Vacancies: One slated, one opens, others wait for theirs

An email today from Judge Thomas R. Mulroy, appointed to the bench in February 2007, and a candidate for the Donald M. Devlin vacancy in the 12th Subcircuit, advises that he's been slated by the Democratic Party in that race. Judge Mulroy writes that he is thrilled to receive the endorsement.


Meanwhile, in the 14th Subcircuit, a second vacancy has recently opened up because Judge James F. Henry has decided to step aside. Previously only the Ralph Reyna vacancy was available in that Subcircuit.

Here's a link to the updated list of maintained by the Illinois State Board of Elections. No additional countywide vacancies have yet opened up for Stephen J. Connolly, Diann K. Marsalek, Sandra G. Ramos, or Dennis J. Burke -- all endorsed (pre-endorsed?) by the Democratic Party for vacancies that don't yet exist.

Connolly was described in Abdon Pallasch's Sun-Times article on the slating process as a labor lawyer; he's currently of counsel to Ekl Williams PLLC. (His name was misspelled in the Sun-Times article and on the 49th Ward blog entry that I used in my September 10 post. Mr. Connolly has his name spelled correctly on the Democratic Party website.)

Sandra Ramos is a criminal defense attorney in private practice. Her bid for a seat from the 6th Subcircuit was cut short in 1996 when she was removed from the ballot. Diann Marsalek, a legal advisor in the Administrative Hearings Department in the Secretary of State's Chicago office, made a couple of runs in the 8th subcircuit in 1994 and 1996; she was a finalist earlier this year in the latest round of Associate Judge selection. Dennis J. Burke was an Associate Judge until he accepted appointment to the Michael J. Murphy vacancy in June 2007. (Paula Lingo, Chief Legal Counsel to Eugene "Gene" Moore, Cook County Recorder of Deeds, was slated by the Democratic Party for that vacancy.)