Three years after the death of St. Clair County judge Joe Christ revealed a drug scandal, three judges have staked their jobs on a conviction that they have restored public faith in the judiciary.

Chief Judge John Baricevic and circuit judges Robert Haida and Robert LeChien tested that faith last November, when they decided not to stand for retention.

They resigned instead, not because they intended to give up their robes but because they wanted to run like new candidates.

Retention would require 60 percent approval, rather than a simple majority.

When they decided to run, Baricevic said an election campaign would provide an opportunity to answer questions about former judge Michael Cook.

Since then, however, the focus of their campaigns has been to preserve their access to the ballot amidst a court challenge.

Cook found Christ’s body on March 10, 2013, in a Pike County hunting lodge that the Cook family owned.

At an autopsy, a device for snorting cocaine fell to the floor.

On March 15, 2013, Pike County sheriff Paul Petty and deputy Matt Frazier met with Cook at a Hardee’s restaurant in Belleville.

According to Frazier’s report, “Judge Cook appeared nervous and asked Sheriff Petty if he was being arrested or if he needed to sign anything.”

“Sheriff Petty explained that he knew he used controlled substance, but was concerned as to whose cocaine vial it was that was located with the deceased during autopsy,” Frazier wrote.

Frazier wrote that Cook said he used cocaine in the past.

“Sheriff Petty explained he wasn’t out to ruin any lives if possible but if the evidence showed Judge Christ died of a cocaine overdose and he provided it there could be a real issue,” Frazier wrote.

“I inference that both of them were referring to drug induced homicide.

“Judge Cook stated that there were several people like him within the judicial system in his area that were a part of this activity.”

Frazier further wrote that Cook said Christ received the device as a gift for becoming judge.

He wrote that Cook said he believed an attorney gave the device to Christ.

On May 14, 2013, state police scientists sent Petty a report stating that they found more of Cook’s genetic material than Christ’s on the cocaine-snorting device.

The report identified Christ as victim, Cook as suspect.

Petty chose not to deliver his case file to Pike County state’s attorney Carrie Boyd because he doubted her competence.

She later filed a baseless felony charge against him, losing the case, resigning her office, and leaving Pike County in disgrace.

With no hope of local prosecution, Petty delivered his file to U.S. Attorney Stephen Wigginton, in Fairview Heights.

Federal agents then arrested Cook on charges of possessing heroin and using it while possessing firearms.

They arrested his heroin supplier, Sean McGilvery, and Christ’s cocaine supplier, St. Clair County probation officer James Fogarty.

Fogarty admitted that he sold cocaine to Christ, but successfully pleaded that he didn’t sell the cocaine that killed Christ.

The investigation ended as suddenly as it began.

To this day, no one has determined who provided the cocaine that killed Christ.

No one has confirmed Cook’s statement about “several people like him.”

No one has identified the attorney who gave the cocaine device to Christ.

Cook, Fogarty, and McGilvery negotiated pleas within months.

Wigginton and Cook agreed that Cook would serve 18 months in prison.

Senior judge Joe McDade of Peoria, who took Cook’s case after all Southern District judges recused themselves, rejected the agreement.

He found it didn’t account for the damage Cook caused to public faith in the judiciary, and he increased the sentence to 24 months.

Cook and Fogarty have served their time, and McGilvery will go free next year.

Since his arrest and prosecution, Cook’s record as a judge has been repudiated.

Haida overturned jury verdicts finding two murder suspects guilty, on no grounds but prejudice due to Cook’s heroin addiction.

A second murder trial for suspect William Cosby resulted in acquittal.

Fifth District appellate judges reversed several of Cook’s judgments, not on account of his addiction but on account of errors he committed.

A transcript in one case showed Cook failed to rebuke a prosecutor who referred to the mother of a young abuse victim as “Brandy Crackhead.”

St. Clair County voters returned a verdict of their own in 2014, electing Stephen McGlynn for the position Cook once held.

McGlynn, a Republican, had held the position on a temporary basis by appointment of the Illinois Supreme Court through the recommendation of Justice Lloyd Karmeier.

County voters hadn’t elected a Republican judge in decades.

Baricevic, Haida and LeChien then adopted their strategy to quit and run.

From the adoption of the Illinois Constitution in 1970 through 2005, no sitting judge in the state had resigned in order to run.

Former St. Clair County circuit judge Lloyd Cueto did it in 2006, without objection, and he won the election that November.

No one had done it since, until Baricevic, Haida, and LeChien decided to try it.

Belleville city clerk Dallas Cook filed an objection with the State Board of Elections, and a hearing officer recommended that the board overrule the objection.

At a meeting in January, four Democrats on the board voted to accept the recommendation and four Republicans voted to reject it.

The tie vote meant victory for Baricevic, Haida, and LeChien, because the board needs five votes to reject a recommendation.

