idea for the law came from Clifford, who is a past president of ITLA. Campaign contributions Fifth District Appellate Court In the fall of 2016, Clifford gave campaign contributions to Jo Beth Weber, a Democratic candidate for the Fifth District Appellate Court. She raised most of her money from two law firms that conduct business within the Madison County court system. The Fifth District Appellate Court webpage, as of February 2017, shows Weber's opponents as still remaining on the court, indicating that she lost her race. Illinois Supreme Court Background On September 12, 2016, the Illinois Supreme Court chose Justice Lloyd Karmeier as its new chief justice. Around the same time, U.S. District Judge David Herndon certified a class action lawsuit against State Farm for $9 billion related to Karmeier's 2004 election. The lawsuit alleges that State Farm secretly supported Karmeier's 2004 election in exchange for Karmeier overturning a $1 billion judgment against State Farm. That judgment stemmed from a trial in Williamson County that found State Farm liable for supplying inferior car parts for crash repairs. In 2005, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the $1 billion judgment against State Farm. Ever since that decision, lawyers have claimed that both State Farm and Philip Morris funneled cash through various channels in order to conceal contributions to Karmeier's 2004 campaign. Plaintiff's attorneys who sued Philip Morris lost their case and twice tried unsuccessfully to reverse their loss at the Illinois Supreme Court, using allegations of illegal campaign contributions to Karmeier. Lawyers who lost the State Farm case, however, took their case to federal court. The lawyers filed a racketeering suit against State Farm in 2012. The suit sought to recover the judgment with triple damages and interest. The case went to District Judge David Herndon. Negative ad campaign contribution In October 2014, with Karmeier on the ballot, lawyers in five states raised $2,070,000 for a television campaign accusing Karmeier of selling justice. Robert Clifford contributed $250,000. Karmeier won the election to keep his seat on the court. References External links Clifford Law website Illinois lawyers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Lawyers from Chicago DePaul University College of Law alumni