When Rahm Emanuel was unceremoniously booted from the mayoral ballot by two Illinois appellate judges (before being re-instated by the state supreme court), it was pretty clear that something unsavory was going on.  We may not have been able to describe it perfectly, but there was still that instinctual wrinkling of the nose. Often, however, judges overstep their bounds in far subtler ways. One rich example is the tug of war over the proper penance for Ed Vrdolyak.
      
Fast Eddie Vrdolyak was a former alderman with a colorful past, as is required for admission to City Council.  He got a little too colorful, a little too close to the FBI sound department, and ended up pleading guilty for his role in a real estate bidding scheme.  The interesting bit is his sentencing; Judge Shadur, a 30-year veteran of the federal bench who commands almost universal respect for his intelligence and fairness, handed it down.  Shadur considered an ocean of evidence in assessing the appropriate punishment.  He then did something few expected.  He gave Vrdolyak a slap in the wrist. Five-year probation.  A $50,000 fine.  Community service. No jail time. 

On appeal, Fast Eddie landed in front of a seventh circuit panel led by Judge Posner, the most prominent judge in the country not on the Supreme Court (the Dan Marino of the judiciary, as it were).  Posner gave Shadur a tongue-lashing for the wrist slapping and sent Vrdolyak over to a different judge to get his proper come-uppance.

At first glance it might seem that Posner was doing the righteous thing.  He was, after all, making a loud statement about taking corruption more seriously in a city that often treats it more as a local delicacy than a criminal offense.  But Posner wasn’t doing the righteous thing. ...