Can anyone answer that question?  All judges have to do it.  All Boards and Commissions have to do it per Ill. State Law and the Illinois Constitution.

What IS going on at the ARDC and can anyone get an answer out of them other than “we are exempt?”  Because they say so?

Download and listen to Janet Phalen’s comments on Blog Talk Radio about the ARDC and the “funny stuff” that is going on.  If you think they have some explaining to do, CALL THEM.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6FbJzwtHocwc1BCbHpPelBxX00/edit?usp=sharing

cite the Illinois Constitution.  The ARDC stands for (and I won’t tell you what my probate victims say that it stands for)  Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.  The Illinois Constitution creates a Court System in the document and the Ill. Supreme court creates the ARDC which is a state “Commission”

ARTICLE XIII
GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. DISQUALIFICATION FOR PUBLIC OFFICE
***

SECTION 2.  STATEMENT OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS
All candidates for or holders of state offices and all
members of a Commission or Board created by this Constitution
shall file a verified statement of their economic interests,
as provided by law. The General Assembly by law may impose a
similar requirement upon candidates for, or holders of,
offices in units of local government and school districts.
Statements shall be filed annually with the Secretary of
State and shall be available for inspection by the public.
The General Assembly by law shall prescribe a reasonable time
for filing the statement. Failure to file a statement within
the time prescribed shall result in ineligibility for, or
forfeiture of, office. This Section shall not be construed as
limiting the authority of any branch of government to
establish and enforce ethical standards for that branch.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)

Note that supervision of the courts (and therefore attorneys) also comes from the Illinois State Constitution.

ARTICLE VI – Judiciary

SECTION 16. ADMINISTRATION
General administrative and supervisory authority over all
courts is vested in the Supreme Court and shall be exercised
by the Chief Justice in accordance with its rules. The
Supreme Court shall appoint an administrative director and
staff, who shall serve at its pleasure, to assist the Chief
Justice in his duties.

And from state law:

For Judges, these detailed records at kept under Rule 68 at the Illinois Supreme Court Clerk’s offices and must be available to review during normal business hours in both Chicago and Springfield.  You can’t get the information on the internet yet.

For other state employees, they file with the Secretary of State’s offices here:

http://www.ilsos.gov/economicinterest/economicinterest

Both the Secretary of State and the Illinois Supreme Court say they have no reporting from the ARDC  Commission.

The real question is, how is that?

Under the state link:  Report Misconduct:

http://appointments.illinois.gov/reportMisconduct.cfm

It gives a link to the Inspector General for the State of Illinois, but when we write, email, fax and call about the Sykes case, at first they say “they will look into it, thanks for contacting us” but a few weeks later we get, “sorry, we don’t do that.”

From the 2009 Illinois Ethics Act:

ARTICLE 4A.

DISCLOSURE OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS.

(from the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act & State Officials and Employees Ethics Act as amended in 2009)

S 4A-101. Persons required to file. The following persons shall file verified written statements of economic interests, as provided in this Article:

(a) Members of the General Assembly and candidates for nomination or election to the General Assembly.

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

(c) Members of a Commission or Board created by the Illinois Constitution, and candidates for nomination or election to such Commission or Board.

*********

(e) Holders of, and candidates for nomination or election to, the office of judge or associate judge of the Circuit Court and the office of judge of the Appellate or Supreme Court.

********

(4) have authority for the approval of professional licenses;

(5) have responsibility with respect to the financial inspection of regulated nongovernmental entities;

(6) adjudicate, arbitrate, or decide any judicial or administrative proceeding, or review the adjudication, arbitration or decision of any judicial or administrative proceeding within the authority of the State; or

(7) have supervisory responsibility for 20 or more employees of the State.

It looks like the ARDC is instantaneously violating several of these laws, and upon a cursory glance of just SOME public records (will be published later),  it looks like the ARDC actually has some house cleaning to do.

Living in Chicago and Illinois for 90% of my life has made me nothing but disgusted will all of this, and I think most of us will agree

and before you think it’s unusual or strange to “report on your ethics in detail and yearly” and the let world know what you have been up to:

from David Orr’s website:

Ethics Filing Online

In accordance with the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act, more than 900 units of government and 22,000 public officials and employees must submit ethics filings to the Clerk’s office. Government agencies provide a list of people who must file a Statement of Economic Interests. Beginning spring 2011, those people will be able to file their questionnaires online. Finally, the public will have instant access to both sets of filings.

Go ahead and CALL THE ARDC, FAX THEM, EMAIL THEM, ASK THEM WHY THE ATTORNEYS THERE DO NOT REPORT–unlike 22,000 other state employees and hundreds of state judges.

 

Then, I think you will find the answer of why the ARDC does not report, and why they are prosecuting HONEST and ETHICAL attorneys who BLOG about corruption.

 

IF THIS IS NOT A SCANDAL AND A PUBLIC OUTRAGE, A BREACH OF THE PUBLIC’S TRUST IN THE LAWS AND LAWYERS, I HONESTLY DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS.  Write or call the ARDC, demand they become HONEST and report.