Jim Gleffe wants to Bring Back Faith in the Judicial System
Jim Gleffe wants to Bring Back Faith in the Judicial System (Palos Park, IL) — Jim Gleffe believes Illinois needs new judges that are committed to doing what judges are legally responsible for doing which is hearing cases, following the law, respecting established precedent and treating people fairly. “I’ve been knocking door to door throughout the district for several months now. One of the biggest issues that people raised to me is that they don’t feel like they get a fair shake when they come into court,” said Gleffe, who is running for Cook County judge. “They feel like in many instances, the judge may have already made up their mind before they even step up to the bench. That really undermines the confidence in the court system. I think we need a judge that’s going to reverse that trend and give people the confidence that the court system is actually working for them and working for our communities.”
He sees judges and the system straying too far away from its intent and obligation.
”I think there’s just too much politics creeping into our court system. Right now, we’re seeing it every day in the news, we’ve seen it with the leak of the Supreme Court opinion regarding Roe v. Wade, and we’ve seen it with some of the relatives of Supreme Court justices participating in trying to overturn the government on January 6.”
Fairness
He views a quality judge as someone who brings their perspective, fairness, personal and professional life experience and humanity into the profession.
“I’m the first person in my family to go to college. I grew up on the southwest side of Chicago to a working class union family. I know what it’s like to deal with the problems that most families go through on a day-to-day basis. I think it’s important that we have people on the bench that understand what people generally go through,” said Gleffe. “I have been a career public servant and I do want to continue that public service on the bench. I do think that I would serve as a voice for our communities, and someone that understands the problems that people face and I would like to humbly ask for your support in the upcoming election.”
Experience
After law school, he went to work for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s office in the financial securities division where he rose in a short time to the second ranking position of chief deputy director. His work focused on helping people who had been the victims of financial predators and con artists perpetrating boiler-room pump-and-dump stock schemes, luring elderly people into risky investments they didn’t understand, and running real estate scams.
Following his tenure as a policy analyst analyzing legislation and drafting contract documents for City of Chicago Clerk Susana Mendoza, Jim joined the office of Cook County Recorder of Deeds Karen Yarbrough – first as chief legal counsel and then as the Chief Deputy Recorder and Chief of Staff. At the Recorder of Deeds Office, he handled a wide range of responsibilities, including supervisor of all executive and management staff, acting as a liaison to state and other local governments agencies, and working collaboratively with organized labor organizations representing office employees.
Worker safety
When he worked at the Labor Council in the Cook County Clerk’s Office, his role was connecting with organized labor on a day to day basis, going through union negotiations and resolving grievances.
“Our main goal is to make sure that our employees are able to work in a safe and healthy environment and make sure that people get equal pay for equal work. We had a pandemic, and it’s still here so one of the most important things that we needed to do is make sure that the health, safety and well being of our employees and our customers were accounted for.”
Jim Gleffe wants to Bring Back Faith in the Judicial System
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