The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts on Thursday named 22 new associate judges who will take the bench in Cook County.

Associate judges are chosen via a closed election that only Cook County’s 249 circuit court judges can vote in. They share nearly the same responsibilities as the circuit judges, whom Cook County voters choose in public elections. But associate judges earn slightly lower salaries, and can’t vote in internal court elections for the chief judge or new associate judges, and must get the chief judge’s permission before presiding over a felony trial.

More than 200 people applied for associate judge positions earlier this year. The candidates were evaluated by the Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations, and a nominating committee led by Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans narrowed the applicants down to a shortlist of 44 that circuit court judges then voted on via mail. Ballots were due Tuesday.

Below is the full list of the 22 new associate judges. Click here for a more detailed analysis of the new class of associate judges.

Maryam Ahmad
Lloyd James Brooks
Barbara Lynette Dawkins
James Thomas Derico, Jr.
Sabra Lynne Ebersole
Carl Lauras Evans, Jr.
William Nicholas Fahy
Barbara Nubia Flores
Mitchell Benjamin Goldberg
Jasmine Villaflor Hernandez
Matthew William Jannusch
Martha-Victoria Jimenez
Diana Elena Lopez
Kerrie Elizabeth Maloney Laytin
Thomas A. Morrissey
James Bryan Novy
Eric Michael Sauceda
Theresa Marie Smith Conyers
Ankur Srivastava
Pamela J. Stratigakis
Anthony Charles Swanagan
Andreana Ann Turano

*This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that associate judges must get permission from the Illinois Supreme Court before presiding over a felony trial. However, associate judges only require permission from the local chief judge to take on felony cases. We regret the error.

Creative Commons License

Republish this article for free under a Creative Commons license.

Aviva Waldman is a rising fourth-year at the University of Chicago and is interning at Injustice Watch through the University’s Institute of Politics. Originally from San Diego, California, Aviva studies English and has written for the University’s independent student newspaper, the Maroon. When she’s not trying to keep her two cats out of trouble, she likes to read, write, and go for long walks in Washington Park.

Adeshina was Injustice Watch's editor-in-chief from 2020 to 2022. He was born and raised in the Uptown neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side by an African-American mother and Nigerian father and studied journalism at Loyola University Chicago. His work over the past decade has spanned hyperlocal and national reporting with a focus on race, class, and institutional injustice.