SWBA and SSBA Judges' Night set for May 9

The Southwest Bar Association and the South Suburban Bar Association will hold a Judges' Night on Thursday, May 9, starting at 5:00 p.m., at Crystal Tree Golf and Country Club, 10700 W. 153rd Street, Orland Park.

The sponsoring organizations plan to honor Judge Linzey D. Jones (of the 5th Municipal District) and Patrick K. Coughlin (of the 6th Municipal District) as their 2024 Judges of the Year.

Tickets are $125 each in advance ($150 at the door). Sitting judges will be admitted free. Tickets can be purchased (and judges can register) at this page of the SWBA website.

Sponsorships are also available (Silver - $300, Gold - $500, or Platinum - $1,000). Platinum and Gold sponsors receive two event tickets each; Silver sponsors receive one. Sponsorships can be obtained from that same link on the SWBA website. Questions about sponsorships should be directed to Alex (at alex@ktenaslaw.com) or Dan (at dan@dclawoffice.com) by May 1st. General questions about the event itself can be directed to southwestbarassociation@gmail.com.

Tomorrow at the Harris Theater: Pericles on trial

Democrat or demagogue?

With Pericles, there's a case to be made for either... and both.

The case tomorrow, Wednesday, April 17 at 7:00 p.m., at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph St., is an ancient case regarding citizenship, voting rights and Pericles — with audience members casting their votes to decide the final verdict.

The Trial of Pericles is nearly 2,500 years in the making. In 451 B.C., Pericles changed the Athenian Constitution to restrict citizenship to those born to two Athenian parents. He said this action was necessary to protect Athens from foreign influence, while many others saw this as tyrannical because citizens lost their civil liberties, including the right to vote. Some speculated Pericles would have faced trial for his actions had he survived the Great Plague of Athens.

The National Hellenic Museum is presenting this trial tomorrow as part of its continuing exploration of how the ancient Greeks grappled with timeless controversies that continue to shape modern society.

The prosecution team for the Trial of Pericles includes attorneys Katerina Alexopoulos (U.S. Department of Homeland Security), Patrick M. Collins (King & Spalding LLP) and Tinos Diamantatos (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP). Presenting the defense of Pericles will be Sarah F. King (Clifford Law Offices PC), James C. Pullos (Clifford Law Offices PC) and Patrick A. Salvi II (Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard PC).

Judges presiding at the Trial of Pericles are Hon. Anna H. Demacopoulos (Ret. Circuit Court Judge, State of Illinois), Hon. Anthony C. Kyriakopoulos (Circuit Court Judge, State of Illinois) and Hon. Lindsay C. Jenkins (U.S. District Court Judge, Northern District of Illinois).

The April 17 event will be emceed by award-winning Chicago media personality and NHM Trustee Andrea Darlas. Prominent jurors at the Trial include: Justice Eileen O'Neill Burke (Ret.), the Democratic Nominee for Cook County State's Attorney; Steve Cochran, host of the Steve Cochran Show on WLS AM 890; 34th Ward Alderman Bill Conway; Professor Nicholas Doumanis, Professor and Illinois Chair in Hellenic Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago; Themistocles P. Frangos, an officer of the Hellenic Bar Association; Professor Zoi Gavriilidou, Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago; Shia Kapos, Reporter for POLITICO; Cannon Lambert of Karchmar & Lambert, P.C. and Past President of the Cook County Bar Association; Commander Melinda Linas, 14th District Commander of the Chicago Police Department; John C. Sciaccotta of Aronberg Goldgehn, President Elect of the Chicago Bar Association; Kristofer Swanson, Vice President and Practice Leader of Forensic Services at Charles River Associates; and Consul Georgia Tasiopoulou of the Greek Consulate General in Chicago.

The role of Pericles will be played by Paul Lillios, the former Associate Chief Administrative Law Judge of the U.S. Social Security Administration, and the role of Olympia, a non-Athenian wife and mother in Athens serving as a witness for the prosecution, will be played by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Megan Goldish.

Tickets for this event are $100; student tickets available for $50 with proof of ID. Attorneys who attend this event will qualify for 1.5 hours of continuing legal education (CLE); CLE registration will be available at the theater. Tickets are available via this page of the museum website. Questions not resolved by reference to the website can be directed to (312) 655-1234.

NWSBA Judges' Night set for May 1 in Rosemont

The Northwest Suburban Bar Association is holding a Judges' Night dinner on Wednesday, May 1, starting at 5:00 p.m., at Sky on Nine, 6600 Mannheim Rd., Rosemont.

The non-member price for this event will be $275 per person after April 25. Presumably it is somewhat less than that now... but to find out what the price actually is, one must register at this page of the NWSBA website. (Judges can register from a link on the NWSBA homepage.)

Sponsorships may also still be available. For information about sponsorships, email jbarth@nwsba.org.

