Springfield, IL – Candidate for Illinois Supreme Court Judge Elizabeth Rochford’s political connections and ties to the Madigan Machine run deep. She’s funded by trial lawyers allied with Mike Madigan, she personally wrote a big campaign check to indicted Chicago Alderman Ed Burke AFTER the FBI raided his office, and she used her connections to appeal and lower her property taxes under the same property tax appeals system that made Madigan millions of dollars.

For years, trial lawyers allied with the Madigan Machine have bankrolled judicial candidates preferred by Madigan. In 2020, Madigan-allied lawyers spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to save Madigan ally Justice Tom Kilbride during his unsuccessful retention campaign. Now, Rochford’s campaign has received nearly $600,000 from law firms, attorneys, and trial lawyers, including many of the same lawyers and firms who have backed Madigan and his judicial candidates.

Further, Rochford has financial ties to some of the biggest cogs in the Madigan Machine. Rochford donated $1,500 to indicted Chicago Alderman and political machine boss Ed Burke, after he was indicted on corruption charges. When asked, Rochford called Burke a “longtime friend of our family.” Rochford has donated a total of $15,350 to Burke since 1999. 

Rochford has appealed the property taxes on her Lake County residence multiple times, reducing her own property taxes at the expense of Lake County homeowners and taxpayers. She even took one of her appeals all the way to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board and hired a big Chicago law firm to help reduce her taxes. This is the same property tax appeals system that made Mike Madigan millions of dollars as a property tax appeals lawyer. It’s an inside game where Madigan represented the powerful and politically-connected, saving his friends millions and forcing Illinois homeowners to pay more.

“You know someone by the company they keep. That’s how we know Illinois voters can’t trust the politically-connected, Madigan Machine judge Elizabeth Rochford,” said Illinois Republican Party Executive Director Shaun McCabe. “Rochford’s campaign is being bankrolled by Madigan’s trial lawyer allies to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. She even cut a personal check to her “longtime family friend” indicted Chicago Alderman Ed Burke AFTER the FBI raided his office. It’s clear that Rochford will put herself and her political friends before the people of Illinois.”

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