As with other candidates I see, I asked Ray Flavin for reasons he was running for office and what he would do, if elected.
Here is his reply:
I want to serve McHenry County as a Circuit Judge.
I entered the four way race because the other candidates were incredibly weak, long term government employees.
They seem to be saying whatever it takes to get elected.
One candidate has said he won’t take a judge’s pension, when I believe his current pension would exceed the judge pension he would earn if elected.
So, refusing a pension is a empty claim
I have offered to contribute $1,000 to the charity of his choice if he refuses all government pensions, he has yet to take this offer
A different candidate tells you he wants to keep politics out of the courtroom, he is running to keep his government job (and who knows what that slogan means).
He also will be spending the most money on this campaign of all the candidates.
I will be spending 1/10th the money he is going to spend.< The last one has so much going on that I would merely direct you to search unethicalmcclellan.com and consider the claims made there.
Not that I endorse the claims made there, only that there is a lot to process when considering the strength of her campaign.
I am a trial litigator.
I work with judges every day.
I set cases for trial on the average about 8 times a month.
There are only two other attorneys in the entire county that have the trial schedule even close to comparable with mine.
Since Christmas I have conducted 2 jury trials, and four bench trials to verdict.
This does not count my work with the Secretary of State (of which I have successfully reinstated driver’s licenses for two individuals this month).
My trial clients prevailed five out of six times.
As a litigator I have tried hundreds of cases in my career.
I am a McHenry County Arbitrator with over 20 arbitrations as Lead Attorney, I have tried cases from ordinance violations to murder.
I sued the county for excessive court costs in federal and state court.
I have run a successful law practice for 25 years in McHenry County.
I have appeared in court in seven counties in Illinois.
I have represented attorneys, CEOs, alcohol counselors and priests.
I am frequently consulted by other attorneys with respect to trial practice.
I am a member of the Illinois State Bar and the McHenry County Bar
I am literally the best choice by a large margin among those running, for the reasons I cited above.
I care about the process of the legal system and I have been dedicated to it for 25 years.
McHenry County voters need only look to the local news headlines to see why voting for long term government employees is a bad idea.
I am a United States Navy Veteran.
I have promised not to put any yard signs on anyone’s lawns, or put any garbage flyers in their mailboxes.
I am having a drawing to give away the money I would have spent on yard signs and flyers.
Asked what he would do to try to change the court system, Flavin replied,
I believe cameras should be allowed in McHenry County courtrooms.The courts are supposed to be where justice is done in the name of the people.
The people should be able to watch what they pay for and take pictures.
And the people should be able to watch on tv what is done in their name.
I believe that security for attorneys should be the same as allowed for police officers and other court personnel.
Lastly, requiring defendant’s appearance during routine preliminary matters, when simply scheduling subpoeana return dates, etc. serves no legitimate purpose.
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Ray Flavin’s Campaign for GOP Nomination for Circuit Court Judge — 49 Comments
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Look forward to seeing other candidates’ responses.
Thanks for the reply, Ray.
No way. Demetri is the one not taking the Gold Plated Judicial Pension.
That would exceed the States Atty office’s pension!
It’s not an empty claim at all. It’s a sacrifice.
At unethicalMcClellen.com there is documentation backing up her ineptitude.
She got the worst rating among her peers that I’ve ever seen, we agree there.
Anyone that votes for her or has her sign in their yard is either crooked or retarded.
So you’ll be taking the Gold-Plated judicial pension.
Good to know.
Ray doesn’t have any prior government employment other than the Navy.
If he took the judicial pension, he’d be well into his 70s before he was fully vested.
Why on earth would Mary McCellan think she is fit to b a Judge?
I know she “dreamed of it since a little girl.”
I like Ray but I understand that he lives in Vegas for a portion of the year to gamble/play poker.
I’m not sure we want betting odds in the courtroom.
But that may be preferable to the Chmiel system where your friends get special bond hearings.
Are there any interesting appellate opinions on Wilbrandt?
Also why isn’t this guy retired already?
Can anyone pronounce Demetri’s last name?
Unfortunately, he’s the only one without baggage but John Q voter might not do their homework.
With this field, the only choice is Demetri.
Demetri has baggage.
Ray does not live in Las Vegas at all.
You’re just making that up.
He lives here, practices full time here, and if you bothered to check your facts, you could look up the cases he handles here to prove it.
As to Major Judge Professor Lieutenant Colonel, yes, there is an opinion worth reading.
If it’s not posted by the time I get to my office, I’ll post the citation.