CBA Barristers Big Band Ball set for April 26

The Chicago Bar Association’s Barristers Big Band is hosting their 21st Annual benefit on Friday, April 26, starting at 6:00 p.m., at the Union League Club. This year’s event celebrates the 150th Anniversary of the CBA and honors Maestro David Katz, Founding Music Director, and Conductor of the CBA Symphony. Proceeds from the event benefit the CBA musical ensembles including the CBA Symphony and the CBA Chorus which provide classical musical programs for members of the Bar and the broader Chicago community.

The benefit begins with a reception at 6:00 p.m. with the Big Barristers Band swinging throughout the night. Dancing will being at 7:00 p.m. There will be a silent auction featuring trips, musical performances, wine from the Band Leader’s own cellar, Goodman Theater and Grant Park Concert tickets, sailboat cruises, and much more. All the auction items can be browsed from this link. For persons interested in contributing, but not bidding, donation options are also available at the preceding link.

A group of professional dancers will be on hand to teach smooth dance moves to attendees. All guests, whether newly instructed or long-steeped in terpsichorean traditions, will have the opportunity to display their skills in a dance contest later in the evening.

“The Barristers Ball is the social event of the year for the legal community. We are thrilled to host this wonderful celebration of music for our community as well as commemorate the CBA’s 150th Anniversary and honor our beloved conductor, David Katz,” said John Vishneski, clarinetist, and Band Leader.

After 38 years of leading the CBA Symphony Orchestra and taking it to the heights of performances at Symphony Center and more, founding Music Director David Katz is retiring. He is turning over the reins to Jennifer Huang, who was selected after a year-long conductor search. This Ball is dedicated to celebrating and honoring David Katz’ enormous contributions.

The Barristers Big Band was founded in 2000 by members of The Chicago Bar Association who share a love of big band jazz and want to keep the music of the great big band era alive. Band members come from every walk of the Chicago legal community -- big firm partners, solo practitioners, government lawyers, law students, and (for much of its history) even a sitting federal judge. With a full set of saxes, including a bari, and a powerful brass section, a rhythm section that swings like mad, and numerous vocalists, the Big Barristers Band is ready to provide the best music of the swing era and beyond.

Tickets are $75 per person. To purchase tickets or for more information, click here. For any additional questions, contact Mark Cellini at mcellini@chicagobar.org.

ILCBA to honor Will County judge at April 25 dinner

The Illinois Creditors Bar Association will hold its Alexander P. White Award Dinner on Thursday, April 25, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Erie Cafe, 536 W. Erie St.

The dinner will honor the recipient of the ILCBA's 2024 Alexander P. White Award, Will County Judge Barbara N. Petrungano (pictured at right).

Petrungaro has served in the judiciary since 2005. She was recently assigned to Law Division, after serving many years as Supervising Judge of the Arbitration Division. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1991, Petrungaro worked for the Chicago firm of Swanson, Martin & Bell and served as a Will County Assistant State's Attorney before going on the bench.

Tickets for the event are $65 each for ILCBA members or judges, $80 each for non-members. Tickets of 10 are also available for $750. Sponsorships are available (Bronze - $250, Silver - $500, Gold - $1,000). A Bar Sponsorship (for $1,500) may also still be available. Tickets, and further information about sponsorships, are available at this page of the ILCBA website.

Nominations due by tomorrow for CBA YLS Liberty Bell Award

The Young Lawyers Section of the Chicago Bar Association, as part of its Annual Community Law Week Celebration, is seeking nominees for its Liberty Bell Award. According to the CBA YLS, "This award recognizes a member of the community who has rendered service that strengthens the effectiveness of the American system of freedom under law."

To qualify, the nominee must:

• be a non-lawyer;
• have a sense of responsibility for community welfare and public duty under the law;
• help others to understand and assert their rights under the law;
• promote and encourage respect for and obedience to the law; and
• assist the smooth functioning of our system of justice.

The Liberty Bell Award winner will be presented with a commemorative plaque during Law Week 2024 (which runs this year from April 29 to May 3). YLS Chair Martin Gould stated in an email that, "The Liberty Bell Award is an excellent means of promoting the ideals of justice, liberty, and the importance of individual and community responsibility."

Nominations close tomorrow, Friday, April 12.

Nomination forms are available at this link. The form provides instructions for its return.

In addition to the completed form, nominators are asked to provide a cover letter stating why you are nominating this person, including a brief summary of the nominee's qualifications for the Liberty Bell Award. Other supporting materials, such as a résumé, press clippings, or newsletters can also be submitted. Questions about the nominating process can be directed to the Young Lawyers Section by phone, at 312-554-2070, or by email at yls@chicagobar.org.

A dozen new judges appointed today to the Circuit Court of Cook County

In separate Orders entered today, the Illinois Supreme Court filled a dozen vacancies on the Cook County Circuit Court.

With one exception, each of the new judges won the Democratic Party's nomination for the seats to which they have now been appointed. All of these 12 new judges face no opponent in November.

