Judge Shanes:…after this election, I believe, none of the judges who were part of the IL Supreme Court decision on the original pension case will actually be on the IL Supreme Court anymore… (More of this below)

********************

This week’s “Public Affairs” features Judge Daniel Shanes (R-2nd Dist), running for the IL Supreme Court in Tuesday’s June 28 primary, and interviewed by show host Jeff Berkowitz.

You can watch the show featuring Judge Shanes 24/7 by clicking here: and also on cable in most, if not all, of the towns, villages and cities comprising the 2nd District (see cable listings, below).    

Shanes has 16 years of judicial experience (Civil and criminal) as a Lake County Circuit Court Judge and 12 years of prosecutorial experience as a Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney.

The Dems now have a 4-3 majority on the Court, but if the GOP wins the two open seats (both purple) in November, the GOP would have the majority on the Supreme Court for the 1st time in 64 years.

Among other themes, Judge Shanes is running on “Defending the Constitution.” The interview includes an extensive discussion of the role of the Court, the judicial process, the IL and U S Constitutions and the Separation of Powers. The conversation focuses on Crime, Fair Maps, Pensions and Gov. Pritzker’s 28 emergency orders- as well as other issues.        

The half-hour show with Judge Shanes airs tonight at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable in much of the IL Supreme Court’s 2nd District (Lake, Kane, Kendall, McHenry & DeKalb counties) on Comcast Cable Channel 17 in the following towns, villages and suburbs:

Beach Park, Del Mar Woods, Grayslake, Great Lakes Naval, Green Oaks, Gurnee, Lake Bluff, Lake Eleanor, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Mundelein, North Chicago, Park City, Third Lake , Wadsworth, Wauconda, Waukegan, Winthrop Harbor and Zion;

Algonquin, Barrington Hills, Carpentersville, Cary, Crystal Lake (ch.74) East Dundee, Fox River Grove, Fox River Valley Gardens, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Lakewood, Oakwood Hills, Pingree Grove, Sleepy Hollow, South Barrington, Trout Valley and West Dundee;

Hainesville, Holiday Hills, Island Lake, Johnsburg, Lakemoor, McCollum Lake, McHenry, Prairie Grove, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Heights, Round Lake Park, Spring Grove, Sunnyside, Volo, Wonder Lake and Woodstock.

The show featuring Judge Shanes also airs:

–Tonight in Chicago, 9:04 pm, Cable Ch 21 (CAN TV) (as the first segment of the Illinois Channel 2 hour package).

–Around the State this week, at different times in different venues (as the first segment of the Illinois Channel 2 hour package).

–Tonight in 25 Chicago Metro north and northwest suburbs at 8:30 pm, on Comcast Cable:

–Ch. 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, parts of Inverness, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette and on–Ch. 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett (2nd Dist.), Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.

The show also airs in:

In Aurora (mostly in 2nd District), 6 pm, Cable Ch 10, this Wed., Saturday and next MondayIn Highland Park (in 2nd District), 8:30 pm, Cable Ch 19, this Wed. and next Monday

********************

Judge Daniel Shanes: Here’s a factoid for our viewers:…after this election, I believe, none of the judges who were part of the IL Supreme Court decision on the original pension case will actually be on the IL Supreme Court anymore. All seven would be new.

Jeff Berkowitz: Yes, and if you were one of them, you would have a fresh view, along with the other six, right?

Judge Shanes, I would view the law as it stands, I would interpret the Constitution as I understand it.

Berkowitz: Yes, you can’t decide that now, but you could tell us, maybe, [if] judges should understand the consequences of their decisions and they should presumably take that into account and if they rule as the IL Supreme Court did previously, that $500 billion pension hole [as estimated by Wirepoints] is not going to be cured by lowering pension benefits, and all we’ve got left is to raise taxes, [so] in a sense then, if you voted that way, you’d be raising taxes substantially, maybe in a way that nobody could imagine is feasible. Is all of that in your mindset as you run and think about this, as to what your decision would be about that pension policy?

Judge Shanes: Jeff, you and I live in the real world. We live like our neighbors. We work with our friends and colleagues and we have to be aware of and cognizant of what’s going on. But, part of the genius of the Constitution is that Judges should not… 

A partial transcript from “Public Affairs,” featuring Judge Shanes, taped on June 13, 2022

**************