I don’t carry the book of his nonsense around with me.
Onced enrolled in IMRF one cannot get out of the system under current law.
Ray knows this but still misrepresents States Attorney Demitri T.
Here is the case:
http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2010/2ndDistrict/September/2091248.pdf
@Publius So what is this so called baggage?
You are spewing lets hear it!
Have never heard one bad thing about the man.
He has moral and principals!
As far as Ray Flavin goes about the pension you are an idiot!
“I believe”
If this is how you are going to rule on the bench without doing any homework you belong as far away from the bench as possible!
First of you have to understand the system which you have failed to do.
The States Attorney is under IMRF.
Now of course States Attorneys or government employees can not I repeat can not refuse IMRF!
So how many years does Mr. T have under his belt?
Not sure but I think around 12 or 13.
So he has those years.
I think if he were to retire tomorrow he would make in the neighborhood of around $1,200-$1,300 a month for retirement.
However, if he became judge he could take that time and put it toward his judges pension.
So lets go with 12 years experience to make it easy.
So after 2 terms or 8 years he would be qualified for 20 yrs under the judges pension.
With the salary of around $190,000 his retirement pay would then be around $120,000 a year with a 3% increase every year and he still would be able to collect on his IMRF every year as well.
So him refusing the Judges pension is a huge thing!
Probably cost him and his family over $2,000,000+ over his lifetime!
So go do your homework Ray and don’t use the excuse of where is your source.
I did my homework why don’t you go do yours because that is what a good Judge does instead of “Hear Say”!
Hear is the Daily Hearld Article on Judge’s Pensions which should be abolished!
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20151202/news/151209812/
Bald_Eagle,
Once enrolled you cannot remove yourself from IMRF, correct.
But Demetri could promise not to DRAW from that pension.
Demetri is entrenched in government, but his followers are too blind to see it.
I’m voting for Flavin.
And Cal, thanks for posting Flavin’s answers on your blog despite your backing of Demetri.
Here’s a dumb question. Do you have to live in McHenry County to be a McHenry County judge? If so, is it a problem that Demetri lives in Deerfield? Here’s the property tax bill for the $870,000 house he bought last May. https://apps03.lakecountyil.gov/treasurer/collbook/collbook4.asp?Pin=16-28-109-014
P.S. how the heck does a career government bureaucrat afford a $450,000 house in Cary and an $870,000 house in Deerfield? I got into the wrong profession.
“So what is this so called baggage? You are spewing lets hear it!”
My official position in this race is neutrality.
Other than MM not getting elected, I’m fine with any of the three other candidates.
But there is baggage, and it’s bad.
You’re anonymous. What baggage? I’m not buying it.
I have made it clear that virtually anything sent by a candidate, Reublican or Democrat, will be posted.
To my surprise, some candidates can’t figure out that when people search for information, they often find McHenry County Blog’s articles.
I am frankly surprised that Judge Berg has sent nothing, not to mention others.
sayitaintso, THANK YOU. You bring up a lot of good points!
Well, you should be careful what you ask for because you might get it.
Demetri almost certainly does not live in McHenry County anymore.
In May 2017, he purchased an $870,000 house in Deerfield.
Here’s his property tax bill. [Link redacted.]
He’s holding on to the house in Cary so that he technically can claim to be a McHenry County resident.
I’ve heard third hand that his school-age children no longer attend school in Cary.
I’d bet a crisp $100 bill that if you went over to the Cary post office and asked that they’ll tell you his mail is being forwarded either to a PO Box or to the Deerfield residence.
If the family is living in Deerfield, one of two things must be true.
Either he doesn’t live here and is ineligible to serve as an elected judge or he abandoned his family to pursue elected office.
Neither option looks great.
You know what else doesn’t look great?
How can an ASA with an $85,830/year salary afford a $450,000 house in Cary and a $870,000 mansion in Deerfield?
Like I said, the guy has baggage.
Cal, feel free to remove the link to the property tax bill if you confirm that it shows that Demetri owns a house in Deerfield.
I dislike the idea of the public knowing exactly where our prosecutors live, but it is important that people are made aware of this issue.
Demetri needs to explain what’s going on because it looks really bad.
Maybe his family, or his wife’s family, is rich.
The living in two places is a bit harder to explain, though.
The Deerfield house is definitely not a vacation home.
“Publius”:
Demetri would never say this, lest it be misconstrued as some sort of sympathy ploy–not to mention the extremely emotional nature of the situation–but I can say it:
Demetri lives in McHenry County where he works and is registered to vote for over a decades. Period.
