EDWARDSVILLE — A woman is suing The Cyclery & Fitness Center, alleging that the company negligently entrusted its vehicle to an employee involved in a collision.

Josie A. Smith filed a complaint on Oct. 5 in Madison County Circuit Court against The Cyclery & Fitness Center, alleging that the fitness equipment provider carelessly entrusted its vehicle to its employee, Nathan J. Woehler.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Sept. 25, 2015, the vehicle in which she was a passenger was struck by a vehicle driven by Woehler, leaving her badly injured. The plaintiff holds The Cyclery & Fitness Center responsible for allegedly entrusting a vehicle to an employee who failed to yield right of way, failed to maintain control of the vehicle and failed to keep proper lookout, the suit says.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks compensation in the amount in excess of $50,000 plus costs of the suit. She is represented by Tess M. Perica of The Perica Law Firm PC in Wood River.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-1407

EDWARDSVILLE — A lawsuit against motorist Kelsie Browning alleges negligence and insufficient measures taken to prevent injuries in connection with a head-on collision.

Wesley Todd Kimbrell, individually and as next friend of Jordan Kimbrell, a minor, and Andrew Mercer filed a complaint on Oct. 7 in Madison County Circuit Court against Browning, alleging that she failed to maintain proper control of her vehicle.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that on Oct. 7, 2014, they were riding in a vehicle in Collinsville when Browning's vehicle crossed the center line and struck their vehicle head on, causing the plaintiffs to sustain serious injuries requiring extensive past and future medical treatment. The plaintiffs holds Browning responsible because she allegedly operated her vehicle at an excessive rate of speed, negligently allowed herself to become distracted while driving and failed to timely stop her vehicle to avoid a collision.

The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment against the defendant for an amount of $50,000 for each plaintiff and costs for this action. They are represented by Charles W. Armbruster and Michael T. Blotevogel of Armbruster Dripps Winterscheidt & Blotevogel LLC in Maryville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-1411

EDWARDSVILLE — A driver is suing motorist Bruce Mattea and his mother, vehicle owner Wanda Mattea, alleging negligence and insufficient measures taken to prevent injuries.

Linda J. Bohnenstiehl filed a complaint on Oct. 4 in Madison County Circuit Court against the defendants, alleging that Wanda Mattea negligently entrusted her vehicle to defendant Bruce Mattea, who allegedly negligently operated it.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on April 9, 2015, she was in a 2015 Chevrolet Malibu and was stopped in traffic near an intersection when Bruce Mattea, who was driving a 1989 Ford F150, struck the rear of her vehicle, injuring her. The plaintiff holds Bruce Mattea and Wanda Mattea responsible because Bruce Mattea allegedly has described himself as legally blind but then drove the vehicle and did so in a negligent fashion, while Wanda Mattea allegedly was negligent in letting him drive the vehicle.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against the defendants in excess of $50,000, cost of this suit and such other relief as justice may require. She is represented by Roy C. Dripps and Courtney C. Stirrat of Armbruster, Dripps, Winterscheidt & Blotevogel LLC in Maryville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-1398

EDWARDSVILLE — A tenant is suing Terra Properties Inc.; Mary O'Neal, as trustee of O"Neal Trust; and Raz Repair Inc., property managers and maintenance provider, alleging negligence and insufficient measures taken to prevent injuries.

Shannon N. Easley filed a complaint on Oct. 4 in Madison County Circuit Court against the defendants, alleging that they failed to maintain a reasonably safe property.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that she suffered adverse health consequences from her exposure to black mold, was hospitallized, was forced to miss time from work and incurred substantial medical expenses. The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because they allegedly knew or should have known that their apartments were infested with black mold, that it posed a serious health threat to their tenants and that they failed to rectify the black mold problem.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against the defendants in excess of $50,000 plus costs of this action and all other relief allowed by law. She is represented by Brian M. Wendler and Angie Zinzilieta of Wendler Law PC in Edwardsville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-1397

St. Clair County Clerk Tom Holbrook said that in spite of a few complaints of Republican votes turning into Democrat ones at voting machines at the county administration building, all are functioning properly.

An Illinois State Board of Elections representative was at the election office in Belleville on Tuesday to investigate whether any problems existed with the machines and determined there were none, Holbrook said.

