Two lawyers’ associations are calling on the Illinois Supreme Court to reverse its decision bringing a retired judge back to the Cook County bench, citing comments from a September blog post that one group called “blatantly disrespectful, insensitive, harmful, and foul.”
In December, the Supreme Court announced the return of Judge James R. Brown and six other retired judges to temporarily fill vacancies in the Cook County Circuit Court. All seven have been assigned to traffic court through Dec. 7, 2026, in an effort to remedy an apparent shortage of judges.
Brown previously served as a Cook County judge for 18 years until retiring in 2020. In September 2025, prior to being reinstated, he authored a guest column for John Kass News, a conservative-leaning blog operated by former Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass. He later appeared on Kass’ podcast as well.
In his column, Brown criticized the Obama and Biden administrations, years he said were wracked with false accusations of systemic racism, progressive-led “lawfare” against President Trump, “biological men” in women’s sports, and murders of U.S. citizens by “illegal aliens.” He described progressive prosecutors like former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx as “Soros-funded” — a widely used antisemitic trope centered on Jewish billionaire George Soros — and invoked several conspiracy theories popular across the political right, like “Fauci lies” and Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Months later, Brown’s return to the bench has sparked backlash from two bar groups.
In a Dec. 29 press release, the Cook County Bar Association, the nation’s oldest association of Black lawyers and judges, condemned “numerous adverse” statements from Brown’s column that cast “great doubt whether he can serve impartially without political motives, debunked theories, and other biases against marginalized communities.” The association pointed to Brown’s negative comments involving “George Floyd, systemic racism, foreign nationals, issues related to gender identity, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and political affiliations.”
The Chicago Council of Lawyers published a similar open letter to the Illinois Supreme Court a week later, calling Brown’s comments “wildly inappropriate.” Both groups said Brown had run afoul of the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits judges from expressing bias or prejudice while running for office or serving on the bench.
“Just as significantly, they demonstrate that Judge Brown lacks the temperament, judgment, independence, competence, impartiality, and respect for the rule of law necessary for those who serve in the judiciary,” the Council of Lawyers wrote.
Though Brown was a private citizen when his column was published, David Melton, the Council of Lawyers’ acting executive director, told Injustice Watch the statements should have precluded his return to the bench.
“Disqualifying comments don’t have to be made while you’re on the bench,” Melton said. “They can be taken into consideration when people are looked at, when they are seeking to go on the bench.”
The last time Brown ran for retention, in 2014, he received unanimous support from every bar association in the county — including the two now pushing for his removal. That year, the Council of Lawyers deemed Brown qualified for retention, describing him as “a diligent judge with a good demeanor” who is “fair to all parties.”
When asked for an on-the-record interview, Brown directed Injustice Watch to the Cook County chief judge’s press office, which did not respond to the request.
Injustice Watch asked the Supreme Court about Brown’s appointment and the calls for his removal. A spokesperson declined to make Chief Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. available for comment.
Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach declined to comment directly on the controversy surrounding Brown’s blog post.
“He’s been showing up to work. He’s doing his job. He’s doing it well, by all accounts that’s been reported back to me,” Beach told Injustice Watch. “So I’m looking at it as, he is another judge here in Cook County, and he’s doing his job, and that’s where we’re at.”
The recall originated from a request by former Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans, who asked the Supreme Court to fill vacancies due to a shortage of judges, according to Supreme Court spokesperson Christopher Bonjean.
Historically, the Supreme Court has filled circuit court vacancies — an authority granted to it under the state constitution — by appointing lawyers until the next election. Recalls of retired judges to the Cook County Circuit Court have been rare — the last time it happened was in 2013, according to Bonjean.
In this case, the Supreme Court opted to reinstate retired judges to seven out of 18 circuit court vacancies, Bonjean wrote in an email, because the filing period for the upcoming 2026 judicial races was still open, “and this is a short assignment so retired judges are better prepared to quickly hear cases.”
On Sept. 22, an email went out to retired judges soliciting applications to fill the vacancies, and Brown applied. According to Bonjean, the Supreme Court’s vetting process included applications and bar evaluations, with interviews only for candidates from outside Cook County.
Of the seven recalled retired judges, two originally served in other Illinois counties — Will and Pope. Illinois law requires judges to reside in their respective districts to be eligible for the bench, but retired judges being considered for reinstatement are not required to live in the district where they would serve.
The Supreme Court has not yet replied to the Council of Lawyers’ letter, Melton said. The Cook County Bar Association did not respond to multiple requests for comment about its press release.
“Traffic court gets a very diverse portion of the population coming into it, and Judge Brown has expressed views that are seemingly biased against some portions of that population,” Melton said. “Hopefully, Judge Brown will be smart enough not to let his prejudices or biases affect his behavior in traffic court, but that remains to be seen.”
During his podcast appearance, Brown discussed, among other topics, the role of politics in the judiciary.
“A judge should not be a politician because you’re not advocating for any one position,” Brown said. “You’re letting the chips fall where they may. You’re a neutral arbiter.”
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