Wednesday, December 04, 2013

Joanne Rosado withdraws from race for Egan vacancy

Way back in 2009 Cook County judicial candidates could file for as many judicial vacancies as they wanted; back then, one enterprising candidate filed for each and every countywide vacancy and three 15th Subcircuit vacancies. Once the papers were all filed candidates could evaluate (and sometimes negotiate) which races to abandon.

The law was changed after the 2010 primary to eliminate this practice in Circuit Court races. A candidate could circulate petitions for as many vacancies as he or she chose, but only one set of petitions could be filed.

There was one exception to this new rule: A candidate could still file for a countywide judicial vacancy and a subcircuit vacancy.

This year, two candidates did just that. Joanne F. Rosado filed for the countywide Egan vacancy and also in the 11th Subcircuit. Carolyn Joan Gallagher filed for the countywide Neville vacancy and also for the Meyer vacancy in the 9th Subcircuit.

Yesterday, Rosado advised the Illinois State Board of Elections that she was withdrawing from the countywide race.

Gallagher will have to make an election about which vacancy she will seek by December 9.

December 9 is also the last day for filing objections to candidate petitions now on file (there is, you will recall, one more Cook County vacancy for which filing has not yet even opened). As of this writing, no objections have yet been filed to any judicial candidate's petitions. This situation will surely change.

Rosado's withdrawal from the race for the Egan vacancy leaves Judge Daniel J. Kuasiak with two challengers, Sarah W. Cunningham and Richard J. Ryan.

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