worry about any confirmation hearings.”
“That’s right,” said Holderman. “The governor has the absolute power to appoint whomever he wants to succeed Senator Barker until the next congressional election, some eighteen months from now. And that would give the appointee plenty of time and leverage to run for a full term.”
“Julia, thanks for your report. Now let’s go over to Chad Noonan at the Criminal Courts Building.”
Standing in front of the hulking courthouse on Chicago’s West Side, amidst a cluster of other reporters and photographers, Noonan acknowledged Foster with a dip of his head.
“Reese McKelvie arrived moments ago and entered the courthouse without comment,” he said while a tape played of the judge walking up a flight of stairs and into the front of the building — obviously staged for the cameras as deliberately as Snow’s appearance had been.
“McKelvie practiced law with the governor for several years before being elected to the General Assembly, where he served for two terms. Later he was elected to the circuit court and was elevated to the top position in the criminal court after a scandal that sent several judges to the penitentiary. He’s best known for cleaning up the way cases are assigned by removing any possibility of bias or favoritism.”
Foster jumped in. “So like Eric Snow, he’s been riding above politics,” she observed.
“Actually, McKelvie was elected to the court as a conservative Democrat; only later did he become a Republican. Rumor has it that he was piqued after the son of a Democratic party leader jilted his daughter.”
“Any downside to the fact that he was once the governor’s law partner? That seems a little cozy.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” replied Noonan. “On the other hand, the governor may feel that McKelvie is somebody he can trust. And certainly McKelvie has a positive record of cleaning up corruption.”
Back at the studio, Foster wrapped up the segment and went on to other topics. Outside Snow’s house in Diamond Point, Julia Holderman was handing her mic to the sound technician as they strolled back to their news van.
“You know, one thing still bothers me,” she said to her producer.
“What’s that?”
“The story in the Examiner. When you boil it down, there’s really very little news in it — Barker’s going to plead guilty soon, and McKelvie and Snow are up for the appointment. Normally, they would have padded out the story with some stale background about the candidates.”
“Yeah? And?”
“The material on Snow and Diamond Point wasn’t canned; it was really fresh stuff. Up–to–date statistics, interesting details. Obviously, Garry or Hal had already been digging into Snow and Diamond Point for a while. They’re way ahead of the game.”
Interesting, mused the producer. “Let’s get over to the church and see what we can find out,” he said. “The Examiner wouldn’t be wasting its time over there if they didn’t know there was a bigger story.”
IV
His radio was blaring, but the sound of the shower drowned out most of the chatter. Tom O’Sullivan wasn’t paying much attention anyway; he was rinsing the shampoo from his hair while thinking about the day that was about to unfold — three perfunctory court appearances on behalf of long–time clients, then a couple of office appointments in the afternoon.
It was the name that snapped his attention toward the news report: Was he imagining things or did he really hear the anchorman mention Reese McKelvie?
Tom wrapped himself in a towel and hustled into the bedroom, which doubled as a home office. Still standing, he leaned over the computer and clicked the bookmark for the Examiner’s home page — where he instantly saw a smiling photo of the chief criminal courts judge adjacent to a headline naming him as a potential successor to United States Senator Samuel D. Barker.
Fortunately, his swivel chair was there to catch
“That’s right,” said Holderman. “The governor has the absolute power to appoint whomever he wants to succeed Senator Barker until the next congressional election, some eighteen months from now. And that would give the appointee plenty of time and leverage to run for a full term.”
“Julia, thanks for your report. Now let’s go over to Chad Noonan at the Criminal Courts Building.”
Standing in front of the hulking courthouse on Chicago’s West Side, amidst a cluster of other reporters and photographers, Noonan acknowledged Foster with a dip of his head.
“Reese McKelvie arrived moments ago and entered the courthouse without comment,” he said while a tape played of the judge walking up a flight of stairs and into the front of the building — obviously staged for the cameras as deliberately as Snow’s appearance had been.
“McKelvie practiced law with the governor for several years before being elected to the General Assembly, where he served for two terms. Later he was elected to the circuit court and was elevated to the top position in the criminal court after a scandal that sent several judges to the penitentiary. He’s best known for cleaning up the way cases are assigned by removing any possibility of bias or favoritism.”
Foster jumped in. “So like Eric Snow, he’s been riding above politics,” she observed.
“Actually, McKelvie was elected to the court as a conservative Democrat; only later did he become a Republican. Rumor has it that he was piqued after the son of a Democratic party leader jilted his daughter.”
“Any downside to the fact that he was once the governor’s law partner? That seems a little cozy.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” replied Noonan. “On the other hand, the governor may feel that McKelvie is somebody he can trust. And certainly McKelvie has a positive record of cleaning up corruption.”
Back at the studio, Foster wrapped up the segment and went on to other topics. Outside Snow’s house in Diamond Point, Julia Holderman was handing her mic to the sound technician as they strolled back to their news van.
“You know, one thing still bothers me,” she said to her producer.
“What’s that?”
“The story in the Examiner. When you boil it down, there’s really very little news in it — Barker’s going to plead guilty soon, and McKelvie and Snow are up for the appointment. Normally, they would have padded out the story with some stale background about the candidates.”
“Yeah? And?”
“The material on Snow and Diamond Point wasn’t canned; it was really fresh stuff. Up–to–date statistics, interesting details. Obviously, Garry or Hal had already been digging into Snow and Diamond Point for a while. They’re way ahead of the game.”
Interesting, mused the producer. “Let’s get over to the church and see what we can find out,” he said. “The Examiner wouldn’t be wasting its time over there if they didn’t know there was a bigger story.”
IV
His radio was blaring, but the sound of the shower drowned out most of the chatter. Tom O’Sullivan wasn’t paying much attention anyway; he was rinsing the shampoo from his hair while thinking about the day that was about to unfold — three perfunctory court appearances on behalf of long–time clients, then a couple of office appointments in the afternoon.
It was the name that snapped his attention toward the news report: Was he imagining things or did he really hear the anchorman mention Reese McKelvie?
Tom wrapped himself in a towel and hustled into the bedroom, which doubled as a home office. Still standing, he leaned over the computer and clicked the bookmark for the Examiner’s home page — where he instantly saw a smiling photo of the chief criminal courts judge adjacent to a headline naming him as a potential successor to United States Senator Samuel D. Barker.
Fortunately, his swivel chair was there to catch
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