To all who live in the State of Illinois, it comes as no surprise that our lawmakers spend a great deal of time on worthless legislation. It also comes as no surprise that we are a State run by mostly Democratic, mostly corrupt, Chicago politicians. Our fearless Attorney General is, in my opinion, no exception. In January of 2012 I read the following article in the State Journal Register online:
http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x1069934542/Legal-wrinkle-creates-debate-over-debtors-prisons-in-Illinois
The gist of the article was that Ms. Madigan was fairly clueless about how the system operated and wished to make it easier for debtors to avoid paying their bills. It must be a burden for Democrats to continually worry about how they can make life easier for those that make no effort to better their own situation. But, I digress. In response to this article, I penned the following letter to our brilliant A.G.:
Office of the Attorney General
Attn: Lisa Madigan
500 South Second Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706
RE: “Debtor’s Prison”
Dear Ms. Madigan:
I read with interest the January 21, 2012 article in the State Journal Register entitled “Legal wrinkle creates debate over 'debtors' prisons' in Illinois.” I must say, I am somewhat perplexed.
The article quotes you as stating, “When you fail to show up for a court hearing, that’s when a judge finds you in contempt of court for not showing up and there is a warrant out for your arrest.” You were further quoted as saying, “That gives the lawyers the ability to say (debtors) aren’t being thrown into debtors’ prison, they’re being thrown into prison for contempt of court. To me, that’s disingenuous.”
How is this a disingenuous statement? As in any civil court proceeding, when orders of the Court are not followed, a finding of contempt with a jail sentence is a possibility. Are you insinuating that people who have not fulfilled their financial responsibilities should be exempt from Court Orders?
You make reference in the article to a “pay or show” motion. I have personally never heard of this particular motion in a civil proceeding. However, if a pleading is properly filed and served on a Defendant pursuant to the rules of civil procedure, do you not believe the Defendant should be required to appear in Court on the specified date and time? If a party to a civil suit does not appear after proper notification, should a body attachment warrant not issue?
I am never surprised to see a media outlet misconstrue facts or be uninformed. However, I find your blanket outrage at debt collection to be misguided. It seems that your outrage would be much more properly directed at falsification of affidavits of service and at Judges who set unfairly high bail amounts. Attorneys who follow the rules of civil procedure and play by the rules are not “utilizing taxpayer dollars to collect private debt,” but are zealously pursing civil legal remedies on behalf of their clients.
I further find your outrage to be hypocritical. It would seem that your office spends a large amount of time, money, and manpower pursuing the enforcement of child support payments. Would this not be a debt for which your office utilizes the civil courts in this State to collect? Fortunately for your office, you have many other avenues and punishments at your disposal to collect child support debts. It could be argued that some of these additional punishments for non-payment are even harsher than being arrested for failure to appear.
I sincerely hope you reconsider your statements and positions on this issue and pursue future endeavors in the General Assembly that are actually of benefit to the citizens of the State of Illinois. I anxiously await your response.
Very truly yours,
William B. Bates, Jr.
CC: Representative Rich Brauer
Senator Larry K. Bomke
As I write this blog post, I am still "anxiously" awaiting Ms. Madigan's response. I assume I can take the fact that our esteemed Governor Quinn signed legislation last July that effectuated some of the changes advocated by Ms. Madigan as a pretty good indication of the weight my opinions have. But, a stock response with a stamped signature would have been a nice collector's item.
I realize that a somewhat sarcastic and condescending letter to the A.G. is not likely to win me any popularity contests in that office. However, at some point, it is time for a fundamental shift in the mindset of our leaders, or it is time for new leaders. If we now live in a society where a person cannot be held accountable for their valid debts, I believe we have reached that point.
