The sole Illinois Supreme Court justice who was on the ballot in last month's election was sworn in for a second term Monday. He narrowly missed losing his seat.
Never has a sitting member of Illinois' high court lost a bid for retention. But Justice Lloyd Karmeier got close. He earned another ten years on the bench, with a margin of less than one percent.
Karmeier, who represents southern Illinois on the Supreme Court, won his seat a decade ago in a bitter contest. He was heavily-funded by insurance groups and business interests; the Democratic candidate in that race had the support of trial lawyers.
The 2014 was somewhat of a repeat. Only this time Karmeier had no actual opponent. And this time, the campaign contributions from 2004 had come back to haunt him. Karmeier's critics say he was "bought," and that he should have recused himself from cases that ended in his supporters' favor.
Political observers say the big money that has entered into judicial races threatens trust in the system.
