Judge candidates shouldn't take money from lawyers

I am writing to express my concern about our judicial system and to publicly state that I will be voting for John Noverini for judge. The main reason I have decided to vote for Noverini is because of his pledge to not accept any campaign contributions from lawyers.

The courts should be run by the judges, not the bar associations or the trial attorneys. When a judge's campaign is funded by the trial attorneys, which most are, the judges lose their ability to be impartial and the ability to hold attorneys accountable. His opponent, Pat Golden has accepted money from lawyers.

Litigants should not have to stand before a judge and wonder whether the opposing attorney contributed money to the judge's campaign. There is something wrong with a system where it takes as long as two to three years and $30,000 to get a divorce. There is something wrong with a system where the county spends $58 million for a new jail and the jail is over capacity on day one.

Judges need to move cases and not grant unprepared attorneys continuance after continuance. This is difficult for a judge to do when the attorney asking for the continuance contributed to that judge's campaign.

Accepting campaign contributions from attorneys is clearly a conflict of interest and should not be allowed. No litigant will ever stand before Judge Noverini and have to wonder whether the opposing attorney contributed to his campaign.

Jenni Kempf

West Dundee