The new judges are:

• Nadine Jean Wichern (unopposed candidate for the new 20th Subcircuit seat);
• Griselda Vega Samuel (unopposed candidate for the O'Hara vacancy in the 14th Subcircuit);
• James Vincent Murphy III (unopposed candidate for the Wojkowski vacancy in the 10th Subcircuit);
• Stephanie K. Miller (unopposed candidate for the Pierce vacancy in the 14th Subcircuit);
• John A. Fairman (unopposed candidate for the Toomin vacancy in the 15th Subcircuit);
• Bridget Colleen Duignan (unopposed candidate for the new 19th Subcircuit vacancy);
• Rivanda Doss Beal (unopposed candidate for one of the two new 17th Subcircuit vacancies);
• Pablo F. deCastro (unopposed candidate for the countywide Flannery vacancy);
• Audrey Victoria Cosgrove (unopposed candidate for the Daleo vacancy in the 11th Subcircuit);
• Michael M. Chvatal (unopposed candidate for the Felice vacancy in the 4th Subcircuit);
• Jeffrey G. Chrones (unopposed candidate for one of the two new 18th Subcircuit seats); and
• Lloyd James Brooks (unopposed candidate for the other new 17th Subcircuit seat).

If you follow the links to the appointment orders, you'll see that James V. Murphy is the exception referred to above. He has been appointed to the countywide Sullivan vacancy. The unopposed candidate for that vacancy, Judge James Murphy-Aguilù, is already serving, pursuant to a temporary Supreme Court appointment, in the Wojkowski vacancy to which James Murphy, no hyphen, will shortly be elected.

Today's appointments add only eight new judges to the bench. Brooks, Chrones, Fairman, and Miller are all currently serving as associate judges. (But their appointments will open up new subcircuit seats. If I am counting correctly, these appointments will create 'converted' subcircuit seats in the 19th, 20th, 16th, and 17th Subcircuits.)

Ten of these appointments are effective April 29. The Miller and Duignan appointments are effective June 11. All of these appointments terminate on December 2, just in time for these appointees to be sworn in as newly elected judges.

The Supreme Court's press release on today's appointments is available here.

Dr. Klumpp: What the data does - and does not - reveal about the 2024 Cook County judicial primary

FWIW is once again pleased to present a Guest Post by Albert J. Klumpp, a PhD in public policy analysis with a national reputation for expertise on judicial races, the author of several scholarly works analyzing judicial elections, and a generous and frequent contributor to FWIW for many years.

by Albert J. Klumpp

As the number of candidates seeking elective judicial vacancies in Cook County continues to dwindle—more on that later—studying the elective process itself becomes more and more difficult. Data analysis, by whichever qualitative or quantitative method, does actually require data. Go figure.

Nevertheless, I’ve finally had a chance to compile the results of our March 19 primary, and have taken the usual run at analyzing those results to provide whatever insight can be gained from them.

Based on the latest available results, roughly 678,000 ballots were cast in the primary, for a total turnout of 21.8%. As illustrated, the number is low:

…but not surprisingly low, given the lack of any substantive high-profile contests in either party for president or governor or senator.

The Democratic voters who did turn out did not neglect the judicial contests on the ballot. As the figure below illustrates, judicial votes cast as a percentage of total voters was the second-highest ever, just behind 2022.

As far as how those voters voted, that question is doubly difficult this year. Not only is the data set small—just seven two-candidate contests on the countywide ballot—but for the most part it was the same candidates who were slated by the party, favored by bar associations, and endorsed by progressive voices like Girl I Guess. And as well, nearly all of those same candidates secured the first ballot position in their contests. All of this overlap means that a statistical analysis will struggle to sort out how much of the vote for those candidates can be attributed to each source. (The jargon term for it is “multicollinearity.”) So unfortunately it simply isn’t possible to provide precise estimates of effect sizes in this primary, even within reasonable margins of error.

What the analysis does show more generally, though, is that the judicial vote was surprisingly different from that of what seemingly was a very similar primary two years ago (low turnout and nothing of significance at the top of the ballot). In this primary the big winner was party slating. Two years ago it was worth roughly 15 percent of the vote, a figure reasonably within historical averages. This year its value was well into the twenties, certainly 25 percentage points and possibly slightly higher.

This is a good example of how the value of a party endorsement does not uniformly rise and fall as turnout falls and rises. Given that the current Chicago mayor is popular with at least one wing of his party, versus two years ago when the mayor had lost support partywide, the shift in slating value is explainable and parallels similar situations in the past.

The Girl I Guess choices mirrored the party’s choices, so without the benefit of exit polling it isn’t possible to measure its influence separate from the party’s. Two years ago I measured its influence at roughly six percent of the vote, among a small electorate. There is no reason to think that the figure this time be different.

