Judges in Illinois should be appointed

I believe very strongly that the Constitution of Illinois needs to be amended to allow for the appointment of all judges, rather than their election. There is no way for the average voter to make an informed decision as to whether a judge should be retained in office or replaced.

A voter could very responsible and do extensive research on decisions made by a particular judge on a variety of cases. Unless that voter is a lawyer or has studied law extensively, the voter could hardly be in a position to second-guess a judge who has extensive training and experience in the law.

Those voters who have appeared before a particular judge could be prejudiced for or against that judge, and vote accordingly. Not being a lawyer, myself, I have always chosen not to vote for or against judicial candidates. I strongly feel that casting no vote is better than casting an uninformed vote. Of course, the method of appointing judges would need to be carefully crafted to avoid favoring or benefiting either of the two major Illinois political parties at the other's expense.

Dan Blackburn

Lombard