The governor of Illinois has backed a Bill to stop judicial candidates from faking Irish surnames before elections. This week, Governor Rod Blagojevich signed a Bill that will force candidates to declare on the ballot if they have changed their names in the last three years.
The Bill is in response to the case of attorney Fred S Rhine, who changed his name to Patrick Michael O'Brien in 2005 ahead of a Chicago judicial election in 2006. Mr Rhine admitted the name change was designed to win the city's large Irish vote.
According to Carrie K Huff, president of the Chicago Council of Lawyers, many other judges have used fake fadas or grandmother maiden names in judicial elections to appeal to Irish Americans.
Under the new Bill, sponsored by state representative John Fritchey, the words "formerly known as" will be placed under the name of candidates who change their names before election day.
However, the law exempts candidates who changed their names through marriage, divorce or adoption. "If you want an Irish surname, you're going to have to marry one," said Mr Fritchey.
He said that candidates are free to run under any name they want but the new Bill will notify the electorate of any attempt to mislead.
Mr Rhine, who even changed his work answering machine message to reflect his new name, eventually decided not to run as Patrick O'Brien after intense criticism from the Chicago Bar Association and state politicians.
He told The Irish Timeshe decided to change his name to highlight the unfairness of the system.
He said the election organisers made little effort to inform the public about the work record of judicial candidates and so many people simply voted according to ethnic background.