The big winner wo years ago was bar ratings, which I measured at a whopping 29 percent of the vote. The figure was difficult to estimate this year but is far lower and almost certainly in the single digits, likely no more than nine percent of the vote. This would be much more in line with historical averages than the 2022 result is. For the moment there is no clear explanation for the difference. Similarly, gender was an important variable two years ago at 17 percent of the vote, but it appears to have been less than half as influential this year. This is more understandable; the absence of women at the top of a ballot typically leads to a smaller advantage for female judicial candidates.

Finally, the tentative estimate for the first ballot position was roughly six percentage points, but its margin of error was too large to be confident of the figure.

Subcircuit contests always provide a useful comparison for conclusions drawn about countywide voting. The observations here do look to be supported by the subcircuit contests in this primary, although just as with the countywide ballot there is a shortage of useful data in the subcircuits (only nine contests and 22 candidates).

Speaking of subcircuits, one major factor that always influences subcircuit contests is campaign spending. A proper look at the numbers on spending will have to wait until the next quarterly campaign finance documents are submitted by candidates in July. But it does appear that, true to form, spending was a major factor in subcircuit contests. An imbalance in campaign funds looks to have helped decide at least four of the nine contests, and possibly five. I will return to this with full data in a future post.

To conclude, and very much not to bury the lead, here is the single most important chart for the 2024 primary:

The overall number of candidates per vacancy this year was 1.53, the lowest in the modern history of judicial contests in Cook County. And as the chart shows, this was not an anomaly but rather the continuation of a long-term trend. The trend was discussed here in FWIW recently and certainly will be discussed again, because obviously it has consequences far more important than my ability or inability to provide vote percentages. It also should raise questions about the wisdom of creating new elective judgeships at a time when filling elective judicial vacancies is becoming a significant problem.

CBA 150th Anniversary 5K Run/Walk to benefit the Chicago Bar Foundation

With the primary finally over, regular programming resumes on FWIW. But don't worry: Post-election analyses are in preparation and will be popping up here in the coming days. Meanwhile, this post about running for something besides judge... sort of a change of pace....

The Chicago Bar Association will hold a 5K Run/Walk in commemoration of its 150th Anniversary on Saturday, April 13, at Soldier Field. The run starts at 10:00 a.m. The walk sets of at 10:15 p.m.

Runners will pay for that 15-minute head start: Through April 7 it will cost $40 to register for the run, but only $35 to register for the walk. After April 7, both registration fees will go up. Registrations may be accomplished at this page of the CBA website.

Proceeds of the event will benefit the CBA's charitable arm, the Chicago Bar Foundation.

Jenkins-Wright, Rivera, and Rodriguez selected as new associate judges

This is a new one for me -- putting the names of all the new associate judges in a short headline.

Just the other day, on Facebook, I "liked" a group photograph of a recent AJ class -- it was their anniversary -- and it was a real large group. This is more of a micro-group. But, you know what?

For Kenya Alicia Jenkins-Wright, Antara Nath Rivera, and Federico Martin Rodriguez, the size of the group matters not at all. They emerged from the super-short six-person short list and will soon be sworn in as Cook County Associate Judges.

Cosgrove wins 11th Subcircuit seat; Przekota concedes

Audrey Victoria Cosgrove has won the race for the Democratic nomination for the Daleo vacancy in the 11th Subcircuit. She faces no Republican opponent in November.

Cosgrove's opponent, Kim Przekota, released a family photo and a statement on Facebook earlier today. I reproduce that statement in full here:

Although I was ahead on election night, I am now down 300+ votes with VBM counts nearly finished.

So, today I called my opponent, Audrey Cosgrove, to formally concede and congratulate her on winning the primary election. Thank you SO much to everyone who helped, encouraged, supported and voted for me! I am beyond grateful. Throughout this process I worked hard, learned a lot and met amazing new people. I am disappointed in the final outcome, but I am not discouraged about the future and I will continue to pursue my dream of becoming a judge. In the words of former Iona Coach Jimmy V, “failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding.”

Cosgrove margin grows in 11th Subcircuit race

In the latest numbers pulled from the City and County websites, Audrey Victoria Cosgrove now has a 300-vote margin over Kim Przekota, 13,393 to 13,093.

In the latest tabulations, Przekota has gained only 136 votes, while Cosgrove has picked up 267.

The County website says there are, as of yesterday, 407 uncounted mail-in ballots and only three provisional ballots in question. (Some 37,484 other ballots were mailed out to voters requesting them... but so far not returned.)

As of this morning, the CBOE website says there are "53,712 Vote By Mail ballots sent to voters [which] remain unreturned or unrejected for the March 19th Primary Election." Following the link will allow the interested reader to download an Excel file showing the ward-by-ward and party label breakdown of that figure.

Cosgrove now leads in 11th Subcircuit race

When I first reported on the race for the Daleo vacancy in the 11th Subcircuit (on Tuesday night), Kim Przekota held an uncomfortable 273 vote lead over Audrey Victoria Cosgrove. I said then that the ultimate result in this race was 'not clear.'