He also said it "gets a little frustrating" hearing allegations of fraud, attributing any perceived malfunctioning to operator error. Voters do get to review their ballots before casting them, he said.

"I've been here three years... I've done everything I can to operate a transparent and open office," he said.

"There is nothing wrong" with all 3,000 votes that have so far been cast in early voting, Holbrook said.

Aunye Mabry of Belleville voted on Oct. 21 at the county building and is one who claims that when she selected Republican Rodger Cook for County Board Chairman, her selection instead went immediately to Democrat Mark Kern, incumbent Chairman.

She said she signaled for help, was assisted and ultimately was able to vote as she intended. But, another woman voting nearby "was making a scene" because she too was having problems with getting her selections to stick.

Dallas Cook, Republican candidate for St. Clair County Circuit Clerk and the sitting City Clerk for Belleville, was with Mabry at the time.

Cook said he did not have any trouble casting his ballot, but that the other voter "was losing her mind," stating that her votes were changing from Republican to Democrat.

Holbrook said there are election judges on site to help voters in such instances, but that this particular voter did not seek help.

Cook maintains that even if such an instance happens "even one time," that it is a "violation of the most fundamental right to choose who you want to govern you."

"There are potentially thousands of votes that have gone to the candidate the voter opposes," he said.

Holbrook said that anyone who suspects violations of the voting process can report it to the county's hotline at 618-825-2366 or email voterintegrity@co.st-clair.il.us.

He also encouraged voters to vote early if they want to avoid long lines at polling places on election day, Nov. 8, as turnout is expected to be higher than usual.

Former Madison County Circuit Judge Daniel Stack earlier this month was a panelist at the Mass Torts Made Perfect conference in Las Vegas, one of the largest gathering of plaintiff attorneys in the world.

Stack, 65, of Highland, retired in 2010, after having served as an elected judge for 13 years. He had presided over the court's asbestos docket and dozens of major class action cases. He currently works as a mediator with Aequitas Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Following is a transcript of his remarks:

What is the appropriate way that lawyers should address women judges?

Stack: Can I tell a little story?

I have a story about a huge that was my colleague. Judge Lola Maddox, who is retied, but we were at a Bar meeting one night and there at the bar, I know you can’t believe that Francis but I was near the bar. But a young lawyer approached us and said good evening to us and then he looked at her and said, “What do you judges call one another?” And Lola said, “I just call him honey.”

Do judges ever talk to each other about a lawyer, a lawyer that is aggressive or uncooperative? Is there any conversation among members on the bench about the lawyers and the way they handle cases? Are there things that lawyers should learn to avoid in court?

Stack: Other than those issues that have been discussed and that I agree with the other judges on, one of my most disturbing things was when a lawyer would show up on the morning of the trial with 200 motions in limine, even 50 motions in limine is ridiculous. And I know that it became a sort of — I don’t know if it is still going on, I’ve been retired for six years — but it became a fashionable thing you didn’t come into trial without having a bunch of motions in limine and it appeared that everyone wanted to try their case by motion in limine.

And I finally, I started saying to the lawyers, go back and pare these down. If you really think we need to be aware of and concern ourselves with when we start taking evidence. Even with those I want you to tell me there is no way for us to stop when this issue arises, take a recess voir dire the witness and let me decide is some eligible way whether this evidence is admissible. So it was just really disturbing and annoying, delaying the trial. Keeping jurors sitting around the hallway waiting because of all of the motions in limine, that was very annoying.

What would you like the lawyer to do in the rare case when the judge isn’t totally prepared?

Stack: If you are in trial and you tell the judge he may want to take something under advisement when you have a jury sitting there you could have a sidebar and suggest that you skip whatever you are doing for the moment and then the judge might need to take a look at this tonight after trial and make a ruling in the morning. And for similar reasons as I gave before. I’ve heard about it being done and I’ve seen it done. I’ve actually had a few people do it to me when they thought I didn’t know what I was doing and I’ve actually said I don’t think I need to take it under advisement or sometimes I’ve said that’s fine I’ll take it under advisement. But that is aa way you get around it.

How do you react to lawyers whose style is particularly aggressive as opposed to layers who are noticeably cooperative, trying to move the case ahead? Or is that a dichotomy that doesn’t exist?

