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Michael Tierney, city ditchdigger, caulker, and "Judgemaker" writes Russ Stewart

Michael Tierney and Judge Rochford.jpg Russ Stewart writes. "JUDGEMAKER'S" ANALYSIS & OPINION BY RUSS STEWART Every lawyer dreams of being a judge. The robes, prestige, power and pension: It's the profession's pinnacle. In Cook County, there are 40,000 attorneys. And there are 445 judges, of which three sit on the Illinois Supreme Court, 24 on the Appellate Court, and 418 on the Circuit Court. That means one of every 90 lawyers is on the bench. The qualifications are not onerous: Have a pulse. Be a registered voter and licensed attorney. In theory, any undead lawyer can be a judge, and earn $169,555 annually. But, in reality, most would-be judges are utterly clueless about the process: Start early, a year prior to the February primary. Get 500-plus signatures on multiple nominating petitions. Run as a Democrat. Get "qualified" ratings from bar associations. Get endorsed by unions and newspapers. Get slated by the Democratic party. Have an Irish surname. Be a woman with an Irish surname. Don't have a weird surname. Attend political functions and get warm-and-fuzzy with Democratic committeemen. Spend $50,000 for ads and political donations. Win the primary. And, most importantly, hire Mike Tierney: The Judgemaker. While obscure to the public, Tierney, who works as a city plumber, has developed his own cottage industry. In the past eleven election cycles, since 1990, Tierney has handled the campaigns of 45 judicial aspirants, and 40 have been nominated in the Democratic primary, and thereafter elected. That's an astounding 89 percent success rate. Among judges, Tierney's reputation is legendary. Tierney's secret: Institutional knowledge. He knows the process. He knows the players. Lawyers don't. "They're busy people," said Tierney of his clients. "My job is to initiate them. Mentor them. Direct them. And accompany them to key functions." Already, Tierney is besieged with potential clients for 2012. Here's the Tierney Method.... Go read the rest by Russ Stewart at the Nadig Newspapers.

Comments

Many of the guys at the Water Department were part of his business. Most Northwest side judges are under big mike thumb. We had drug rings and golf outings. Well protected.

Sup Dawg! Come on Pat you know Mikes a great guy,he really helped me out.When I came back from a 20 month deployment he sure took care of me.I was gone a long time and when I came back home alot of people had left the Dept.I asked Mike if I could go on a certain truck, because the person that got that truck did not have as much time as I had.Mr,Tierney said NO! he said that I should have applied for the job when it became open,I said I would have but for the last 16 months I was in Iraq fighting for my life in 130 degree heat 6500 miles away.I said what about my seniority,Mike told that my time did'nt for anything as far as he was concerned,so I guess that fighting for your country is not as important as who you know,and he was right when other trucks became open like the hydrant truck nobody asked me,why dose'nt my time count? I will soon have to deploy again,I will answer the call and fight for my country in a far away land I will leave my wife and kids,I just hope that I Do not get passed over again.Serving in the Military and fighting for our country has been an honor and a privilege.GOD Bless America! (Response) It makes you wonder why you put your life on the line for a player like mike)

Would be nice if Russ took care of the cases he has instead of taking on more "ANALYSIS & OPINIONS"