Thursday, Przekota's lead shriveled to just 162 votes. On Friday, with more suburban votes counted, but no new City votes yet posted, Przekota's margin was down to 86 votes. By Saturday, she was only four votes ahead.

The latest online numbers, after more City votes were counted Sunday, put Cosgrove in the lead, 13,126 to 12,957 -- only a 169 vote margin, to be sure, but the trend is clear.

Since I last updated this race on Saturday, Cosgrove has picked up 406 votes, Przekota only 233.

Some, if not most, of these newly-added votes come from the batch of roughly 10,000 ballots that were delivered by USPS on the evening of March 18, but somehow overlooked. The link in that sentence should take you to the first in this series of four Tweets (even if we are supposed to call the site 'X', I think we still best describe individual posts thereon as 'Tweets'):

How many of the newly counted 11th Subcircuit votes were included in this overlooked batch? How many other votes are left to be counted? I don't have the answers to these questions. I understand that the County will be counting another thousand votes at some point today, but (and I hope this is obvious) not all of these will be ballots from the suburban precints of the 11th Subcircuit.

I know that many FWIW readers -- the brightest ones, perhaps -- have sworn off X, or Twitter, or whatever you may wish to call it. I have spent far too many unhappy hours this weekend, struggling in the Twitter muck, trying to follow and make sense of the aftermath of the St. Joseph's Day Primary: There is good, accurate news to be had in the swirling flotsam and jetsam on that site, albeit often covered in a paranoid toxic ooze. It's depressing, even soul-crushing. But there are occasional voices of reason that may be heard, faintly, when not drowned out by the screams of outrage, real or feigned, crazed or calculated, often grossly disproportionate to any possible provocation.

So kind of like discovery motion practice.

And on an infinite variety of topics.

But I will continue to endure it as best I can, for as long as I can, because there are almost certainly more updates to come.

The election was a week ago tomorrow.

Four votes separate 11th Subcircuit candidates? Yikes!

When FWIW first reported on the race for the Daleo vacancy in the 11th Subcircuit (on Tuesday night), Kim Przekota was holding an uncomfortable 273 vote lead over Audrey Victoria Cosgrove. Thursday, the lead had shriveled to just 162 votes.

Friday, with more suburban votes counted, but no new City votes yet posted, the margin was down to 86 votes.

As a commenter to that last linked post pointed out, when City votes were posted Friday evening, Przekota's margin shrank to just four votes (12,724 to 12,720).

More votes are being counted today. FWIW will continue to follow the story.

I am truly sorry for everyone concerned, however it turns out.

Close election in 11th Subcircuit is closer still... can we talk about this for a minute?

When FWIW first reported on the race for the Daleo vacancy in the 11th Subcircuit (on Tuesday night), Kim Przekota was holding an uncomfortable 273 vote lead over Audrey Victoria Cosgrove. Yesterday, the lead had shriveled to just 162 votes.

Today, with more suburban votes counted, but no new City votes yet posted, the margin is down to 86 votes.

Can we talk for a moment?

It's Friday afternoon. The polls closed Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. This is the 21st Century. Can we agree -- just for purposes of this race -- at least to start -- how ridiculous this is? Surely the least sensitive among us should be able to see how brutal this delay must be for the candidates in this race, and how stressful this must be for their families and friends?

Whoever wins this particular race will almost certainly be a fine judge. These are two good candidates, with differing backgrounds, yes, but both highly rated and respected. There's none of that breathless, the-world-will-end-if-our-side-doesn't-win stuff in this race that there seems to be in other, still-undecided races left over from Tuesday's primary... whatever side you are on in those other contests.

None of the bilious rumors and innuendo swirling around on X (née Twitter) about those other races has tainted this race in the slightest as far as I can tell (and, shamefully, I admit that I have spent far too much time online in the aftermath of this election than I should). So it is easier -- at least it should be easier, I hope -- to step back and try and to be objective about the process by just focusing in on this one race.

When I do this, I come to but one conclusion: This process stinks. It is enormously unfair and needlessly stressful in and of itself. Then -- when strong emotions get involved, as they certainly are in more high-profile races -- this over-lengthy process leads inevitably to an erosion of trust and confidence in our system. We create an environment in which conspiracy theorists can more widely spread their poisons.

That is just the opposite of what we should want to do. In this sad and sorry and highly polarized age, we need as much trust and confidence in our institutions as possible.

We can't change things for this election. We have to complete the process set in motion.

But we can resolve to do better in the future.

And one thing we can do is resolve to accept votes by mail only if they have been delivered by the time polls close on Election Day.

I don't propose eliminating vote by mail entirely. I've reached an age where I can all too easily see that I may some day have need of the convenience of vote by mail myself. But, if I choose to vote by mail, I can also choose to get the ballot in before Election Day. That way, on Election Night, when the votes are counted, ALL the votes will be counted. We won't be wondering, several days out, who won in a close race.