Stack: Oh, I think it exists. I am just trying to remember a few instances. I tried a just trial a couple of years — maybe two years before I retired —with a lawyer I’d known for years who was very aggressive and a very bright guy and he was very pushy. And I finally just at a recess, I had a little sidebar with him and the other attorney and I said — I called by his last name which I won’t use here. I said, Gary you are making life miserable. If you really think that I am a total idiot to the point where you don’t think you are getting rulings you make your objections and note them to the record and if you want to make an offer of proof we’ll send the jury out and you can make the offer of proof. But don’t keep bantering because it looks bad and actually, I told him I am watching the jury’s faces and they don’t like it when you are attacking me and believe me, most jurors don’t like it when they see the lawyer giving the judge a hard time.

The Fifth District Appellate Court candidates introduced themselves and shared why they are qualified for the position at the Illinois Defense Committee’s Appellate Judge Forum on Wednesday at the Doubletree Hotel in Collinsville.

Madison County Circuit Judge John Barberis, who is running on the Republican ticket for the vacancy created through the retirement of Bruce Stewart, was the only candidate to address the recent media campaign spearheaded by Fair Courts Now. He said he suspected “big money” would play a role in the race as Election Day approached.

“There’s $585,000 that just got poured into this race to run negative ads,” he said.

Barberis said he does not believe opponent Williamson County Circuit Judge Brad Bleyer had anything to do with the ad campaign.

“I know Brad doesn’t have anything to do with this, so there’s no blame whatsoever. I don’t feel any animosity or any concern Brad orchestrated or had anything to do with this, because I know Brad is a good guy and wouldn’t have done that,” Barberis said.

Barberis said he didn’t find the television ad to be too offensive and actually said the ads have allowed him to reach more people than he could have on his own.

“The good part about this kind of money getting involved in this race, and I kind of need to thank the people who put it together, because it’s provided me with the opportunity to get my name out to more people than I ever could have done on my own. For that reason, I’m almost grateful,” he said.

Barberis explained that in his race for circuit judge, he didn’t have much money. He said the campaign was not completely self-funded, but he never raised more than $5,000 or spent more than $5,000.

He added that people were shocked when he won because his opponent, Madison County Associate Judge Clarence Harrison, raised $112,117 in individual contributions and loaned his campaign close to $30,000. Barberis won 54 percent to 46 percent.

“I think I did that too well, because there’s not a lot of money again, and I guess people think ‘Well he doesn’t need it,’” he said.

The theme of the negative ads so far have focused on the Illinois State Bar Association polls, which determined that Barberis was not recommended.

“The thing of all of this is simply that people really don’t care what the ISBA thinks of judicial candidates,” he said.

“I kind of wear that rating as a badge of honor, because the integrity of that process is in question,” he added.

Barberis explained that Justice James “Randy” Moore was highly recommended by the Judicial Board that did their interviews and was appointed to his current position by the Supreme Court. Yet in the ISBA poll, lawyers who claim to know Moore did not recommend him.

Also, former St. Clair County Associate Judge Laninya Cason was rated very high as a Democrat. But after getting into a “squabble” with the Democratic Party and switching to the Republican Party, those same lawyers who rated her very high as a Democrat rated her very low as a Republican.

“If you have the integrity to do it the right way, then you’ll do it the right way," he said. "If you want to play games with people’s careers and lives … don’t expect me to cower down and say well they don’t like me. Because quite frankly it doesn’t matter.”

However, Barberis did express some concern about the ads.

“The thing is, the ads are going to work if people don’t know anything about me.”

Barberis was born and raised in Collinsville. After a brief time at Eureka College, he graduated from Illinois State University.

Upon graduation, he became a home detention officer in the probation department while determining which law enforcement agency he hoped to join.

However, he later chose to go back to law school at St. Louis University.

He started as an assistant state’s attorney in Madison County before switching to civil law and opening his own firm.

Then in 2012, he decided to run for State’s Attorney in Madison County without any political experience beforehand. The Republican party already had a candidate, so they asked him to run for Circuit Clerk.

“Me being the political newbie, I didn’t realize just how popular Mark Von Nida was,” he joked.

He said there was a fear among Republicans that if you ran on a Republican ticket in a Democratically-controlled county, that your career was pretty much over if you didn’t win.