“JUDGEMAKER’S” EXPERTISE
MOLDS COUNTY JUDICIARY

ANALYSIS & OPINION BY RUSS STEWART
Every lawyer dreams of being a judge. The robes, prestige, power and pension: It’s the profession’s pinnacle.
In Cook County, there are 40,000 attorneys. And there are 445 judges, of which three sit on the Illinois Supreme Court, 24 on the Appellate Court, and 418 on the Circuit Court. That means one of every 90 lawyers is on the bench.
The qualifications are not onerous: Have a pulse. Be a registered voter and licensed attorney. In theory, any undead lawyer can be a judge, and earn $169,555 annually.
But, in reality, most would-be judges are utterly clueless about the process: Start early, a year prior to the February primary. Get 500-plus signatures on multiple nominating petitions. Run as a Democrat. Get “qualified” ratings from bar associations. Get endorsed by unions and newspapers. Get slated by the Democratic party. Have an Irish surname. Be a woman with an Irish surname. Don’t have a weird surname. Attend political functions and get warm-and-fuzzy with Democratic committeemen. Spend $50,000 for ads and political donations. Win the primary.
And, most importantly, hire Mike Tierney: The Judgemaker.
While obscure to the public, Tierney, who works as a city plumber, has developed his own cottage industry. In the past eleven election cycles, since 1990, Tierney has handled the campaigns of 45 judicial aspirants, and 40 have been nominated in the Democratic primary, and thereafter elected. That’s an astounding 89 percent success rate. Among judges, Tierney’s reputation is legendary.
Tierney’s secret: Institutional knowledge. He knows the process. He knows the players. Lawyers don’t. “They’re busy people,” said Tierney of his clients. “My job is to initiate them. Mentor them. Direct them. And accompany them to key functions.” Already, Tierney is besieged with potential clients for 2012.
Here’s the Tierney Method:
First, make the decision.
Of the 445 judges, 294 are elected: To the Supreme Court and Appellate Court for a 10-year term, and to the Circuit Court for 6-year terms. At terms’ end, the incumbents stand for retention and needs a 60 percent “yes” vote. They rarely lose.
There are 151 associate Circuit Court judges, who are appointed to 4-year terms by the chief judge, following an election by the 267 full Circuit Court judges. A special judges’ committee screens applicants, with two choices are submitted for each vacancy.
Of elected Circuit Court judges, 120 are chosen countywide, and 147 in the county’s 15 judicial sub-circuits, a concept initiated by legislative enactment in 1992 so as to create more diversity on the bench. As a result, blacks, Hispanics, and even a few Republicans have won judgeships.
However, an election occurs only when a judge retires or resigns. In 2010, for example, eight vacancies were on the ballot countywide, consisting of judges previously elected countywide; and 14 vacancies were on the ballot in sub-circuits, consisting of judges previously elected in those sub-circuits. In 2008, the numbers were nine and 17, respectively; in 2006, six and 14; in 2004, five and 14; and in 2002, eight and 14.
Thus, through normal attrition, in any given election year, there are usually 20 judgeships and two or three Appellate Court justices available. The new pension law passed by the state legislature may clog the pipeline. Previously, a judge with 20 years’ service could retire with a pension equal to 85 percent of prior salary. Now, affecting all new judges, the maximum pension is 60 percent. “For these new judges,” said one judicial observer, “there is a disincentive to retire.”
Second, “fix” the name or forget it. If possible, Irish-ize it. Hence, James G. Smith ran as James Fitzgerald Smith, Margaret Frossard as Margaret O’Mara Frossard, Susan Lorraine Kennedy as Susan Kennedy Sullivan. They won. As for surnames like Haddad, Greiman, Patti, Marsalek, Pauel or Leavitt, it’s DOA. They lost. For uninformed voters, an odd, non-Irish ethnic, or Arab- or Jewish-sounding name is a turnoff.
Of the nine women on the Appellate Court, seven have Irish surnames.
Third, get “qualified.” There are 11 bar associations that rate aspirants, the most important being the Chicago Bar Association and Illinois State Bar Association. Ratings are “qualified” or “recommended,” or “not qualified.” Said Tierney: “I cannot market a candidate who is not held in high esteem by his or her peers.” Bar committees issue ratings at any time, so Tierney requires his clients to be “qualified” before he takes their business.
Judicial candidates campaign only on their credentials, and are barred by legal canons from commenting on issues. About a quarter of voters use the bar ratings as a guide. That is critical in a tight contest.
Fourth, run as a Democrat. No Republican has been elected countywide since the 1960s, and only three sub-circuits are hospitable to the Republicans. “Show some respect” for the party leadership, said Tierney, who squires the candidate to party functions, schedules meetings with key committeemen, and has them appear at slatemaking. Once the campaign begins, Tierney’s contacts give him necessary information, and he is out every night with his candidates. Also, each candidate must start donating to local Democratic organizations.
Fifth, get endorsements, especially from the unions. Tierney’s contacts are critical.
Sixth, get party backing in sub-circuit races. Countywide, slating is of dubious value. On Feb. 2, slated Democrats lost 2 of 3 Appellate Court races, and 2 of 8 countywide Circuit Court races. “Precinct captains can’t elect judges anymore,” concedes Tierney, who has roots in the 36th Ward dating back to the 1970s. “But more (people) vote the Democrats’ sample ballot than the bar associations’ sample ballot. It helps.” Of the slated winners, four were Irish-surnamed males.
Seventh, be alert, flexible, and spend some time on the streets. The typical modus operandi of a successful judicial aspirant is to circulate multiple petitions, one for each vacancy, getting 1,000 signatures each, and file them all. Then, after assessing the competition, withdraw within a week from all but one. The trick is to be the only Irish-surnamed (or female Irish-surnamed) candidate. Getting on the ballot is work, not a lark.
But the party insiders also have a tricks. If a judge resigns just prior to the closure of the filing period, the county clerk can certify the vacancy. That happened in October, when Judge James O’Malley conveniently decided to retire, and the party expeditiously slated Thomas V. Lyons, son of the late Tom Lyons, former county party chairman and 45th Ward Democratic committeeman. Few knew of the vacancy, and the party organization got the signatures quickly and quietly. Lyons ran unopposed.
And eighth, being a woman is still an edge. Of Cook County’s 445 judges, 164 are women – 36.8 percent. In 1993, just after the Year of the Woman, there were 51 women – 11.4 percent.
In past primaries, women romped. In 1992, women won 24 of 50 judicial contests. In 1998, that declined to 8 of 27; in 2000, it was 10 of 22; in 2002, it was 13 of 25; in 2004, it soared to 10 of 16; in 2006, it was 9 of 22; in 2008, it was 19 of 29; and in 2010, it dropped to 7 of 25. Overall, in the past seven primaries, involving 166 races, a woman won 76 (45.7 percent) and a man won 90.
Why the sudden downturn? Two reasons: In high-turnout years, like 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2008, with presidential contests on the ballot, the influx of new voters picked the woman over the man in judicial races. In 2010, with turnout at 587,366 (compared to 2008’s 1,091,008), the voter base was less liberal and less female. And second, in the 1990s, there was a “New Girls’ Network”; the women co-ordinated, and only one filed per vacancy. Now, multiple females run, giving Irish-surnamed males an advantage.
As always, the Democratic slatemakers’ bane is Irish-surnamed insurgents. For the Appellate Court in 2010, the Democrats slated Sebastian Patti, who lost to Mary Rochford. In Circuit Court races, of the three females slated (Diann Marsalek, Linda Pauel, and Sandy Ramos), the first two lost to Terry McCarthy and Susan Kennedy Sullivan, and Ramos barely beat Russ Hartigan.
But two aspirants with “magical” names didn’t need the Judgemaker:
Neil Hartigan, Illinois’ attorney general (1983-90) and 1990 governor loser, ran unopposed for the Appellate Court in 2002. He quit in 2006. State pension is based on earnings in 4 of the last 10 years on the job. Hartigan ran to boost his pension.
Aurie Pucinski, former Clerk of the Circuit Court (1988-2000) and daughter of Roman Pucinski, ran as a Republican for the Appellate Court in 2002, switched to run as a Democrat for subcircuit judge in 2004, ran countywide in 2006 (enabling her to move out of her Northwest Side sub-circuit to the Loop), and ran for the Appellate Court in 2010, beating the slated Pamela Hill-Veal.
Most would-be judges lack “magical” names. They’re not running to augment their pension or move elsewhere. They need the Judgemaker.

