him Qualified for the Circuit Court.

Other Bar Association Evaluations:

Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area

Qualified

Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago

Recommended

Cook County Bar Association

Recommended

Decalogue Society of Lawyers

Highly Recommended

Hellenic Bar Association

Recommended

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois

Highly Qualified

Illinois State Bar Association

Highly Qualified

Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago

Recommended

Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

Women’s Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

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Judge Cynthia Y. Cobbs interviewed on an NTNM election special

Countywide candidate Cynthia Y. Cobbs (McDonald vacancy) was interviewed by Avy Meyers for a North Town News Magazine Election Special and this interview has now been posted online. With the permission of NTNM host and moderator Avy Meyers and his entire technical crew Sonny Hersh, you can watch the interview here.

Organizing the data: countywide Felton vacancy

This candidate is unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary; no Republican filed for this vacancy.

Updated 3/13/14

Patricia O'Brien Sheahan -- #148

Campaign Website

Candidate Statement: Patricia O'Brien Sheahan: In her own words

Bar Association Evaluations

The Chicago Bar Association says:

Patricia O’Brien Sheahan is “Qualified” for the office of Circuit Court Judge. Ms. Sheahan was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 1996 and was engaged in private practice as an Associate in a large law firm before becoming Associate General Counsel of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Ms. Sheahan has a wide range of practice experience and supervises and handles litigation for the Rehabilitation Institute. Ms. Sheahan possesses the requisite qualifications to serve as a Circuit Court Judge.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers says:

Patricia O’Brien Sheahan was admitted to practice in 1996. She is currently the Associate General Counsel of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where she oversees all litigation and claims made against her employer and its employees. She handles case investigations, pretrial discovery, and settlement negotiation. She handles and defends all employment/labor matters and claims before the EEOC, Illinois Department of Human Rights, and other administrative tribunals, including preparation and questioning of witnesses. She has prepared appellate briefs filed in both the Illinois Supreme Court and in the Illinois Appellate Court. From 1996 to 1999 she was a litigation associate with Baker & McKenzie in Chicago, working in the litigation and employment litigation practice groups. She reports that during her time at Baker, she first chaired a jury trial, represented clients in evidentiary proceedings, defended and took more than 50 depositions, and had an active motion practice. She is active in community affairs. Lawyers report that she has good legal ability and is praised for the quality of her work product. She is considered to be knowledgeable, and always prepared. In general, Ms. Sheahan is considered to be a very good lawyer and case manager with experience in a variety of state and federal litigation matters. The Council finds her Qualified for the Circuit Court.

Other Bar Association Evaluations:

Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area

Not Evaluated

Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago

Not Evaluated

Cook County Bar Association

Recommended

Decalogue Society of Lawyers

Recommended

Hellenic Bar Association

Recommended

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois

Not Recommended

Illinois State Bar Association

Not Qualified

Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago

Recommended

Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

Women’s Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

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James Patrick Crawley interviewed on an NTNM Election Special

Countywide candidate James Patrick Crawley (Veal vacancy) was interviewed by Avy Meyers for a North Town News Magazine Election Special and this interview has now been posted online. With the permission of NTNM host and moderator Avy Meyers and his entire technical crew Sonny Hersh, you can watch the interview here.

This is the second time that Crawley has been interviewed on NTNM in this election cycle. You can see his earlier interview by following this link.

Organizing the Data: countywide Howse vacancy

This candidate is unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary; no Republican filed for this vacancy.

Caroline Kate Moreland -- #149

Campaign Website

Bar Association Evaluations

The Chicago Bar Association says:

Judge Caroline Kate Moreland is “Qualified” for the office of Circuit Court Judge. Judge Moreland was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 1995 and served as an Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney for 14 years before becoming a judge. Judge Moreland is well respected and possesses all the requisite qualifications to serve as a Circuit Court Judge.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers says:

Hon. Caroline Moreland was admitted to practice in Illinois in November 1995. From 1996-2010 she worked as an Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney. She was appointed to the bench to fill a judicial vacancy in September 2010. As a prosecutor, Judge Moreland was considered to have good legal ability and temperament. She prosecuted felony matters as a First Chair prosecutor. The Council finds her Qualified for the Circuit Court.

