Voters in 48 counties across the Southern half of the state will be asked to pick a Republican candidate for Appellate Court Judge in Tuesday’s election.
Both Michael McHaney of Salem and Barry Vaughn of McLeansboro site their lengthy record as an attorney and judge as why they are the best candidate.
Vaughn notes he will benefit from being Wayne County State’s Attorney before becoming a judge in the 2nd Circuit and then being appointed to the seat he is trying to win on the Appellate Court when Judge David Overstreet was named to the Illinois Supreme Court. McHaney is proud of his 40 plus years in the legal field including his current position as a Judge in the 4th Judicial Circuit.
One issue of the campaign is the Illinois State Bar Association poll that rated McHaney as not recommended with an overall score of 44 compared to Vaughn’s 90 percent.
Vaughn feels the bar poll should be a guide for voters who don’t know the judges.
“I think it’s the best to find out who is qualified for the job. Most of the attorney’s I know take it seriously and take the responsibility to the public seriously so they try to give an honest assessment of those being evaluated.”
Vaughn notes only 211 rated the Appellate Court candidates because ballots only went to those in the Appellate Court district and many in the sprawling district
would not know enough about either candidate to vote.
But McHaney looks at the poll differently, noting only .003-percent of the attorneys in the state provided input.
“Any lawyer out of the 65,000 in Illinois can request a ballot and with a political or other axe to grind can bash any judge or any candidate for any reason. It is unanimous. Second I would point out two sitting appellate justices on the court right now, conservative republican justices who are excellent, both were not recommended on their bar poll.”
McHaney notes in two previous bar polls when he was running for circuit judge he earned a 90-percent recommended for legal ability and courtroom management.
For the bar association itself, he cites an article done by Newsmax that calls some of the questions they asked the candidates “irrelevant and offensive”, with the left leaning organization going woke to protect their favored candidates.
McHaney suggests voters look at records and qualifications or ask those who have worked with the judges at area courthouses for their input.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Brian Roberts in the November election.
