The Circuit

Data highlights leniency of ex-officer Jason Van Dyke’s murder sentence
|
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.
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.
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.
The code of conduct for judges may get a long-overdue update, but critics say the revision should have banned relationships between judges and their subordinates.
Associate judges are picked by the elected circuit judges in a closed-door process that some say privileges political insiders.
Bill rushed through state legislature last week promises years of hyperlocal judicial races, which could make it easier to become a judge but might come at a cost to the Cook County Democratic Party.
Cook County Democrats slated 10 candidates and 12 alternates for judicial seats for the 2022 primary election.
Considerado como un castigo compasivo por conducir en estado de ebriedad, SCRAM tiene un alto costo para los acusados. Un juez de Maywood lo usa con frecuencia y sin supervisión.
Billed as a humane punishment for drunk driving, SCRAM comes at a heavy cost for defendants. One judge in Maywood uses it often, and without oversight.
A diverse lineup of judicial candidates courted the party’s central committee at the obscure “pre-slating” event.
“I’ve been splitting my time between the practice of law and being a city council member, and I have never been one to think that I would die in office,” Brookins said.