We can do better for our good candidates. And for ourselves. And for our precious, and fragile institutions. Hello... Springfield?

Cliffhanger in the 11th Subcircuit?

When FWIW last reported on the race for the Daleo vacancy in the 11th Subcircuit (Tuesday night), Kim Przekota was holding an uncomfortable 273 vote lead over Audrey Victoria Cosgrove.

More votes have been counted since. And, while the focus of reporting has been on the Cook County State's Attorney's race, that is not the only race in which votes are still being counted.

Thus, as of this morning, Cosgrove has narrowed Przekota's margin to just 162 votes.

For what it's worth, the Cook County Clerk's website shows all 72 precincts in the 11th Subcircuit as having been counted, with Cosgrove on top, 6,106 to 5,945. There may still be some mail-in ballots to be tallied in these precincts, but I don't know how many.

Przekota's lead, as on Tuesday evening, comes from City precincts, where she holds a 6,344 to 6,021 margin. But, while the City elections website shows precinct by precinct results, it does not clearly state that all Election Day and early voting votes attributable to these precincts have been counted.

But it does appear that City VBM totals are not yet showing up. Thus, the reference to the CCSAO race above was not just clickbait or an irrelevant tease. (I actually can tie this up, Your Honor.) The Chicago Board of Elections website contains a statement, posted yesterday, about counting mail-in votes. The link is in the preceding sentence; here is the text:

The Chicago Board of Elections was contacted by poll watchers from the campaigns for the Democratic candidates for Cook County State’s Attorney who requested to review the processing and counting of Vote By Mail ballots received on Election Day and through the counting period through April 2.

To accommodate these requests, the Vote By Mail canvass and counting schedule has been amended. Ongoing processing of Vote By Mail ballots will begin Thursday, March 21. Scanning and counting of Vote By Mail ballots by election judges will begin Friday, March 22. The public can expect to see the first updated unofficial election results from these Vote By Mail totals at ChicagoElections.Gov in the evening of Friday, March 22.

The Board is happy to accommodate these requests and appreciates the public’s patience as Vote By Mail ballot results are updated starting on the evening of Friday, March 22 and moving forward on a rolling basis.

Please see the updated 2024 Canvass Schedule by clicking here.

And, yes, the links in the statement above were included in the CBOE's online statement.

Obviously, most of these mail-in ballots still to be counted will not affect the 11th Subcircuit race. But some will. And, no, we don't know how many relevant votes are left to be counted. We will have to find out together.

Subcircuit results: Closest race in the 11th Subcircuit

Audrey Victoria Cosgrove narrowly carried the 11th Subcircuit's suburban precincts; Kim Przekota is ahead in the City count. At this time, Przekota has a 273 vote lead, 11,545 to 11,272. The result here is not clear.

But most subcircuit contested races appear to have been resolved:

• Lucy Vazquez-Gonzalez handily carried both the City and suburban precincts in the new 3rd Subcircuit.


• Judge Owens J. Shelby seems to have won his race to hold his 7th Subcircuit seat, carrying significant margins in both City and suburbs.


• James V. Murphy has prevailed in his contested 10th Subcircuit race, with margins in the City and suburbs both.


• Griselda Vega Samuel is the clear victor in the City-only 14th subcircuit.


• Luciano "Lou" Panici, Jr. has a clear plurality in the three-way race in the suburbs-only 15th Subcircuit.


• In a battle of associate judges, Jeffrey G. Chrones is ahead by 741 votes in the suburban-only 18th Subcircuit.


• In the 19th Subcircuit race, Bridget Colleen Duignan holds solid margins in both the City and suburban returns and seems assured of victory at this point.


• Nadine Jean Wichern wound up with twice as many votes as her nearest two competitors in the only 4-person judicial race on the Cook County ballot, in the City-only 20th Subcircuit.

Przekota was slated in her subcircuit race. I can't say with certainty that Lucy Vazquez-Gonzalez, Owens J. Shelby, Griselda Vega Samuel, Luciano "Lou" Panici, Jr., and Bridget Colleen Duignan were in fact slated in their respective subcircuits. But they all enjoyed the lion's share of local political support.

The local committeepersons were split in the 10th Subcircuit race, so Murphy's apparent win there can not be seen as a 'defeat' for the Party (although Party Chair Preckwinkle did expressly endorse Murphy's opponent).

But Chrones appears to have defeated the candidate slated by the Party committeepersons in the 18th Subcircuit. Wichern defeated the candidate who enjoyed the greatest support from elected officials in the 20th Subcircuit.

On balance, it was also a good night for subcircuit candidates enjoying Party support. But, unlike the Party's countywide judicial slate, their success was not unanimous.

A great night to be a slated Cook County judicial candidate

The majority of races were uncontested -- victory laps -- default judgments (that's a better legal term, anyway).

