Kilbride's sneaky mailer: This guy is a Supreme Court judge--only in Illinois!

Elephants are among my favorite animals, not the least of which is that whenever Little Marathon Pundit and I went to the zoo when she was really little, she always wanted to visit the elephants first.

Perhaps liberal Illinois Supreme Court Judge Thomas Kilbride has a similar fondness for pachyderms. A Kilbride mailer with an elephant caricature and the message, "Election Alert for Republicans." Illinois Review has more.

Such deception is almost accepted within the dirty realm of Illinois politics, but with a judge, let alone a state Supreme Court justice, we should expect better. But Kilbride under-delivers.

Kilbride represents the 3rd Judicial district, which runs from Rock Island to Kankakee. I urge voters there not to retain him.

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady--more on him tomorrow--decried Kilbride's sneaky mailer in a press release.

(CHICAGO) – Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady today said voters should not be tricked by campaign literature portraying Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride as a Republican.

"It's just not the case," said Brady, speaking about a mailer sent to voters in Kilbride’s district on Friday. "This guy's masquerading as one of us, when he's being funded by Democrats."

Kilbride, of Rock Island, serves in the 3rd Judicial District. He won his seat in 2000 with heavy support from Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and labor unions. To date, Kilbride has received $1.475 million from the Illinois Democratic Party and $450,000 from the Illinois Teachers Union.

Kilbride's latest campaign piece includes the image of an elephant (the GOP logo) and the words, "Election Alert for Republicans." He then goes on to reference "we" multiple times, as if to suggest he is a Republican.

"Kilbride is as much of a Republican as Barack Obama," said Brady, noting that Kilbride joined the other Democrats on the high court in 2001 in upholding the legislative remap drawn by Democrats. "This may be Halloween weekend, but the mask has to come off."

Brady said he and other Republican officials are considering filing a complaint with the Illinois Supreme Court in response to Kilbride’s violation of Supreme Court rule 67, Canon 7, which says all judges and candidates shall not, “knowingly misrepresent the identity, qualifications, present position or other fact concerning the candidate or an opponent.”

"Let's talk about the elephant in the room," continued Brady. "The elephant on Kilbride's campaign mailer means only one thing: he doesn’t think he can be retained unless he tricks people into thinking he's a Republican. Well, he's not. Voters should not be fooled."

Kilbride does not have an opponent per se. He is running for retention, something Illinois Supreme Court Justices are required to do every 10 years. He must receive approval from at least 60 percent of the voters in his district.

Only in Illinois can a state Supreme Court judge sink so low.

The Chicago Tribune has more on the Kilbride-Madigan connection. Retired Quad Cities area circuit court judge, John Donald O'Shea, who never accepted a dime for his retention campaigns, slams Kilbride here.

As I've said before, Illinois needs to be power-scrubbed.

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