Given the climate right now, naturally, I think all of us are taking a close look at lobbyists and the kind of relationships they have with legislators. There's nothing illegal about this . . . (but) it does raise questions about how cozy these relationships get.

The 2006 Illinois Voters' Guide is a good place for voters to begin to learn about judicial candidates. It includes a primer on the state's court system, a map to help voters identify which candidates will be on their ballot, and several links to web sites where voters can find more information about the candidates, various bar associations, Illinois courts and elections. Most importantly, it contains the information most relevant to voters when they think about what sort of person they want to see on the bench.

There [is] little evidence today that Illinois leaders are serious about changing business as usual.

The greed that fuels that quest for campaign contributions is as alive today as it ever was.

They're very cheap to do, so we get more and more and more of them. But I really don't know how many people do more than just hang up on them.

It was the climate, and that's what we wanted to do, ... only when they didn't want us to understand what they were saying.