And in those countywide races where the party's judicial candidate faced an opponent, the party's candidate won:

• Justice Joy Virginia Cunningham keeps her seat on the Illinois Supreme Court by a nearly 3-1 margin, with similar lopsided margins in the City and suburbs alike.


• Appellate Court Justice Cynthia Y. Cobbs keeps her seat on the Appellate Court, winning by a roughly 70-30 margin in the City, and nearly as large as margin in the suburbs.


• Slated Appellate Court candidate Celia Louise Gamrath received over 72% of the suburban vote and nearly 71% of the City vote.


• All four slated candidates for the Circuit Court won their races, too. Pablo deCastro, Neil Cohen, Edward Joseph Underhill, and Debjani 'Deb' Desai compiled comfortable margins over their opponents.

It was a great night to be slated for judicial office countywide.

At this hour, it looks like former Appellate Court Justice Eileen O'Neill Burke will squeak past Clayton Harris III in the race for Cook County State's Attorney. She is running behind Harris in the latest City numbers, but by less than 2,000 votes with 91.25% of the votes counted. On the other hand, she is up by more than 15,000 in the suburbs, with 96% of the votes in.

And the Chicago transfer tax increase proposal is down by roughly 22,000 votes with 91.25% of the votes counted.

But the Devil is in the details... and there are mail-in ballots yet to be counted. So these seeming setbacks to the Party tidal wave may yet be overcome.

And, whether O'Neill prevails or not, it was a tidal wave: The Party's candidate for Clerk of the Circuit Court, Mariyana T. Spyropoulos, easily ousted incumbent Iris Y. Martinez. And Martinez was also defeated in her bid to remain 33rd Ward Committeeperson.

Subcircuit candidates running with the support of local Party leaders also fared well tonight... but not as well as those running countywide. We'll look at the subcircuits next.

Start here for the most complete information about every 2024 Cook County judicial race

Bumped up for greater visibility

This is the interactive, voter-friendly part of FWIW. What follows is a list of every Cook County judicial vacancy on the March primary ballot. Voters may be surprised to note how many are uncontested.

Please note that unless otherwise indicated (with the phrase "November election contest") all of the persons running in uncontested races are as good as elected already (and in recognition of this fact, the Supreme Court has given several of these persons -- those not already serving on the bench by appointment -- a head start on their judicial careers). There are no Republican candidates except in those few subcircuit races where a November election contest is indicated. There are no Republican judicial candidates seeking any countywide vacancies, on any Cook County court. There are no Republican primary contests at all. The following is not a partisan statement; it is merely a statement of fact: In the March 19 primary, in order to have any say in who serves in our local courts, one has to take a Democratic ballot.

Of course, not all races are uncontested. These are the ones voters should be looking for. All the contested races in the list below are live links. When you click on any of these, you'll be taken to a post that will show all the candidates in that race, in ballot order, with all ratings and other information about each candidate that I've been able to assemble. Where a candidate has provided FWIW with a statement "in their own words", a link to that statement will be available from that post as well.

There is a link at the bottom of each of these Organizing the Data posts, so voters can examine each contested race in detail, one candidate at a time, and come right back here.

The linked posts will be updated as new information becomes available, right up until the polls close next Tuesday. This post will be at or near the top of FWIW until then.

And now the list:

Supreme Court - Burke Vacancy

Appellate Court - Connors Vacancy (uncontested)
Appellate Court - Cunningham Vacancy
Appellate Court - Delort Vacancy
Appellate Court - O'Neill Burke Vacancy (uncontested)

Countywide - Flannery, Jr. Vacancy
Countywide - Gaughan Vacancy (uncontested)
Countywide - Haberkorn Vacancy (uncontested)
Countywide - Hubbard Vacancy (uncontested)
Countywide - Maras Vacancy (uncontested)
Countywide - Mitchell Vacancy
Countywide - Murphy Vacancy
Countywide - Propes Vacancy
Countywide - Raines Vacancy (uncontested)
Countywide - Sullivan Vacancy (uncontested)
Countywide - Walker Vacancy (uncontested)

3rd Subcircuit - Brosnahan Vacancy
3rd Subcircuit - Harmening Vacancy (uncontested)

4th Subcircuit - Felice Vacancy (uncontested)
4th Subcircuit - King Vacancy (uncontested)
4th Subcircuit - Maloney Vacancy (uncontensted)

5th Subcircuit - Lewis Vacancy (uncontested)

7th Subcircuit - Solganick Vacancy

8th Subcircuit - Collins-Dole Vacancy (uncontested)

10th Subcircuit - McWilliams Vacancy (uncontested)
10th Subcircuit - Wojkowski Vacancy

