A new targeted digital ad, underscoring 3rd District appellate court judicial candidate Kenton Skarin’s ties to Justice Clarence Thomas and extreme anti-abortion organizations like the Heritage Foundation, will begin running today, pro-choice organization Personal PAC announced. Personal PAC has endorsed Judge John Anderson in the race.
“We support Judge John Anderson because of his decades of legal and judicial experience, along with his proven track record of service and leadership,” said Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick. “The extreme, anti-choice ties of Clarence Thomas protege Kenton Skarin, on the other hand, make his candidacy unacceptable–and this ad will make sure voters understand this contrast clearly.”
The ad will be airing primarily on Hulu and other streaming services, targeting voters in the 3rd Appellate District.
So I guess the question is should voters care about Anderson’s 30-year-old traffic tickets, or should they care about Skaren’s current extremist views?
It’s nearly impossible to reconcile Kenton Skarin’s role as Acting General Counsel to one Governor Bruce Rauner with his proclaimed interest in functioning government and fiscal responsibility (how that applies to an appellate court justice is beyond me, but who knows, I only clerked for two of them). It’s equally impossible to reconcile his lamentation about judges running under political banners (”I am a judge, not a politician”) when he was counsel to a Governor.
But at least we know he’s humble, as he volunteered his reason for becoming a judge: “because Illinois deserves the best Judges.”
The ad as I hear it is biased and not forthcoming. That would be natural on such an explosive topic. Like most of these ads they zero in on a point and depends on a number of variables. To me the first claim in makes on reproductive rights is wrong, but all the hoop around Justice Thomas does is pointing. In the end if you are pro-life there is always someone to take another position. I find the ad tone be be offensive actually.
I will take the guy who graduated #1 in his class from top 10 Northwestern Law (#9 of 196) over the Justice Kildabride Clerk hack/ 33x traffic law scofflaw who likes to pretend he got his law degree from Duke. He actually went to bottom tier (#176) John Marshall (now called University of Illinois-Chicago).
- George Ryan Reynolds - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 1:42 pm:
Live in the 3rd appellate and have yet to receive any mail from either side. Contrast that with the Kilbride SC race in 2020, where we averaged a mail piece a day for a month or so.
Well HLV, I believe Anderson went to UIC … AND Duke AND Notre Dame. Accomplishing what he has done after being a troubled kid and homeless is nothing short of extraordinary. Oh, and he has a higher bar rating.
May sound crazy or wacky, but I’m pretty sure I would rather go before a judge who has actually experienced struggles and hardship in their life and can relate to everyday people, as opposed to an ivory tower elitist/political extremist who seems to terrify women.
- Donnie Elgin - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 12:51 pm:
Rate it an A - as I did not know Kenton Skarin clerked for a SCOTUS justice which is a very prestigious job - more reason to support him.
- BleuPage - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 12:51 pm:
So I guess the question is should voters care about Anderson’s 30-year-old traffic tickets, or should they care about Skaren’s current extremist views?
- NIU Grad - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 1:03 pm:
Very effective, but probably should have went out before early voting started.
- AlfondoGonz - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 1:07 pm:
It’s nearly impossible to reconcile Kenton Skarin’s role as Acting General Counsel to one Governor Bruce Rauner with his proclaimed interest in functioning government and fiscal responsibility (how that applies to an appellate court justice is beyond me, but who knows, I only clerked for two of them). It’s equally impossible to reconcile his lamentation about judges running under political banners (”I am a judge, not a politician”) when he was counsel to a Governor.
But at least we know he’s humble, as he volunteered his reason for becoming a judge: “because Illinois deserves the best Judges.”
- clec dcn - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 1:07 pm:
The ad as I hear it is biased and not forthcoming. That would be natural on such an explosive topic. Like most of these ads they zero in on a point and depends on a number of variables. To me the first claim in makes on reproductive rights is wrong, but all the hoop around Justice Thomas does is pointing. In the end if you are pro-life there is always someone to take another position. I find the ad tone be be offensive actually.
- HLV - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 1:24 pm:
I will take the guy who graduated #1 in his class from top 10 Northwestern Law (#9 of 196) over the Justice Kildabride Clerk hack/ 33x traffic law scofflaw who likes to pretend he got his law degree from Duke. He actually went to bottom tier (#176) John Marshall (now called University of Illinois-Chicago).
- Nick - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 1:29 pm:
Probably effective, as Skarin has made no effort to distance himself from Thomas.
“What makes Justice Thomas’s clerks so remarkable, in large part, is their success as loyal standard-bearers of his singular ideology.” - NYTimes, Clarence Thomas’s Clerks: An ‘Extended Family’ With Reach and Power - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/24/us/clarence-thomas-supreme-court-clerks.html
- Jerry - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 1:40 pm:
A+!
Anderson is a Conservative IF by “conservative” you mean getting the guv’mint out of your life.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 1:42 pm:
===He actually went to bottom tier===
My, aren’t we high falutin’
/s
- George Ryan Reynolds - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 1:42 pm:
Live in the 3rd appellate and have yet to receive any mail from either side. Contrast that with the Kilbride SC race in 2020, where we averaged a mail piece a day for a month or so.
- BleuPage - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 2:07 pm:
Well HLV, I believe Anderson went to UIC … AND Duke AND Notre Dame. Accomplishing what he has done after being a troubled kid and homeless is nothing short of extraordinary. Oh, and he has a higher bar rating.
- ILPatriot - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 3:23 pm:
Weird — the HLV commenter sounds a lot like Kenton Skarin
- hisgirlfriday - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 4:14 pm:
I hope HLV posted that hot take with his monocle tightly affixed and his pinky out.
- Doug VP - Tuesday, Oct 8, 24 @ 10:07 pm:
May sound crazy or wacky, but I’m pretty sure I would rather go before a judge who has actually experienced struggles and hardship in their life and can relate to everyday people, as opposed to an ivory tower elitist/political extremist who seems to terrify women.
But hey, that’s just me.