Rev. Johnny Scott, former NAACP president, recently appealed in a letter to Chief Judge John Baricevic regarding the historical precedent of considering African-American candidates in the filling of three vacant associate judge seats in Illinois’ 20th Judicial Circuit court.
In his letter, Scott even went on to point out that one particular associate judge seat (recently vacated by newly elected Circuit Judge Zina Cruse) has consistently been occupied by a black jurist, dating back to Judge Billy Jones in the 1970s.
Unfortunately, however, no black jurists will occupy any of the three vacancies, with two seats already filled and the final seat to be filled in a runoff election between two white female candidates.
Scott in his letter stated that “I am proud that your judiciary has consistently maintained and supported a minority judge” but, also, critically stated to Baricevic that “I don’t think it would have been too far out of the norm for one of the seats to go to a qualified African-American.”
Baricevic’s response: “It’s not an African-American seat. It was held by African-Americans and now it will be held by (someone else).” This type of arrogance and insensitivity to blacks isn’t surprising, given that Baricevic is the same guy who once referred to KTVI’s Elliot Davis as “Rufus.”
Ironically, Circuit Judges (like Baricevic) are elected in St. Clair County, largely by African Americans. Without the black vote coming out of East St. Louis, Baricevic and a host of other white Democrats would not be elected.
St. Clair County has a 30 percent African-American population, so Baricevic’s arrogance is insulting to black voters as well as to the plethora of qualified African-American lawyers who could and should be considered as jurists.
The judicial mechanics of the process are that the chief judge (in this case, Baricevic) authorizes ballots to be issued to the other circuit judges who, in turn, vote (in secret) for associate judges.
The reality is that Bob Sprague, Chairman of the St. Clair County Democratic Party, is the political godfather who hand-picks judicial candidates for Baricevic.
Without kissing Sprague’s ring (or backside), NO ONE becomes a judge in St. Clair County, PERIOD.
Racially, St. Clair County is a humongous political plantation in which black votes are grown and harvested in East Boogie and bundled up and delivered to “Da Big House” (also known as Belleville) to maintain the racist status quo for Bob Sprague and St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern’s benefit.
And while I commend Rev. Johnny Scott and newly elected NAACP president Stanley Franklin for finally speaking up, I won’t be surprised to see John Baricevic, Mark Kern or Bob Sprague on the dais at the next NAACP banquet receiving some undeserved honor for “Outstanding Service.” That’s the very nature and hypocrisy of plantation “poli-tricks” in St. Clair County, IL.
I only hope that when Judge Baricevic runs for re-election that black voters remember his words to Rev. Scott. I know I will.
If you like my column, then you will love my radio show on WGNU-920am every Sunday from 4-5 pm. Please tune-in and call-in. I love to hear from my St. Louis American readers. Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com; Twitter@JamesTIngram.
