SPRINGFIELD — In state government circles, Robert P. LeChien may have been the most well-known judge in Illinois during the last few years.The longtime St. Clair County jurist made a decision in July 2015 to keep public workers paid and on the job during the state’s unprecedented budget impasse. His order was upheld throughout the two-plus years of gridlock.Many, including the state’s top lawyer, argued that without the threat of employees shuttering day-to-day business, the governor and legislators weren …