Other Bar Association Evaluations:

Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area

Qualified

Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago

Recommended

Cook County Bar Association

Recommended

Decalogue Society of Lawyers

Highly Recommended

Hellenic Bar Association

Recommended

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois

Qualified

Illinois State Bar Association

Qualified

Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago

Recommended

Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

Women’s Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

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Katherine A. O'Dell interviewed on an NTNM Election Special

Tenth Subcircuit candidate Katherine A. O'Dell was interviewed by Avy Meyers for a North Town News Magazine Election Special and this interview has now been posted online. With the permission of NTNM host and moderator Avy Meyers and his entire technical crew Sonny Hersh, you can watch the interview here.

This is the third time that O'Dell has been interviewed on NTNM in this election cycle. You can see her earlier interviews here and here.

Organizing the Data: countywide Lowrance vacancy

This candidate is unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary; no Republican filed for this vacancy.

Thomas J. Carroll -- #150

Bar Association Evaluations

The Chicago Bar Association says:

Judge Thomas Joseph Carroll is “Qualified” for the office of Circuit Court Judge. Judge Carroll was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 1988 and was appointed a judge in September 2011. Judge Carroll is currently assigned to Traffic Court and has received favorable reviews from lawyers appearing in his court. Judge Carroll has a fine temperament and possesses the legal knowledge and experience to serve as a Circuit Court Judge.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers says:

Hon. Thomas Joseph Carroll was admitted in 1988. He was appointed to the Circuit Court by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2011. He was an Assistant Public Defender for four years, moving from juvenile to misdemeanor to felony work. He had been a sole practitioner specializing in criminal defense. Mr. Carroll is reported to have good legal ability and temperament. Before becoming a judge he had substantial litigation experience in both civil and criminal law matters.
He is praised as being hard-working and well prepared. The Council finds him Qualified for the Circuit Court.

Other Bar Association Evaluations:

Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area

Qualified

Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago

Recommended

Cook County Bar Association

Recommended

Decalogue Society of Lawyers

Recommended

Hellenic Bar Association

Recommended

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois

Qualified

Illinois State Bar Association

Qualified

Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago

Recommended

Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

Women’s Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

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Anjana Hansen interviewed on an NTNM Election Special

Ninth Subcircuit candidate Anjana Hansen (Meyer vacancy) was interviewed by Avy Meyers for a North Town News Magazine Election Special and this interview has now been posted online. With the permission of NTNM host and moderator Avy Meyers and his entire technical crew Sonny Hersh, you can watch the interview here.

This is the second time that Hansen has been interviewed on NTNM in this election cycle. You can see her earlier interview by following this link.

Organizing the Data: 7th Subcircuit, Hardy-Campbell vacancy

This candidate is unopposed in the upcoming Democratic primary; no Republican filed for this vacancy.

Robert D. Kuzas -- #171

Campaign Website

Bar Association Evaluations

The Chicago Bar Association says:

Robert D. Kuzas is “Qualified” for the office of Circuit Court Judge. Mr. Kuzas was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 1989 and is engaged in private practice concentrating in criminal law and personal injury matters. Mr. Kuzas has both criminal and civil jury trial experience and is well regarded by opposing counsel and the judges before whom he appears. Mr. Kuzas has an outstanding temperament and possesses the depth and breadth of experience to serve as a Circuit Court Judge.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers says:

Robert Kuzas was admitted to practice in 1989. He is currently a solo practitioner where he focuses on criminal defense, personal injury, and labor relations cases. He has been in private practice throughout his career. Mr. Kuzas has substantial experience in a variety of more complex litigation matters. He is considered to have good legal ability and temperament. He is praised for his litigation skills. He is reported to be exceptionally hard-working and knowledgeable. The Council finds him Qualified for the Circuit Court.

