Maya is a senior reporter at Injustice Watch covering judges and the courts. Before joining the organization in 2021 she was a senior staff writer at the Chicago Reader, where she began working in 2016. Maya was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of nine. She’s lived in Chicago since 2013.
Cook County voters picked a new class of circuit court and appellate court judges in Tuesday’s primary election. With election officials reporting abysmal voter turnout, some judicial subcircuit races were decided by a few thousand votes.
Cook County associate judges running for elected positions in the June 28 primary explain why they’re seeking an office that they already hold.
Primary candidate Judge Ruth Gudino allegedly ‘engaged in unwanted touching’ and bullied co-workers as a prosecutor, according to a memo obtained by Injustice Watch. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said the allegations were ‘unsubstantiated.’
While still in prison fighting another murder conviction, James Allen is seeking compensation for his wrongful imprisonment for a 1984 killing.
Jackie Portman-Brown was only the second sitting Cook County judge in 30 years to lose her seat. Can she become the first to be reelected?
Injustice Watch and WBEZ’s Curious City podcast teamed up to explain why it’s so rare for a Cook County judge to be voted out of office.
Only 64 candidates filed to run for Cook County circuit court judge this year — a record low. There were nearly twice as many judicial hopefuls in the last election.
Corzell Cole went away for “a first-degree murder that never occurred,” argued Will County’s prosecutor in a rare motion, citing a new Illinois law allowing prosecutors to push for resentencing in “the interests of justice.”
Anger about Van Dyke’s release and renewed scrutiny of Judge Vincent Gaughan’s sentencing in his case comes as the judge faces a retention election this fall.
Who can run? Why are judicial elections partisan? How do I pick a judge who shares my values? Injustice Watch and WBEZ’s Curious City are teaming up to answer your questions about judicial elections.