New Legislative Inspector General McCuskey: "I'm tired of being retired."
Former federal judge Michael McCuskey was selected Thursday as the state’s new Legislative Inspector General.
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After the bipartisan Legislative Ethics Commission was deadlocked on selecting a new Legislative Inspector General, Democrats in the General Assembly moved forward on its own nominee: former Appellate Court Justice and retired federal judge Michael McCuskey.
Republicans objected to the process, but none criticized McCuskey’s qualifications. He spoke with The Illinoize after the vote in the House Thursday to discuss his plans as LIG:
The Illinoize: Judge, tell me, why on earth would you want to do this?
McCuskey: The pandemic changed things. I couldn’t do anything. I’m used to being a trial judge, making things work, people in court, jury trials, and it all came to a halt. By the end of 2020 I said ‘I’m going to retire and see how that feels.” Well, before long it didn’t feel right that I wasn’t doing anything.
So when the news came out that Judge Pope was giving up the Legislative Inspector General, and I’m thinking 'Tom Homer had it, Carol had it, they’re appellate judges, I’m an old appellate judge. I’m a trial judge. I oughta be just as qualified.’
Once I decided I was interested, Carol had extended when she would resign. But they never created a new notice of vacancy after the first one expired in September, so I couldn’t apply.
When I met with the committee, they said ‘we can make you the acting Inspector General.’ I said ‘if that’s it, ok.’ Democrats said ‘no, that’s not ok.’ Now I’m in the middle of the rabbit hole.
I said ‘I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll be acting, I’ll be a full time Inspector General. You people tell me and I’ll do what you say.” I said ‘whatever.’ I want the job, I think I’m qualified. Then they did what they did today.
But, I do want the job. I think this job is right up there with being a federal judge because you can make an impact on a body like the legislature. I believe they’re 99% honest, maybe 100, I hope 100. I don’t presume anybody is doing anything bad. But I certainly will find out as the complaints come in whether their valid or not. My whole life has been about making judgements, talking to people, looking them in the eye and asking them questions, making decisions, hard, soft, but I don’t have a problem telling anybody to their face ‘you’ve done wrong and you’ll be punished’ or ‘you’re not guilty of what you’re charged with.’ I’ve done that my whole life.
I think it is telling that I wasn’t attacked at all today. I think that’s telling of the class of Leader Durkin and the House Republicans. They argued process, nobody argued about me. I even had some people call me in advance and say ‘I’m going to vote present. I just want you to know, but don’t take it personally.’ I said ‘well, present isn’t a vote against me.’ Also, five Republicans voted for me [Batinick, Bos, Elik, Lewis, Wheeler], which is a good sign.
Illinoize: Who called you and said ‘we may be able to open this up?’ Or did you call Harmon or Welch and ask to be considered?
McCuskey: No. I didn’t do anything. In fact, I had not talked to Don Harmon and I have not talked to Speaker Welch ever. I wouldn’t know ‘em. The only time I spoke to President Harmon was when he called me after the [Senate] vote yesterday to congratulate me.
I only put my name out there after Carol had retired. But the only notice of the job opening said no resumes after September 24. That was before Carol had [finished] and they never posted a new notice when [Republicans and Democrats] were at an impasse.
I wasn’t ready to look for a job in September, until I realized that Carol was going to leave. I’m tired of being retired. I retired [as a judge in his home county, Marshall County, where he returned to the bench after retiring form the federal court] before the end of my term and decided I didn’t like retirement. My wife would like me to get out of the house occasionally.
The statute says after the resignation of the Legislative Inspector General, if 45 days go by, the duties of the LIG go to the Auditor General. So, I called the Auditor General’s office and told them I was interested. They said “we’ll keep your name and pass it along.” I thought maybe nothing will happen, then the legal counsel to Don Harmon and the counsel to Chris Welch and said they were aware I was interested and they started asking me questions.
Illinoize: Someone said on the House floor today they didn’t know if you’re a Republican or Democrat. You did run as a Democrat. Do you consider yourself Democrat or non partisan or something else?
McCuskey: Judges don’t talk about partisan politics. We’re talking about what we do as judges. Justice Rehnquist picked me for a national committee. Justice Roberts appointed me for another committee. They don’t pick people on politics.
I didn’t get here without having a lot of Republican friends. I was elected circuit judge twice in a county that doesn’t have any Democrats.
I’m down the middle, I’ve always been.
Illinoize: Judge Pope was really frustrated in the job, even calling it a ‘paper tiger.’ Does that worry you or discourage you?
McCuskey: No. I look at it as ‘maybe I’ll agree with her and maybe I won’t.’ But, how will I know unless I do the job? Maybe next year when this term is up, maybe I’ll feel like Carol. I won’t know my perception of the job until I’ve been in it and see how it works. I can’t say in advance because I haven’t been there.
Illinoize: How do you intend to do the job? It’s largely investigative and management.
McCuskey: As chief federal judge, all complaints about employees come to you. I’ve done this stuff. Confidential. Secret. You can ruin people’s reputation by leaking things. Nothing has ever been leaked. That’s what investigating these complaints may entail. I had it for four courts in 46 counties. It doesn’t mean you have to be a State’s Attorney or federal prosecutor at some point in your career. It means you have to be able to look people in the eyes, put them under oath, and ask them questions. That’s what I’ve been involved with my whole life.
Illinoize: You told me you’re 73 now. Are you planning for a fill in or for the long term?
McCuskey: I want the job. I know I can do the job. I want it because I’m bored. I want to get out of the house. I’ve done things as hard or harder than this. I always made a point to give everyone a chance to be heard and a chance to put on their evidence. I have always tried to be fair to both parties in everything that I do. And I’ll do my best at the job.