The Illinois Supreme Court will not hear the appeal of Madison County State's Attorney Tom Haine who earlier this year sought to overturn a controversial judicial gerrymandering law.
On Nov. 30, the high court denied the county's petition for leave to appeal a Fourth District Appellate Court ruling from February that allowed the law to stand.
The Judicial Circuits Districting Act, rammed through the state legislature in the middle of the night last January, was designed to give Democrat candidates an advantage in this year's election by eliminating county-wide voting in judicial races and permitting only voters in a Democratic-leaning subcircuit in the western portion of Madison County to decide the contests.
Three races were up for grabs, but Democrat candidates Barry Julian, Ebony Huddleston and Associate Judge Ryan Jumper came up short on Nov. 8.
Final vote tallies show Julian narrowly lost his race to Republican Circuit Judge Chris Threlkeld, in spite of a particularly negative campaign funded by the county Democrat committee against Threlkeld.
Julian, whose wealth was built in part on Madison County asbestos litigation, self-funded his campaign and even had the backing of Democrat U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. Julian lost by a 50.63% to 49.37% margin, or 336 votes.
Republican Circuit Judge Amy Sholar handily defeated Huddleston by a 56.34% to 43.66% margin, or 3,394 votes.
Republican Tim Berkley defeated Jumper by a 51.89% to 48.11% margin, or 1,007 votes.
The political balance of the Madison County circuit court bench is now 5-4 Republican to Democrat. Some local historians say it is the first time ever that the bench has held a conservative majority.
Ironically, the judicial gerrymandering law could end up backfiring on those it was intended to help, as it could be some time before Democrats have a shot at regaining majority control.
Under provisions of the law crafted by the supermajority party in Springfield, the next five judicial vacancies to be voted on in Madison County will take place in Republican-leaning portions of the county.
In his petition to the Illinois Supreme Court, Haine had argued that the concept of carving Madison County into three subcircuits was fundamentally unfair and unconstitutional.
He called the "political chicanery" of passing the law, "obvious."
The law forced Judges Threlkeld and Sholar to move from their homes to be eligible to run for the vacancies they were appointed to by the Supreme Court, and which they had announced they would seek last year.
Sentiment against the law was strong, on both sides of the political spectrum. After Gov. Pritzker signed the law, a bipartisan majority of Madison County Board members asked Haine to pursue legal action.
And in last month's election, voters overwhelmingly rejected - by a margin of 88%-12% - the concept of judicial redistricting in a non-binding referendum.