Meet the New Judge, Same as the Old Judge

By Janet Phelan

Following a series of articles discussing both her questionable financial transactions as well as her freewheeling execution of Illinois law (pun intended), Cook County Judge Shauna Boliker was summarily banished from her position on the probate court bench in Daley Center to a lesser position as a judge hearing pretrial motions in criminal court..

According to retired attorney Ken Ditkowsky, this constitutes a significant demotion for Boliker. “She is no longer in control of cases,” he explained in a conversation this week. “She is in a dead spot.”

Those who had been inflicted with Boliker’s peculiar brand of justice heaved a sigh of relief, as we waited to see who would take over her pivotal probate court cases.

Last week, we had the opportunity of seeing Associate Judge Amee Alonso wield her gavel in a former Boliker case and we are here to inform you that there doesn’t appear to be any improvement.

Judge Amee Alonso appears on the far right

Alonso was sitting on a case involving the estate of Albert Campasano, who recently expired under a guardianship that was fraught with fraudulent judicial decisions. As Albert was married (a sitting circuit court judge married Albert Campasano and his longtime girlfriend, Sophia Pasko, in August of 2021), Illinois law would ostensibly protect the marital property, which is also Sophia’s, from seizure by the guardian, which was listed as Midwest Care Management.

But not in Boliker’s court, which saw not only the forced seizure and sale of a home by the guardian but also the taking of Sophia’s personal property, such as a laptop and a car. In addition, the guardian applied for (and received) an “Order of Protection” against Sophia Campasano in March of this year, barring her from contact with her husband. For those who do not yet know this, these Restraining Orders are regularly issued in guardianship court proceedings, in order to bar potentially protective family from oversight as to the well-being of their loved ones. In the petition for Protective Orders, Sophia was accused of no act of overtly harming her husband, only of trying repeatedly to check in on him in the home in which the guardian had placed him.

In a highly charged and contentious hearing last week in Judge Amee Alonso’s court, GAL (Guardian ad Litem) Matthew McQuiston explicitly threatened Sophia with a guardianship, as she had not yet executed a form which is necessary for her to receive the monies left her by Albert, as beneficiary of his estate. Sophia has a BSN (nursing degree) and an MBA. She is 63 years old and has no evidence of cognitive decline. Here is a partial transcript of the proceedings–

Matthew McQuiston

McQuiston– “…I had a conversation with Ms. Campasano a few days ago. about this (the filling of the form)..I was concerned, as I don t think I was able to get through and explain this in a way that Ms. Campasano could understand and what that kind of brings me to is just a general concern that I have that Ms. Campasano might need some assistance, or a guardian or something….It doesn’t seem that Ms. Campasano has the ability……to do what she needs to do.”

Judge Alonso– “I am going to give you a continuance. …i am going to give you 21 days to hire counsel.”

McQuiston– “My point is that this has dragged on for a long time…I would second Ms. Martin’s objections ….my concern is whether Ms. Campasano might need…(trails off)….I don’t know. I am concerned about Ms. Campasano….and I am not her GAL but at some point I have considered referring this to the public guardian to help her. I am not going to do anything without court direction…”

Judge Alonso– “I tend to agree with you…”

Sophia Campasano has relayed to this reporter that there is a particular piece of information in the required form that she does not wish the attorneys to have and that she would be happy to have the filled out form processed only by the bank.

In a conversation with GAL Matt McQuiston last week he told this reporter that he does not intend to contact the Public Guardian. Nevertheless, the threat has been made. When Albert Campasano died last May, he left significant funds (and a house) to his wife, Sophia. According to a recent petition filed by attorney Melinda Martin, there is $423,236.45 left in an estate account and $372,532.74 left in an IRA account, as well as a home; listed on Redfin as worth approximately $402,000–$478,000. In other words, there are still significant funds to benefit and enrich a guardian and attorneys.

According to Sophia Campasano, the approximately 3-year-long guardianship of her husband, Albert, resulted in a diminution of over $1.2 million dollars. As a final accounting has not been executed by the court, it is not possible at this juncture to check on the accuracy of this perception.

One wonders why the act of previously selling the couple’s other home and denying any of this income to Sophia was not addressed by the current judge. A review of Judge Amee Alonso’s records on the Cook County Grantor Grantee index might point to why Judge Alonso is going with the bad decisions made in this case by the questionable former judge, Shauna Boliker. It is widely known that mortgages are a vehicle to bribe/pay off dirty judges. The diabolically simple scam goes like this—Judge X takes out a loan and Mr. Y pays it back. As always, the devil is in the details.

Here is a cut and paste of what appears on the Cook County Recorder’s office for Amee Alonso.