Cook petitioned for judicial review in Sangamon County, and associate judge Esteban Sanchez ruled against him.

Cook petitioned for review at the Fourth District appellate court in Springfield, which had taken no action as of March 8.

Baricevic, Haida and LeChien will appear on March 15 Democrat primary ballots without opposition.

They will advance to the general election ballot in November, unless the Illinois Supreme Court finds that their plan violates the Illinois Constitution.

The top Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) beneficiaries in Madison and St. Clair counties are among the state's highest paid. And both of them - a lawmaker and a judge - are accruing benefits in other pension systems that will provide even more tax payer-supported income for life when they retire a second time.

State Sen. William Haine (D-Alton), who served as Madison County State's Attorney for 14 years (1988-2002), began receiving IMRF pension benefits one month after he was elected to the 56th Senate District in November 2002.

According to Taxpayers United of America (TUA) pension analysis, Haine currently receives $148,042 annually from IMRF. He began receiving pension payments on Dec. 1, 2002 at age 58. He retired after 26.5 years of credited service at the county, which included work as a public defender and county board member.

To date, Haine has received $1,714,021 in IMRF payments. He contributed $110,031 into the system. Based on a life expectancy of 85, Haine will receive an estimated $3,033,922 in lifetime benefits from the IMRF.

His current salary as state senator is $67,836, plus he receives $111 per diem while in session. His total tax-payer supported annual income is approximately $228,804.

When he is no longer a state legislator, Haine will be eligible for benefits from another state pension system - the General Assembly Retirement System (GARS).

In St. Clair County, Circuit Judge Robert Haida, who served as St. Clair County State's Attorney for 19 years (1991-2010), began receiving IMRF pension benefits in 2012, two years after he was elected to the Twentieth Judicial Circuit.

Haida currently receives $154,084 annually in IMRF benefits. He was 55 when he retired as state's attorney; he is credited with having worked 24.6 years as a county employee, which also included time as an assistant state's attorney.

To date, Haida has received $520,442 in IMRF payments. He contributed $209,176 into the system, and will have received an estimated $4,283,142 at age 85.

As a circuit judge he is paid $178,835, bringing his total tax-payer supported annual income to $332,919.

When he is no longer a judge, Haida will be eligible for benefits from another state pension system - the Judicial Retirement System (JRS).  

The state senator and circuit judge - both of whom seek to keep their seats in the November general election - were named to the TUA's list of top 200 IMRF beneficiaries, Haida in 40th place and Haine in 50th.

“The IMRF, although touted as the gold standard in government pension funds, is just as efficient at stealing taxpayer wealth to benefit the political elite as any Illinois state pension fund,” said Jim Tobin, TUA president, in a press release.

“The entire list of the top 200 IMRF annual pensions exceeds $116,000 with multi-million dollar lifetime payouts that are largely taxpayer funded. Although the IMRF is adequately funded, that doesn’t make it fair to taxpayers, especially considering that the total unfunded liabilities for Illinois government pensions is far in excess of $111 billion.”

The TUA reported these statistics regarding the IMRF:

• Total number of pension beneficiaries is approximately 119,556

• 478 collect pensions in excess of $100,000

• 5,916 collect pensions in excess of $50,000

• The average 2014 annual pension is $17,268

• The average amount that employees paid into their own pension fund is $19,030, or 4.6 percent of their estimated lifetime pension payout

• The average estimated lifetime payout is $411,998, based on a life expectancy of 85 and an annual 3 percent cost of living adjustment

• The average age at retirement is 62

• The average years of employment are 18

• In fiscal year 2014, taxpayers were forced to pay $923,382,825 into the government pension fund

• In fiscal year 2014, local and county government employees paid $351,089,445 into their own pension fund

• The net return on investment for IMRF in fiscal year 2014 was only 5.8 percent, or $2,001,440,028

• As of the end of fiscal year 2014, IMRF had an 87.3 percent funded ratio with a $4.8 billion unfunded liability

Tobin and other pension reform advocates support changing public pension systems from the current defined-benefit system to 401(k) style retirement savings accounts.

"But this type of positive, sweeping reform cannot occur without first amending the Illinois Constitution by removing the government employee pension protection clause," Tobin stated. "However, the Illinois General Assembly could immediately require that all new government employees be placed in a 401(k) style defined-contribution plan, which would eliminate additional unfunded government pension liabilities immediately.”

He said that taxpayers are forced to pay $2.63 for every $1 that pensioners pay into their own IMRF fund annually, or 263 percent.

"I can’t think of a single private sector employer who does that," he stated. "Social Security payments by the employer are an equal match to employee payments.

“Today’s taxpayers should not be required to pay for services rendered years ago, just as bureaucrats and politicians should not be allowed to balance today’s budgets on the backs of tomorrow’s taxpayers. Let’s make necessary reforms that will benefit all of Illinois economically and finally do something that actually is ‘for the children.’”