“I found the opposite to be true. My career blossomed … so I was perfectly happy when I lost and I was content where I was,” he said.

But then in 2014, the Republican Party approached him and asked him to run for circuit judge when former Chief Judge Ann Callis stepped down from the bench to run for Congress.

He was sitting at a Triad Middle School basketball game on election night. By 8:30 p.m., he had been unofficially declared the winner.

Barberis said he was the most shocked person in Madison County and didn’t expect to actually win.

“But this race is a different animal,” he said of his appellate court campaign.

Running in Madison County was difficult because the county was big. But when you run in 37 counties, you have to be everywhere all the time.

Brad Bleyer

Bleyer is running on the Democratic ticket for Stewart’s seat.

“This is kind of a unique year where you have two seats that are elected at the same time,” he said.

Bleyer focused mainly on his time on the bench.

Bleyer has been a Williamson County judge since 2004 when he was appointed to his seat. He then ran unopposed in 2006 and was retained in 2012.

Prior to his time on the bench, he was a practicing attorney for about 21 years in southern Illinois.

As an attorney, he primarily did insurance defense.

He also worked as a teacher and coach before attending law school.

He said his proudest moment was when he was appointed to the bench.

“I consider it a privilege every day that I go into work and sit on the bench. It’s a privilege to work for and serve all of you,” he said.

Bleyer also said he has worked with skilled attorneys and judges who taught him to practice law the right way. He now tries to pass that on to young lawyers who come into his courtroom.

Randy Moore

Moore is running on the Republican ticket for Wexstten’s seat.

He said running for office in the Fifth District has not been easy.

“It has been a difficult process to get to discover all the 18,000 square miles of the Fifth District,” he said.

Moore grew up in Carterville. After high school he went to Southern Illinois University. He later attended SIU law school.

He began his law career with the City of Carterville before venturing out to begin his own practice, where he worked for 20 years.

“I’ve handled just about every kind of case that you can imagine,” he said.

He was appointed to the bench in Williamson County in 2007 by Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier. Then in 2008 he was retained.

He said closing his private practice was one of the most difficult decisions he had to make.

In January 2015, he was appointed to the Fifth District by Karmeier to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Stephen Spomer.

“I really take seriously my role as a judge. To get it right. To be fair,” he said.

Having been a sole practitioner, he said he will never forget what it is like to be a lawyer trying to handle a case, which makes him a better judge.

Moore recognized there are a lot of challenges facing the legal community today, including technology changes and confidence in the judicial system.

“One of the reasons I am running is to maintain that confidence in the judicial system. I want people to know their judge is fair and impartial,” he said.

Moore said he has also gained life experience to make him a better candidate for the Fifth District bench.

He said his house caught fire, and during the same time he was fighting kidney failure.

He said he didn’t expect to live to see age 50. He had a kidney transplant in 2006 and is now in better health than he has been in since the 1980s.

Jo Beth Weber

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Jo Beth Weber is running on the Democratic ticket for the vacancy of James Wexstten.

Weber was born and raised in Jefferson County.

She attended the University of Illinois for her undergraduate before attending University of Illinois College of Law to get her law degree. She has over 25 years of legal experience.

She has served as both an appellate defender and an appellate prosecutor.

She was also an appellate court clerk for 15 years for four different appellate court justices.

Weber has represented people on appeal in every appellate court in Illinois, including the Supreme Court.

“I think that experience and also the experience of being a legal adviser to four different appellate court judges prepares me for this job probably better than just about anybody who ever ran for appellate court. And I’m not bragging, that’s just what my experience is,” Weber said.

In 2012, she ran and was elected for an open seat for resident judge in Jefferson County.

“Judge Weber gave new meaning to the term ‘pounding the pavement,’” said Paul Lynch during his introduction for Weber.

She won by over 60 percent, which “by anyone’s definition qualifies as a landslide,” said Lynch, an attorney with Craig & Craig in Mattoon.

As resident circuit j00udge, it is her responsibility to assign dockets. She said she assigned the dockets according to what the other judges are interested in. Then she took whatever was left over, which included the criminal docket.

Weber said she never planned to run for appellate court judge.

“I know that sounds crazy with my appellate court experience,” she said.

But she said people approached her and recommended she seek the position.

Weber said going through elections is very difficult, but they have to make sure they don’t let outside influences change the way they make decisions.