April 8, 2010

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
The Daley administration is moving to put injured city employees back to work — and closely monitor those who remain on leave — four years after a Chicago Sun-Times investigation of costly workers compensation abuses triggered federal subpoenas.

Starting next week, every city department will designate a manager to ride herd over injured employees and make certain they are seeing doctors, going to rehab and following prescribed treatment.


Monthly status reports will be made to the City Council’s Finance Committee and the city’s Office of Budget and Management.

The city will intensify its efforts to re-assign physically-restricted employees to less taxing work.

Employees unable to return to work even after reaching the “maximum level of medical improvement” will be required to provide proof of “at least ten job searches-a-week.”

To shine the light on abuses, the names of injured city workers and their claims filed with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission will be posted monthly on the city’s website. That list currently includes 280 employees. They are among 490 injured employees now being paid benefits.

The coordinated crackdown comes four years after a Chicago Sun-Times investigation found that one of every five patronage workers on the secret clout list kept by the mayor’s now-convicted former patronage chief filed at least one worker’s compensation claim against the city.

That incredibly high injury rate cost taxpayers more than $38 million and would make patronage work one of the most dangerous jobs in America.

Ninety-one employees — including relatives of public officials — had been cleared to return to work, but were still sitting at home collecting disability checks, sometimes more than $40,000-a-year.

On Thursday, Budget Director Eugene Munin was asked why City Hall is only now cracking the whip.