He purchased another home because he has a very ill child who received a heart transplant and still requires frequent medical treatments outside McHenry County. To do the best thing for his child and his family, he made the decision to allow his wife and child closer access to best treat his sick child, despite the sacrifice of remaining a McHenry County resident and employee.
To claim he is not a long-time resident at his current address is false.
If you or I had the means to provide the best possible healthcare for your gravely ill child, any dedicated father would do the same.
If you have any further questions about the true residence of Demetri Tsilimigras, look no further than his voting records and long-time registered address.
Publius:
PS: I’ll take that $100 bet. Of course, that would require you not hiding behind a fake name.
That explanation doesn’t make sense. Google maps tells me it’s a 1h:24m drive to Lurie from his new place. It’s 1h:45m from his old place.
So if his family or wife’s family is rich I commend him for doing what he is trying to accomplish!
He doesn’t need the job then but feels it important enough to go after his dream!
To still be a productive member of society and not live off of families money and not have something handed to him from past generations such as Cowlin!
I heard that him and other’s helping him have been out walking door to door in many precincts over this past couple months.
Has anyone else been doing that?
Sounds like someone that is a hard worker and not someone like any one of the 3 others who have sat on their butts doing nothing but saying I’m a great candidate!
Wonder how many homes Flavin has knocked on?
Probably zero!
But vote for me anyway!
At least Mr. T has the balls to get out there while not one of the other 3 do that.
That shows to me hard work ethic!
And as far as Ray goes saying I won’t put any signs up because it is beneath you it sounds like arrogance now because I saw them before in other races.
Why did you even bother to run?
Maybe just for Attention!
The fact that you assume the locations of a sick child’s treatment locations is FAR outside anything even remotely relevant to the campaign.
Even though it is completely NONE of your or anyone else’s business where this minor child receives his multiple treatments, the location of Lurie satellite offices, other treatment providers, local emergency hospital and highway access, as well as family support ALL played a role in the strategic decision to best care for his ill child.
Frankly, I believe your comments are crossing a line and incredibly insensitive to this family’s tremendous hardship.
I pray you and your child(ren) will never have to endure what this family has.
Rachael, you brought the kid into it.
I have nothing by sympathy for Demetri for having an ill child.
But the fact remains that he bought a wildly expensive house in a different county and wants us to believe that he’s not living there.
If there’s an innocent explanation, let us have it.
But from what I’m hearing there isn’t one.
No YOU brought up the children, specifically where they are temporarily attending school.
I’ve given you your explanation, and there is nothing more to be said–except your real name so I can send you the bill for when I win the $100 bet you’ll rightfully lose.
Publius you sound like a total a-hole.
I’d expect more coming from the Wilbrandt camp.
I’m an a-hole for questioning a judicial candidate’s residency?
If he doesn’t live in the county, it seems like voters should know about it before they cast a ballot for a Lake County politician.
And, don’t assume I’m in the Wilbrandt camp just because I write in complete sentences and form coherent thoughts.
I think Demetri would be a fine judge.
I’m peeved that the lawyers tanked him and Flavin in their little popularity contest.
My only real dog in the fight is that Mary McClellan not get elected.
Your buddies goaded me into explaining Demetri’s baggage, and here we are.
Do you really think that he would be running for Judge and going to be a Judge in McHenry County if he didn’t live here.
In today’s world things are found out and that would be something found out very quickly.
Did you call him and ask him?
Get an explanation from him before you posted this?
This is the problem with people now a days they believe things without calling them to get the facts!
When John Jung started taking his Pension Cal wrote to him as stated and he refused to comment.
Guess that tells the story.
Same with the Tabloid NWH.
I hear a lot of elected officials refuse to talk to them anymore because of the way they skew, tell half truths and only take bits and pieces of a discussion to fit their agenda!
Will be interesting to see who they endorse!
You’re out of line attacking a family that endures tremendous hardship and sacrifice for their gravely ill child.
You even stooped so low as to suggest abandonment of the family he holds as his highest priority in life.
Your accusations of Demetri’s residency are quite easily proven wrong, and you show yourself as a heartless fool.
End of story.
Residency means nothing since Rahm Emmanuel and the courts made the whole issue irrelevant.
Next topic.
Oh, this has been an exercise in how far supporters will bend, turns out the answer is, in a pretzel
@Watching and Publius why don’t you call him personally and ask him!
But you won’t will you?
Of course not that is to easy to clear the air! Good luck Demetri you deserve it more than the others!