“As judges, we can’t allow anything to affect our decisions that we make in the courtroom.”

She also said she wanted to be remembered as “a respectable judge. As a judge who treats everyone fairly, impartially. A judge who actually changed people’s lives.”

Nearly $1 million has been raised by a group running attack ads against Republican candidates for the Fifth District Appellate Court this week, and among the contributors are court reporters and Texas attorneys who specialize in asbestos litigation. 

Pohlman Reporting of St. Louis contributed $25,000 and Sarah Paskiewicz of Paszkiewicz Court Reporting in Maryville contributed $10,000 on Tuesday to Fair Courts Now, a committee formed two weeks ago to oppose Justice James "Randy" Moore and Circuit Judge John Barberis.

Their contributions pale in comparison to others received by the committee this week: $235,000 from asbestos firm Gori Julian of Edwardsville; $50,000 from personal injury firm Keefe, Keefe and Unsell of Belleville; $10,000 from asbestos firm Bullock Campbell Bullock Harris of Houston; attorney Charles Valles, Jr. of Flower Mound, Texas and $5,000 from asbestos attorney Clay Fostel of Lanier Law in Houston.

Previous contributions totaling $585,000, primarily from other Madison County asbestos attorneys, added to this week's total of $345,000, puts the anti-Moore and anti-Barberis committee at $930,000.

Democrat candidates Jo Beth Weber, a circuit judge from Jefferson County, and Brad Bleyer, a circuit judge from Williamson County, already had raised more money than their opponents Moore and Barberis through their individual campaign committees.

As of last week, Weber had raised approximately $223,000 and Bleyer had raised approximately $101,000.

By comparison, Moore and Barberis raised a combined $64,000 as of last week.

EDWARDSVILLE — A pedestrian is suing Superior Corporation of Illinois and Michael Hewitt, pickup truck owner and operator, alleging negligence and insufficient measures taken to prevent injuries.

Jill Essner filed a complaint on Oct. 7 in Madison County Circuit Court against the defendants, alleging that Hewitt negligently failed to keep a pickup truck under control.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Oct. 10, 2014, she was a pedestrian attempting to cross Main Street in Edwardsville when Hewitt, who was operating a pickup truck owned by Superior, struck her. She claims she was severely injured, resulting in medical expenses, pain, loss of earning capacity and loss of ability to pursue further education. The plaintiff holds Superior Corporation of Illinois and Hewitt responsible because Hewitt allegedly operated the vehicle owned by Superior too fast for weather conditions, failed to keep proper lookout and negligently failed to avoid the collision.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks a fair and just award in excess of $50,000, plus costs of this suit. She is represented by Reed Nelson of Nelson & Nelson Attorneys at Law PC in Belleville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-1414

EDWARDSVILLE — A woman is suing Granite City motorist Jimmy Hall, alleging negligence in connection with a traffic collision.

Levora Taylor filed a complaint on Oct. 11 in Madison County Circuit Court against Hall, alleging that he failed to operate his vehicle with a reasonable degree of care.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Oct. 19, 2015, she was operating a motor vehicle and was stopped for a red light when the defendant drove his vehicle into the rear of hers, causing her injuries that resulted in pain and suffering, lost wages and medical expenses. The plaintiff holds Hall responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to stop, swerve or reduce speed to avoid the collision, failed to yield right of way and failed to maintain a careful lookout.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against the defendant for a sum in excess of $50,000, plus costs of this suit, and for any further relief that is just under the circumstances. She is represented by Joshua P. Myers and Aaron M. Vogel of Schultz & Myers LLC in St. Louis.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-1417

EDWARDSVILLE — A man is suing apartment building owner Russell Smith and his companies, Bossanova of Alton Inc. and Olive Oil Marketplace Inc., alleging negligence in connection with a terrace collapse.

Tyler Green filed a complaint on Oct. 7 in Madison County Circuit Court against the defendants, alleging that they failed to exercise due care for the safety of their tenants.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Sept. 18, he was lawfully standing on the terrace of an apartment owned and operated by the defendants when the terrace collapsed, causing him to fall multiple stories below. As a result, he sustained life-threatening physical and neurological injuries that made him liable for large medical expenses. The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because they allegedly negligently operated an apartment that had an unsafe terrace and failed to maintain a property free of hazards.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment in an amount in excess of $75,000, plus costs. He is represented by Thomas Q. Keefe of Keefe, Keefe & Unsell PC in Belleville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-1413

EDWARDSVILLE — A lender is suing Madison County residents Katherine Wood and Bernd Wood, alleging breach of a loan agreement.

