In March 2018, 84 candidates ran for 29 open seats on the Cook County Circuit Court. The majority of races have no Republican challenger, so the primary determines who gets on the bench. Injustice Watch covered the elections with a comprehensive voter’s guide and several articles on individual candidates.
Judge Michael Toomin and Mayor Lori Lightfoot say his critics are playing politics. Reformers say the lives and futures of Cook County children are at stake.
Cook County’s new group of associate judges includes candidates whose backgrounds are Greek, Asian, Hispanic, Jewish, and more. But not one of the 16 judges already selected are African-American. The 17th seat, still to be filled, will go to one of two black men — leaving black women excluded.
The 16 new Cook County associate judges announced by the state court system on Monday include five who had lost primary elections at the polling place in March. But a vote by the county’s circuit judges has rewarded them with seats on the bench in any event.
Eight appointed Cook County judges who lost their primary electoral bids for longer-term seats on the bench last March may get another chance at one of 17 vacant judicial seats this spring. They have been named finalists for associate judge vacancies.
It was not business-as-usual in the Cook County judicial primaries last week. Candidates with blemishes on their record were disfavored by voters. Judges already serving by appointment, or candidates who came out of the prosecutors’ office, found those perceived advantages did not sway voters. And Latinos seemed to gain strength at the expense of the traditional dominance of Irish names.
Early morning returns offer hope: Voters appeared to favor judicial candidates without blemishes
Use this pocket version of our voter’s guide at the polls to find out information about your judicial candidates.
After a defendant was convicted of charges she was part of a drug distribution ring, she cited widespread errors by her attorney, William Laws. The federal trial judge agreed that his poor performance had caused her to be unfairly sentenced. Years later, that case has come up again as Laws is a candidate for Cook County Circuit judge.
Jonathan Lubin, past chairman of the evaluation committee for the Decalogue Society, offers a commentary describing the arduous process that groups go through to be fair and accurate in their assessments of each judicial candidate.
Injustice Watch compiled a voting guide for the candidates running for judicial seats in Cook County because, despite the powerful role judges play in communities, little independent information is available to voters about the large pool of candidates.