“I don’t think it’s only now. We have a standardized tracking system we didn’t have before. We now have a manager [keeping tabs] in each department. … But, I don’t think it’s fair to say we haven’t been doing anything about this,” Munin said.

He added, “Is it possible that someone can game the system? Yes, it’s possible. But, we are trying to make certain with these measures that won’t happen.”

In November, 2006, a federal grand jury subpoenaed injury claim records maintained by the City Council’s Finance Committee.

The committee chaired by Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) has sole authority to process and settle workers compensation claims against the city. When private attorneys are hired to challenge employee claims, Burke gets to choose them.

The Sun-Times investigation set off a rare round of public finger-pointing between Daley and Burke — lifelong political rivals — about who was to blame for the costly problem.

Then mayoral chief of staff Ron Huberman noted that Burke has “sole decision-making authority. … The mayor’s office has no authority in this area.”

"If a judge resigns just prior to the closure of the filing period, the county clerk can certify the vacancy. That happened in October, when Judge James O’Malley conveniently decided to retire, and the party expeditiously slated Thomas V. Lyons, son of the late Tom Lyons, former county party chairman and 45th Ward Democratic committeeman. Few knew of the vacancy, and the party organization got the signatures quickly and quietly. Lyons ran unopposed."

Check your facts, dying of throat cancer is NOT "conveniently retiring"

Carmen, I thank you for your service. But everybody can't go around and say I have more time than this guy or that guy and bounce people out of a gig. If they are already in that position they deserve to stay there. The only fair way might be if that particular person wasn't coming to work or wasn't performing his duties.

Water Dept. foreman accused of gambling on city time

October 6, 2005

BY FRAN SPIELMAN and TIM NOVAK Staff Reporters
An internal city investigation touched off by a laborer's charge that bribes were traded for overtime in the Chicago Department of Water Management has spread to a new allegation: a foreman participated in gambling on city time.

Tom Briatta, a foreman of water pipe construction in the department at the center of the Hired Truck and city hiring scandals, was accused of driving to city work sites and either participating in gambling, overseeing gambling by other city employees or a combination of the two.

Overtime for sale, laborer says

Briatta is a cousin of John Briatta, one of nine politically connected employees swept out in June for allegedly participating in a payroll scam in the water management department.

John Briatta was the department's $94,827-a-year chief equipment dispatcher. He is the brother-in-law of Cook County Commissioner John Daley, the mayor's brother. Tom Briatta was described by co-workers as a cousin of John Briatta. Tom Briatta could not be reached for comment.

The allegations about gambling and overtime-for-sale were made by laborer Richard Pacheco during sworn testimony this week before the city's Personnel Board. Pacheco was testifying under oath at a hearing called to challenge the firing of a co-worker.

During several hours of testimony, Pacheco charged that lucrative city overtime was for sale. He said he gave cash to a pair of supervisors disguised as Christmas gifts and got overtime in return. During one of the years in question, he made $14,000 in overtime. That reportedly added 25 percent to his base pay.

Within hours of the testimony, the city's inspector general's office, soon to be run by highly regarded federal prosecutor David Hoffman, had seized the work computer of Mike Tierney, water management's north district superintendent.

The gambling allegation is also being investigated, according to Chicago Law Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle.

"I'm hearing third-hand that the individual who testified also said that Tom Briatta was involved at gambling at city's work sites. We've asked the inspector general to investigate that. We have no information beyond what this individual said in his testimony," Hoyle said.

Not the first betting charge

"It's a violation of the personnel rules and something that has to be thoroughly investigated. If it was happening, any employee involved would be disciplined. We've asked for an expedited transcript. The inspector general will have to determine if there's anything to these charges and, if so, if it's widespread."

If gambling was, in fact, going on at city work sites, it wouldn't be the first time.

A few years ago, then-Inspector General Alexander Vroustouris uncovered an alleged sports betting ring at O'Hare Airport. And over the years, city employees allegedly participated in an illegal lottery with a cash payout that rose into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Overtime is supposed to be doled out by a formalized rotation policy, but that's not how it actually operated, according to convicted First Deputy Water Commissioner Donald Tomczak.

In his guilty plea in the Hired Truck scandal, Tomczak acknowledged that he commanded an army of water management employees who did political work for Mayor Daley and others in exchange for promotions, pay raises and overtime.

"The transcript has not yet been delivered. But, any allegation contained in that testimony will be investigated," said water management spokesman Tom LaPorte.