Grace Armstrong, a resident of Arnold, Missouri, filed a complaint on Oct. 7 in Madison County Circuit Court against the defendants, alleging that they failed to comply with their loan agreement.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that she advanced funds to the Woods with a promise from the defendants that they would repay all the amount loaned within reasonable time. To date, the total amount of $225,109.99 remains uncollected, the suit alleges. The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because they allegedly failed to pay the balance of the loan within a reasonable time.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against the defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $225,109.99, plus interest, costs of suit and such other relief as the court deems just. She is represented by Holly A Hampton and Teri L. Havron of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli PC in Edwardsville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-1416

EDWARDSVILLE — A driver is suing fellow motorist Kathryn Reynolds, alleging negligence in connection with a traffic collision.

Derrick Thomas filed a complaint on Oct. 7 in Madison County Circuit Court against Reynolds, alleging that she failed to maintain proper control of her vehicle.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Oct. 10, 2014, he was operating his vehicle and was stopped at a red light when his vehicle was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by defendant. The collision caused him to sustain severe injuries resulting in pain and suffering, disfigurement, lost wages and loss of enjoyment of life, he alleges. The plaintiff holds Reynolds responsible because the defendant allegedly operated her vehicle at an excessive rate of speed, failed to monitor the flow of traffic and allowed herself to become distracted while driving.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against the defendant for an amount in excess of $50,000, plus costs of this suit. He is represented by Charles W. Armbruster and Michael T. Blotevogel of Armbruster Dripps Winterscheidt & Blotevogel LLC in Maryville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 16-L-1412

As more money continues to pour into a group running attack ads against southern Illinois Republican appellate court candidates, one of those targets said he believes the public will draw specific conclusions from the effort.

"The perception created when $1 million is spent to help elect two Democratic judges, or more importantly to keep out of office two Republican judges, the public does feel there is a reason they do that," said Madison County Circuit Judge John Barberis, a Republican running for one of two open seats at the Fifth District Appellate Court.

"A lot assume the reason is that they're going to get something for that."

Barberis is running against Williamson County Circuit Judge Brad Bleyer, a Democrat, but he doesn't blame his opponent for the money being donated to the group Fair Courts Now and the negative ads being aired.

"I don't believe that Judge Bleyer has anything to do with this," Barberis said. "But that doesn't matter. PACs are not restricted."

The committee was created two weeks ago and to date has collected $1,060,000, primarily from asbestos attorneys who actively litigate in Madison County, the nation's busiest asbestos court.

On Thursday, out of state asbestos attorneys Shrader and Associates of Houston contributed $100,000 and Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman of Mount Pleasant, S.C. contributed $15,000. Cooney and Conway of Chicago contributed $15,000.

When it was first formed, the Simmons firm of Alton and Maune Raichle of St. Louis each contributed $250,000. SWMK Law of St. Louis contributed $50,000 and the Flint firm of Glen Carbon contributed $25,000.

Earlier this week, Gori Julian of Edwardsville contributed $235,000; Keefe, Keefe and Unsell of Belleville contributed $50,000; Bullock Campbell Bullock Harris of Houston contributed contributed $10,000; attorney Charles Valles, Jr. of Flower Mound, Texas contributed $10,000 and asbestos attorney Clay Fostel of Lanier Law in Houston contributed $5,000.

Pohlman Reporting of St. Louis contributed $25,000 and Sarah Paskiewicz of Paszkiewicz Court Reporting in Maryville contributed $10,000.

Barberis said that if the situation was reversed and a political action committee was working on his behalf and going after his opponent, he would push back. He said he does not like seeing special interest money influencing the election.

"I would step up and distance myself from that and condemn it," he said.

Barberis has raised approximately $20,000 compared to Bleyer, who has raised approximately $100,000.

Bleyer has been contacted for comment, but had returned a call placed by the Record.

The other appellate court race is between Republican Justice James "Randy" Moore and Democrat Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Jo Beth Weber.