@whynot
Why in heaven’s name are you calling me out.
I simply thought it was funny to watch the lengths that Demitri’s supporters would go to justify his cause.
I literally don’t give a shit where he lives, or how expensive his houses are.
It’s really not relevant.
But watching Demitri’s supporters call for “the baggage” and get snow plowed by Publius was both satisfying (and surprising).
And the most hilarious part was the so called supporters didn’t even realize they were adding to the PR problem.
If they hadn’t “helped” at all Demitri would have been way farther ahead, and probably would have avoided a damaging PR problem that didn’t look like it was ever going to be brought up.
What is the lesson, “Don’t poke the sleeping Tiger?”
Really funny that’s all.
Leave me out of it bud!
I’m just Watching. (get it?) but I am going to change my name to Watching and Laughing.
Vote for Demitri he can afford to not take the golden pension, or the salary for that matter. LOL
I don’t think Demetri is a monster who has abandoned his family and sick son.
I do think he, by his campaign manager’s admission, doesn’t live here.
I believe he loves his son and spends every moment possible with him.
He has to do what he has to do.
But, that means he doesn’t live here.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what camp you’re in.
Just type in Robert Wilbrandt, or Demetri’s names in the search to see your comments on the posts.
You already admitted that you don’t want Mclellen elected.
You’re still an a-hole in my book.
Who is his campaign manager?
As his campaign treasurer, I would know.
Yet another false bait statement from an anonymous coward.
Publius: Re: “But, that means he doesn’t live here.”
So what is your point?
I think what he meant is that if it is not important where people live, you just invited Obama to run for Circuit Judge in McHenry County.
Sorry, this is what you call ‘baggage’? After it was explained to you in depth?
Meanwhile, Ray is thinking, “This thread is supposed to be about me!”
Thank you, Rachel, for the very comprehensive post about Demetri and his family.
They are fine people.
His wife and sisters pitch in on his campaigns, fixed wonderful Greek food for his receptions; walked precincts and knocked on doors in bitter cold weather, and, Demetri, himself, goes door to door.
He’s a “people” person, i.e., relates in a very straightforward, unpretentious way.
Can’t say that for any of the other candidates, unless Ray Flavin.
I’ve never met him, but heard he’s a fine attorney.
Why try to dirty up people with false accusations?
Seems to be commonplace in McHenry County politics.
And, the Publiuses of this County make it so.
The source of your misinformation, Publius, are readily identifiable – the Cary “connection”.
Demetri will be a great addition in the Courthouse.
Thank you Rachel for giving a very convoluted answer which explains why Demitri would own a million dollar house outside of the county, but choose not to live in it because children. And owns a much lower value house in Cary which he chooses to live in because Tuesday.
I feel like I am watching Huckabee Sanders v. Trump on the stripper controversy. Sure Huckabee is doing a lot of deflecting, but Trump wishes she would just let the issue die out. Instead, it’s in the papers again.
Literally all she had to do was ignore a troll about baggage and we never discover that being a judge would be a hobby job for Demitri. I mean I think he would be a good judge, but do we want a hobby job judge? Would that be fair to normal folk?
Yes, Demitre is currently the owner of 2 residences, and I too have heard, it has been told, that Demetri, his wife and kids are living in Lake County, Deerfield. The PIN on the Lake Co residence is 16-28-109-014 in West Deerfield Township and the PIN -on the Cary residence is 20-08-129-001, Algonquin township.
Worse than all this is that he received a $6000 Homestead Exemption on both residences for 2016. That is unlawful, one would think he would know better. Go to the websites of the Lake and McHenry County Treasurers to confirm.
It would be interesting to find out whether the children are enrolled in Deerfield public schools.
It gets more complicated in cases of divorce or separation, but I’m pretty sure that the parents have to be residents of the school district in which their kids are enrolled.
Just owning property in the district isn’t enough.
Publius I hope you’re not being spoon-fed all of this bitterness from your poker buddy. His name Is Mud in McHenry County.
Where’s Baghdad Bob when you need her?
Surely, there must be a sick kid related deflection for his household taking two Homestead Exemptions.
Jim take a hike.
You don’t know what you’re talking about…
Take a hike you’re disingenuous and incredibly ignorant to the families Private Affairs to the situation.
SGT as it turns out engaging in politics makes your life public. I am sorry that no one ever explained that to you.
All I want to know is if Rachel paid the $100 bet she obviously lost (because now it is the future, so we know).
My guess like all internet bettors … she never paid.
Big mouth, small pocketbook.
Oh well, too bad.