These thoughts are mine. They may be shared by many but I am speaking for myself. If you are offended, it was not intentional. If you continually get offended by my positions and opinions, you should change, I doubt I will.
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Thursday, October 14, 2010
Are Judges overpaid. The Kingdom of Sycamore.
These thoughts are mine. They may be shared by many but I am speaking for myself. If you are offended, it was not intentional. If you continually get offended by my positions and opinions, you should change, I doubt I will.
OCTOBER 14, 2010
Weather forecast; Chile today, hot tamale! Way to go Chile, lead on.
The pictures did not come through yesterday. I hope you looked at them through Google. They are pretty neat. I have added a slideshow to http://www.lawyerbruce.blogspot.com/ and http://www.bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com/
If you get this blog by Email, go to one of the original websites I just referenced to see the purple squirrels. They are part of the slideshow. They are also listed below.
Illinois Circuit Judges get paid $174,303.00 annually. Circuit Judges are elected or appointed at the beginning, which is how most get started. Associate Judges make a little less than Circuit Judges.
Illinois ranks second in paying Circuit Judges in the nation. Appellate Judges are also the second highest paid in the nation. Supreme Court Judges are the third highest paid in the nation but they also receive free room and board in Springfield. Appellate Judges receive $189,949.00 annually with Supreme Court Judges getting an annual salary of $201,919.00, plus the room and board.
Overall, Illinois Judges rank second in the nation in annual pay, not including pension benefits, days off and staff. The average per-capita personal income in Illinois is $41,411.00. Illinois ranks 29th in the nation in cost of living.
The room and board for the Supreme Court Judges consists of apartments on the third floor of the Supreme Court building. The apartments come with housekeeping, a cook, maid service and 24 hour security. They do not get a vehicle.
Illinois Circuit Judges are paid $39,855.00 more than similar Judges in Iowa, $43,908.00 more than Judges in Indiana and $49,701.00 more than Judges in Missouri.
Why is this relevant, other than the fact Illinois is broke? We have an election coming up where we will be asked to vote for a Circuit Judge. One of the candidates is from a law firm that three of the five current Judges were once part of. If we add a fourth, Judge Gallagher, who now sits in Kane County, it would mean that over $697,000.00 would be paid to former members of single Sycamore law firm, annually.
Judge Gallagher’s daughter is running for DeKalb County State’s Attorney, a job that pays over $150,000.00 annually. If she wins, adding that salary to the salary of the four Judges means the County of DeKalb will be paying former members of one Sycamore law firm or a close relative of a former partner, over $850,000.00 annually. It would also mean the City of DeKalb, whose only sitting Judge is retiring right after the election, would not be represented on the Bench. The largest City in the County would not be represented.
This is just another reason Tom Doherty should get your vote on November 2, 2010. Tom Doherty is more qualified than his opponent, has an open mind and he does not have a home field advantage in the Courthouse with a built in team. Nor should he have such an advantage.
This is also an important reason why Clay Campbell should be elected State’s Attorney. The appearance of impropriety is to be maintained under the legal code of ethics. That would be hard to do with the State’s Attorney having her father on the bench along with three of his former partners.
BRUCE A. BRENNAN
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