Deepening Concerns Over Illinois Supreme Court Candidate Rochford

Written by Illinois Family Action

Illinois Family Action was contacted by another dad, whose story deepened our concerns about the race for Illinois Supreme Court and about the Democrat Candidate, Judge Elizabeth Rochford.

A third person has reached out, unsolicited and previously unknown to us, who felt compelled to share their story of injustice and bias, at the hands of Judge Rochford. (The same Elizabeth Rochford who donated to corrupt and indicted Chicago Alderman, Ed Burke and is getting millions from Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Democrat leaders of the veto-proof super-majority in the Illinois General Assembly.)

When presented with proof of the false information on the petition for guardianship, the father was told by Rochford that it wasn’t her job to look into crimes like perjury. She instead awarded guardianship to the Aunt whose attorney…wait for it…is a Rochford donor. Let that sink in. Since this is an ongoing case, it could well be a Judicial Ethics Conduct Violation and warrant an investigation. We can only hope.

We have since learned that this 11 month old baby is not even living with the guardian, but is with someone else, a woman with no children…who is interested in adopting him! It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. A criminal can be captured by the law but when the judicial system is the perpetrator, it’s understandable why the parents feel hopeless at times. They want their child back, before he disappears and Judge Rochford is denying the parents’ requests to discharge the guardian.

The father has petitioned the court to stop the guardianship for a variety of reasons. He alleges:

• False information was used on the petition for guardianship
• Parents were not given the required notice of the petition
• Reprehensible and unjustifiable behavior (guardian not even letting the parents see their baby)
• Inconvenient Forum (both parents live in Wisconsin, where the baby was born and living)
• Disputed jurisdiction (certain requirements of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, UCCJEA were not met to justify Rochford’s insisting on Lake County having jurisdiction)

The father, mother and grandmother are heartbroken and the father, who can’t afford an attorney, has been representing himself. He started a GoFundMe page to help with his mounting legal bills. He admits mistakes he made in the past that got him in trouble with the law but he said he was treated like a “jailhouse attorney” in Rochford’s Court and said he felt like he couldn’t even be heard. Even worse, he alleges multiple occurrences when Rochford allowed the opposing attorney (a Rochford donor) to misrepresent him to the court. He talks about being railroaded, or should we say, “Rochforded?”

It’s not the first time we’ve heard of Rochford judging a person by their appearance or lack of resources. Recently, we reported on another father who said his civil rights were violated by Rochford when she judged him based upon his appearance, instead of the evidence before the court. Have a look at this new and alarming clip:

The father in today’s story told us he’s beginning to think anyone could use the Aunt’s address, petition the court for guardianship and if they get an attorney who knows Rochford, “you’re good!” The Aunt presently has multiple cases for guardianship at present and now three children handed over to her by the courts. The father finished up his interview with us saying, “I believe you can abduct a child legally in Illinois, because it happened to me.”

IFA is alarmed that cases like this exist. It appears the priorities of Judge Rochford are not with parents, families, children or even justice. It appears her priorities involve feeding the court system with a continuous flow of long, drawn out cases and furthering the goals of the politically powerful and their donors. Unfortunately, that often requires turning a blind eye to corrupt, unethical activities that further hardship and suffering, often upon children in our poorest communities where people lack the resources to defend their rights in court.

We believe Pritzker’s millions are more than a “Thank you” for Rochford’s posing in front of Pritzker Rocks signs on Facebook. We wonder what will be expected of her to earn it. So far, she has never had to earn the trust of the voters, as she has never run for office and is a political appointee. The more we learn about her dealings as a judge, the less we want her on our state’s highest court.

Illinois needs justices who will make rulings based on the Constitution and equal justice under the law. We’re confident that our Endorsed Candidates, Mark C. Curran Jr. (District 2) and Justice Michael Burke (District 3) will do exactly that. We are increasingly convinced their opponents cannot perform to that standard, because the political pressure and baggage is just too large.

Please exercise your civic duty and vote in the upcoming November 8^th Election and make sure you vote all the way to the end of the ballot where you’ll find the race for Supreme Court Justices. Visit our Election Resources Page and make sure you, your families, church, friends and neighbors make wise and informed votes in this extremely important election. The majority of the state Supreme Court hangs in the balance and that has not happened in 58 years.