Other Bar Association Evaluations:

Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area

Qualified

Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago

Recommended

Cook County Bar Association

Recommended

Decalogue Society of Lawyers

Recommended

Hellenic Bar Association

Recommended

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois

Highly Qualified

Illinois State Bar Association

Qualified

Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago

Highly Recommended

Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

Women’s Bar Association of Illinois

Recommended

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Judge Peter Vilkelis interviewd on an NTNM Election Special

Judge Peter J. Vilkelis, a candidate for the countywide Connors vacancy, was interviewed by Avy Meyers for a North Town News Magazine Election Special and this interview has now been posted online. With the permission of NTNM host and moderator Avy Meyers and his entire technical crew Sonny Hersh, you can watch the interview here.

This is the second time that Vilkelis has been interviewed on NTNM in this election cycle. You can see his earlier interview by following this link.

What's in a name? King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite denied British passport

The Briton formerly known as Mathew Whelan, a 34-year old Lib Dem activist from Birmingham, changed his name to King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite in 2009, according to Sara Malm's story posted Sunday on The Daily Mail. Malm writes that "Body Art" (that's the tattooed one's choice of diminutive for King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite) was able to procure a driver's license bearing his adopted appellation (one wonders whether the length of the driver's license had to be extended as an accommodation) but not a passport.

King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite's old passport had expired, you see, and when he went to renew it using his new name the office had a problem. When the Passport Office questioned the name, requesting further documentation, King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite sent in his driver's license, a registered letter that had been sent and delivered to him (one wonders if the name took up one line or two on the envelope), and a letter from his local MP.

Yes, King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite is being supported in his quest for a new passport bearing this name by his local Member of Parliament. (Several Monty Python sketches come to mind, don't they?)

But Body Art is quite serious about his quest; he insists that denying him his choice of name is a violation of his "human rights."

Malm's article says the Passport Office refused to comment specifically about why it has so far refused to grant a new passport in King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite's name. However, Malm quotes office policy as follows:

Where an applicant changes his or her name to a string of words or phrases that would not normally be recognised as a name, this should not be entered onto the personal details page of the passport.

For example, the names "New Year" "Happy Easter" or "Good Bye" are unacceptable as, when put together, they became a recognised phrase or saying.

I'm not certain how recognizable a phrase or saying "King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite" might be, but I can certainly understand that this string of words might not be normally recognized as a name.

Interestingly, King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite claims to be Britain's most tattooed person, with tattoos over 90% of his body. According to the Daily Mail, King of Ink Land King Body Art The Extreme Ink-Ite even had his left eyeball tattooed black. Body Art has spent more than £25,000 on his extraordinarily personal art project. The reason he's looking for a new passport is that "he has been offered work abroad to turn his hobby into a job," according to the article.

Clerk Brown's office posts virus warning

Click to enlarge

Visitors to the website of Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown may have noticed the warning reproduced above in recent days. In case you're reading this post on a device that doesn't have a screen large enough to make that snippet legible, here is what the notice says:

IMPORTANT WARNING REGARDING “COURT HEARING” EMAIL SCAM

Please be aware that there is an email scam currently targeting individuals with the following subject line: “Hearing of your case in Court (followed by a number).” The email has an ATTACHMENT, which, if opened, CONTAINS A MALICIOUS COMPUTER VIRUS that will infect your Windows computer. This message is NOT sent by any Court. DO NOT OPEN under any circumstance, DELETE IT from your mailbox.

More information about this virus can be found at: http://www.onlinethreatalerts.com/article/2013/12/23/hearing-of-your-case-in-court-nr-virus-emails.

If you follow the link provided on Clerk Brown's website you will see that this warning does not stem from any compromise in the online notification system that we were all required to sign up for just last year. The Clerk's office is simply providing this warning as a public service for attorneys and others who may not be wise in the ways of technology.

Still... no virus has ever compromised any of the paper files in my office. I have spilled the occasional cup of coffee, but the resulting stains don't necessarily compromise the information stored on the printed pages. I embrace the brave new digital world -- I'm out here in the Ether with you, aren't I? -- but my love of technology is not unconditional. I still worry that so much of our personal and business and professional lives is just one power surge away from destruction, or else at the mercy of some bright, but bored, teenager in Eastern Europe. I don't think that makes me a Luddite, does it?