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Stewart claims appellate judge's seat

BY BECKY MALKOVICH, THE SOUTHERN

Wednesday, November 8, 2006 10:53 AM CST

Two late Tuesday night phone calls helped make the 20 months of campaigning worth it for Judge Bruce Stewart, who won a seat on the Fifth District Appellate Court on Election Day.

The first call was from the campaign manager of Stewart's opponent in the race, Judge Steve McGlynn. The call conceding the race to Stewart came in around 11 p.m. when Stewart's lead in the race, then about 52 percent of the vote, appeared insurmountable.

Shortly after, Stewart's cell phone rang. This time, the call was from U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, who had appeared at a Stewart campaign rally on Sunday.

"It was a congratulatory call," Stewart said, one of dozens he answered after the concession. "What a night."

Surrounded by family, friends and the otherwise faithful, Stewart was "cautiously optimistic" after the polls closed Tuesday night as he watched election returns come in from the 37 counties that make up the 5th Judicial District Appellate Court.

Stewart, presiding judge in Saline County since 1998, was waiting for the conclusion of the race which pitted him against Belleville native McGlynn who was appointed to the appellate court last year.

"I'm thrilled," Stewart said. "I've been campaigning for more than 20 months and put 100,000 miles on my car traveling through the district. I worked very hard for this and so have so many people."

Stewart won handily in local counties. For instance, in his native Franklin County, Stewart trounced McGlynn by more than 4,000 votes, while in Williamson County Stewart received 61 percent of the vote. Saline County voters came out in full force for Stewart, giving him 6,786 votes over McGlynn's 2,054. With almost all precincts counted in Jackson County, Stewart led by more than 2,700 votes over McGlynn.

"I'm just very grateful to all the people throughout the district, especially in Southern Illinois, who have worked so hard to represent me in this campaign," Stewart said. "This shows that a candidate from down here can win. I believe we need more judges on the bench from outside the Metro East and I hope this is the start of a trend."

He said he would repay the confidence showed him by doing "the job and being a fair and impartial judge."

Stewart appears to have won the seat, despite the heavy financial backing obtained by his opponent.

McGlynn released a statement after conceding the race that read: "The greatest honor of my life has been to serve the people of Southern and Central Illinois in the cause of justice. I congratulate Judge Stewart and I sincerely thank all those who voted for me. This appears to be a year where party ID was the deciding factor in most races. Our cause was one of reform and I am confident the majority of people in Southern and Central Illinois want to see continued reform in our courts."

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