When former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis surprisingly announced her retirement last month, many commentators bemoaned the rules in the state Constitution allowing the remaining justices to name their new colleague and the timing that lets that person – former First District Appellate Court Justice Sanjay Tailor – to serve until December 2028, effectively making him an incumbent in that year’s election for his own 10-year term.

Last week, state Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, filed House Bill 5101, which would amend state laws on judicial districts and vacancies by creating a nomination commission for Supreme Court vacancies. The governor, four legislative leaders and attorney general would each get to nominate one non-lawyer to the group, while five bar associations and the state bar would elect five lawyers (by secret ballot) to complete the roster. That group would provide the governor three applicants for each vacancy – all from the political party of whichever justice is leaving the bench.

The current process is enshrined in the state constitution, as the court reminded when announcing Tailor’s appointment in January.

Even if Crespo’s proposed nomination commission process yielded an identical outcome, there is value in a somewhat public vetting process versus the immediacy of a retirement/replacement announcement. No one should hold their breath waiting for the General Assembly to advance a similar plan to improve on the current disappointing rules for filling legislative vacancies.

The worst abuses of the vacancy-appointment process remain lawmakers who run in a primary, then announce they actually don’t want to be on the general election ballot. They can then “retire” from the General Assembly but exert power over the appointment process, which guarantees their successor is an incumbent running in November. That trick’s first cousin is when a powerful incumbent makes it seem like a reelection campaign is imminent only to switch course at the last moment while – surprise! – only a connected insider has been slyly circulating primary nomination petitions.

Ideally, the default setting for vacancies in elected offices would be an actual election. That’s not always practical, but Illinois leaders have actively chosen to preserve this power structure.

REQUIRED READING: Regular readers know I’ve been paying attention to the gradual deployment of automated license plate readers statewide since June 2024. So it was with special interest that I read the start of Shaw Local’s investigative series on the technology last week. Under six talented bylines, the first installment focuses on how municipalities are using the cameras and their reported success, while the second covers privacy concerns, controversies across the country – some with connections to Illinois – and the debate over the sufficiency of current safeguards.

If you missed part one, find it at tinyurl.com/ShawALPRone. The follow-up is at tinyurl.com/ShawALPRtwo.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.