A pension reform bill passed by the state legislature in 2013 was struck down by the Illinois Supreme Court last year when it sided with public unions in ruling that the state was obligated to protect public worker pensions. 

And ever since Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner was elected in 2014 on a reform platform, Democrat lawmakers, who control both branches of state government, have resisted his proposals to transform the state's under-funded pension systems. 

Legislation introduced by Republicans this session would give retired government workers a choice in collecting benefits over several years, or cash out immediately but with a smaller lump sum. 

Two bills on the subject were discussed during a testimony-only committee hearing last week - House Bill 4427 sponsored by State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) and House Bill 5625 sponsored by State Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago).

As reported by Illinois News Network last week, under one scenario in Batinick’s plan, it would take the state a $700,000 up-front investment to fund the pension of an employee projected to draw $50,000 annually. 

The legislation would offer workers essentially three options: Accept the $50,000 annual pension; take an immediate payout at about 75 percent of $700,000; or take an immediate, partial amount and still get an annual pension payment — although smaller than $50,000, according to the report. 

Chairperson of the House Personnel and Pensions Committee Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook) said the state should not force workers into reduced, lump sum payouts.

That decision, Nekritz said, “would have to be completely voluntary and only at the whim and desire of the participants,” the Illinois News Network report stated.

SPRINGFIELD — Three of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s agenda items have traction with voters, at least according to polling data released Wednesday by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.

According to the Simon Institute, which is based at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale:

- 78 percent of 1,000 registered voters contacted favor term limits for state lawmakers; 20 percent were opposed, and 3 percent said they didn’t know.

- 64 percent of respondents supported the idea of having an independent commission draw legislative maps. Twenty-five percent said they oppose the idea, and 11 percent gave another answer or said they didn’t know.

- 57 percent said they would vote for right-to-work or open-shop laws, while 4 percent said they leaned toward such laws. Thirty-three percent said they were opposed or leaning toward opposition. Seven 7 percent gave an answer of “undecided” or said they didn’t know.

The first-term Republican governor has been pushing for term limits and independent redistricting as part of his Turnaround Agenda, which also includes demands for significant changes to the state’s workers’ compensation and civil lawsuit codes.

He originally sought right-to-work zones for public- and private-sector employees in portions of the state – by county choice, for example. He has since backed away from that proposal and is now focusing on public-sector employment, namely giving local governments the option of opting out of certain aspects of collective bargaining.

John Jackson of the Simon Institute said the right-to-work numbers in the poll caught his eye.

“That one was really pretty surprising,” Jackson said. “This is not a state where you’d expect people to favor right-to-work by anywhere near that margin. I don’t know if it’s linked with Rauner’s having campaigned about this so much or what, but I do think it’s surprising.

“I'm not entirely sure what to make of it other than the possibility of Rauner’s having campaigned on it so hard for so long,” Jackson said.

Another possible factor, Jackson said: Union membership has declined in Illinois and in the nation. It is down nationally from a high of about 37 percent to about 12 percent.

“There are not as many union households to understand what unions mean and why unions would be vehemently opposed to (Illinois becoming) a right-to-work state,” Jackson said.

Andy Shaw, president of the Better Government Association, said some of the results weren’t terribly surprising.

Independent redistricting has been an issue in Illinois for years and is again the subject of a petition drive to get a constitutional question onto the ballot, he said.

Similarly, a push for term limits in a state as dysfunctional as Illinois can’t be surprising, but “unfortunately there’s nothing relating to term limits on any ballots right now … and no push in the legislature from folks who don’t want to lose their jobs,” Shaw told WMAY Radio.

The right-to-work numbers in a state that’s long been considered friendly to unions was eye-catching, he said.

Voters are perhaps thinking right-to-work laws might drive down the cost of state government, which they feel isn’t doing a particularly good job of providing value for tax dollars spent, Shaw said.

Rauner’s support of right-to-work is controversial given the opposing argument, often voiced by Democrats, that right-to-work could drive down wages for people in and out of unions, Shaw said.

Jackson and other analysts noted the latest poll numbers might not be an outright endorsement of Rauner.

Simon Institute data also shows Rauner with a disapproval rating of 50 percent and an approval rating of 41 percent.

“Redistricting reform and term limits are good government initiatives that would help spur new ideas and bring real change to Springfield,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said of the poll. “Governor Rauner is simply asking for a vote on these issues from the General Assembly.”

The institute’s live telephone poll was conducted Feb. 15-20 by Customer Research International of San Marcos, Texas. Potential interviewees were screened based on whether they were registered voters, with quotas based on area code and sex.

The margin of error for the entire sample of 1,000 voters is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, according to the institute. The survey was paid for with non-tax dollars from the institute’s endowment fund.