Prairie State Wire

Candidate for Illinois Supreme Court Mark Curran advocates for an end to corruption on the Illinois Supreme Court.

Curran criticized Judge Elizabeth M. Rochford, his opponent for the 2nd District judge of the Illinois Supreme Court saying that she lacks integrity and has questionable judgment as a sitting appointed judge and she can’t be trusted on the IL Supreme Court. 

"She just took $500k from Democrat Gov Pritzker, (who needs a justice in [his] back pocket to do his bidding since indicted Ald. Ed Burke’s wife Anne is retiring from the Supreme Court after the election.)," Curran said. "It’s business as usual as Rochford is beholden to the same crooked dirty politicians for decades that committed crimes against the people of our state. Rochford didn’t ask for the money back after Burke was indicted. 'We the people' incur the corruption burden, and are paying for these crooked politician and their cronies. We can end this cronyism by voting November 8 for the independent law man Mark Curran to help us restore faith in the highest court of Illinois, during a time the people’s faith in our court system is at an all time low."

Paul Hurst and David E. Smith explain that Democrats have controlled the Illinois Supreme Court for 53 years, and during that time it has rummer-stamped Illinois corruption. Cook County gets 3 of the 7 seats on the court, and these seats are held by Democrats. This year, there is a "once in a lifeline" opportunity to change the makeup of the Court with two open seats in the Chicago suburbs and the collar counties. Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker has recently given $500,000 to Elizabeth Rochford, which will supposedly portray her opponent, Mark Curran, as an extremist. The real extremists are the people who want crime, corruption, violence, and injustice. The choice is clear.

Rochford donated $15,000 to Chicago Alderman Ed Burke, the husband of a sitting Illinois Supreme Court justice after Burke was indicted for corruption. Hurst and Smith noted that letting the rich and powerful buy positions is detrimental to society. They recounted a case in Rochford's family court where a father was decimated by Judge Rochford and was not allowed to see his kids. 

"I want the people of the state of Illinois to understand going into this election, there's no possible way Elizabeth Rochford could perform her duties as would be expected of a professional, state Supreme Court Justice," the father warned. "I want the residents of Illinois to understand what a mistake, absolute mistake it would be to have Elizabeth Rochford on the state Supreme Court." 

Curran is a lifelong public servant whose stance on justice and adherence to principles has put him at odds with both parties. He won the GOP primary despite being outspent 25 to 1. His records include being a Senior Prosecutor with the State’s Attorney’s Office, Chief of the Gang Crimes Bureau, and an assistant U.S. Attorney.  Curran defeated Daniel Shanes in the June 28th Republican primary in a race not certified until July 29th. He is an advocate of an independent and balanced court instead of a partisan one. He has spent 31 years with the Lake County State's Attorney's Office, and 12 years as the Lake County Sheriff. 

“For me, it's never been about partisan politics and that's the reality of my record," Curran said in a press release, Dupage Policy Journal reported. "Frankly, it's why I won the primary. Now, the people have another choice to make, between law and order and judicial activism. We need to unite in favor of the law and present a united front against the activism. If you look at my record and look at my opponent, you'll see a stark contrast. I'm for equal justice under the law, upholding our Constitution and protecting liberty. This race will reveal who supports law and justice and who is willing to accept partisan politics and activism throughout our state's judicial system."

Democratic Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride failed to retain his seat on the Court during the 2020 election, according to Cook County Record. He received 55% of the vote, but he needed 60% to retain his seat in a district that stretches from Will and Kankakee Counties all the way to the Mississippi River. Kilbride's opponents linked him to former House Speaker Michael Madigan, calling him "Madigan's favorite justice." Kilbride's judicial independence was questioned in recent years after he penned a decision that blocked a referendum from going the ballot that would change the way legislative districts are drawn. This referendum was opposed by Madigan and his allies, who successfully sued to stop it. The Kilbride race drew a lot of attention from both sides, with $10 million in total being spent on it. 

Curran called for unity, Newswires reported, after it was apparent he secured the Republican nomination for the second judicial district for the Illinois Supreme Court stating that there is a "need to unite around the common goal of turning our state's highest court, over to a new majority of fair, Constitutional and Republican leadership. The state's Supreme Court not only has the final say in legal matters within our state, but it also administers and oversees this third branch of our government. This is a golden opportunity to break the unhealthy, one-party rule that our state is suffering under and bring much needed balance. That's something everyone should want to rally around." 

The second district is comprised of Lake, McHenry, DeKalb, Kane, and Kendall Counties. The winner of the general election gets a ten-year term, and the average time a justice spends on the bench is 20 years. Should Curran win, it would be a major step in taking the partisanship out of the Court, and it would challenge the Democrat's monolithic rule in the state.