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* The first round of fundraising for new candidates is the people on their personal contact lists. So, this isn’t too surprising. And since it’s St. Clair County, it ain’t a surprise on another level, either…
Illinois U.S. House 12th District candidate C.J. Baricevic has gotten most of his campaign funding from attorneys who work in the Belleville-based court system headed by his father, according to a newspaper’s recent analysis.
The Democratic candidate, whose father is 20th Judicial Circuit Chief John Baricevic, has received more than $246,000 from lawyers and others associated with more than 70 law firms, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. One of those firms has donated more than $37,000 through its lawyers and employees, including secretaries who gave the top allowable contribution of $2,700 each.
“It is clear that C.J. Baricevic has far more support in the trial lawyer community than he does among the majority of 12th District voters,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Zach Hunter said in statement.
While Republicans raise concerns about a conflict of interest, C.J. Baricevic said the support from lawyers comes from him being a partner in the Belleville law firm Chatham and Baricevic.
* More…
His father, Judge Baricevic, vehemently disputed any connection between his position as chief judge and his son’s strong support from attorneys. He said the chief judge’s official authority to assign cases to other judges was in practice carried out by people under him.
“Call any lawyer, call any judge. I do not interfere with the normal process” of assigning cases to other judges, he said last week. “You won’t find one lawyer who will make that accusation, because it’s unfounded.”
No one has alleged that Judge Baricevic has improperly meddled in case assignments. But critics say the lawyer-donors’ unusual generosity toward his son raises the question of whether those attorneys feel pressure to give.
“Common sense would tell you if you give money to the chief judge’s son, he’s going to like you, and if you don’t, he won’t,” said Belleville City Clerk Dallas Cook, a Republican who is running for 20th Judicial Circuit clerk and is suing to get Judge Baricevic removed from a judicial ballot this year in an unrelated election dispute.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 10:32 am
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Welcome to lovely St. Clair county, were corruption comes with a smile and some snark.
Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 10:35 am
Slippery slope to go down with Rauner and Proft funneling money through IL GOP.
I thought Madison County was where trial lawyers went on vacation I mean go to work
Comment by Almost the Weekend Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 10:42 am
=Welcome to lovely St. Clair county, were corruption comes with a smile and some snark.=
And the standing joke is about the banks running out of $5 bills just before every election.
Comment by aufjunk Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 10:45 am
===including secretaries who gave the top allowable contribution of $2,700 each.===
Uh oh.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 10:51 am
==including secretaries who gave the top allowable contribution of $2,700 each==
How much are they paying those secretaries?
Comment by Formerly Known As... Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 11:24 am
“How much are they paying those secretaries?”
And are any of them hiring?
Comment by L.A. Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 11:26 am
==unrelated election dispute==
Ummmm…..not so sure it’s unrelated. It’s all the same mudpit.
Comment by Vote Quimby! Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 11:30 am
Yeah unlike the conflict when a billionaire gop govenor makes more money quashing a tax increase then from the jobs salary….. or makes statements about bankruptcy right before governemnt bond sales which drives up the interest rate for his investment bank friends and contributors….
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 12:57 pm
Jerry Costello relied heavily on many of those same attorneys for the 30 plus years he held elective office. Hard to say how much the St. Clair tag will help or hurt him in his race against Mike Bost.
Comment by illini Tuesday, May 24, 16 @ 1:52 pm