11th Subcircuit - Collins Vacancy (uncontested)
11th Subcircuit - Daleao Vacancy

12th Subcircuit - Dickler Vacancy (uncontested)(November election contest)
12th Subcircuit - Quinn Vacancy (uncontested)(November election contest)
12th Subcircuit - Schleifer Vacancy (uncontested)(November election contest)

13th Subcircuit - Betar, III Vacancy (uncontested)
13th Subcircuit - Steffen Vacancy (uncontested)

14th Subcircuit - O'Hara Vacancy
14th Subcircuit - Pierce Vacancy (uncontested)

15th Subcircuit - Demacopoulos Vacancy
15th Subcircuit - Toomin Vacancy (uncontested)

16th Subcircuit - Converted from Flood Vacancy (uncontested)
16th Subcircuit - Converted from Griffin Jr. Vacancy (uncontested)

17th Subcircuit - Converted from Aguilar Vacancy (uncontested)
17th Subcircuit - Converted from Flaherty Vacancy (uncontested)

18th Subcircuit - Converted from Gottainer Edidin Vacancy
18th Subcircuit - Converted from Linn Vacancy (uncontested)(November election contest)

19th Subcircuit - Converted from Senechalle Jr. Vacancy

20th Subcircuit - Converted from Budzinski Vacancy

Primary Election Day thoughts and updates

It's been a weird election cycle.

Maybe this is not the strangest primary since I've been covering Cook County judicial elections here -- surely 2020 still holds that dubious distinction. Remember how frightened we were in March 2020? I was scared, at least. And, as I said in that linked 2020 post, I could not understand why the primary had to go forward in March, when the courts, the NCAA tournament, Major League Baseball, college baseball, restaurants, and even the St. Patrick's Day parades all had to be cancelled.

Of course, then we were told we were shutting down for two weeks, or maybe 30 days. We -- we the people -- never dreamed the shutdown would persist, in various ways, for two years or more.

But if 2024 is not the weirdest election cycle, it is still pretty darn strange. I've seen uncontested judicial primaries before -- Eileen O'Neill Burke, for example, was unopposed in 2016, when she was slated for the Appellate Court by the Cook County Democratic Party -- on the same slate with Kim Foxx -- say... was Foxx a MAGA Republican, too?

But I digress... and I don't mean to... this election cycle is different because there are so many uncontested judicial elections. There's a wholly new subcircuit map in Cook County -- for the first time since the subcircuits were implemented, in 1992 -- which should have created opportunities for ambitious judicial candidates. True, the electoral landscape had been carefully designed in Springfield -- the cartographic skills of the Illinois Democratic Party's mapmakers are legendary -- surely the equal of, if not superior to, the Republican wannabe mapmakers in Wisconsin, North Carolina, or Alabama. Why, our maps never lose a court challenge!

But the new subcircuit maps have not been field-tested before today. And today... with so many uncontested races... probably isn't much of a test.

And even the races that are contested are mostly one-on-ones.

We have only two candidates vying for an Illinois Supreme Court vacancy. In the past, that race alone would have brought out four or five or more candidates. (OK, OK, Anne Burke was uncontested in her bid for the Supreme Court in 2008 -- but that was certainly an unusual -- and, at the time, understandable -- circumstance, right?)

Turnout will be low today, perhaps historically so. Low turnouts may suggest that voters are disenchanted with our political shenanigans. But low numbers of candidates... has the popular malaise spread to the potential candidates themselves?

The Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee does not slate judicial candidates in the subcircuits. It never has. But committeepersons in the various subcircuits could and did meet as slating committees for the subcircuits in past cycles, slating candidates for vacancies as they arose. I must admit that this is the first election cycle in some time where I did not hear about subcircuit slating committees anywhwere, even after the fact. Some very keen observers have suggested that there was no Democratic Party slating at all in the new subcircuits this year.

But I checked with the Cook County Democratic Party and I can confirm, per a party spokesperson, that, per county Party bylaws, all of the subcircuit committees were organized, with the chair automatically being the committeeperson with the highest weighted vote. I can't confirm that all the committees met, or that all committees that did meet agreed on who to slate, but I can confirm that Hock and Bhave were slated in the new 18th Subcircuit, and Gonzalez and Przekota were slated in the 11th. Only Bhave and Przekota face challenges today.

And therein may lie the explanation for why we didn't hear much about subcircuit slating in this cycle: We did not have to. The slated candidates were the only ones to file in a great many races.

While the Cook County Democratic Party as a whole does not endorse subcircuit candidates, FWIW has also confirmed that 10th Subcircuit candidate Liam Kelly was endorsed by Party Chair Toni Preckwinkle. He is apparently the only subcircuit candidate specifically endorsed by President Preckwinkle.

Polls close at 7:00 p.m. FWIW will have results when they are available.

Steve Demitro: In his own words

Steve Demitro is a candidate for the O'Hara vacancy in the 14th Subcircuit. His punch number is 162.

I am one of nine children born to immigrant parents who did not speak English, yet worked hard to raise their large family.

I started my adult life as a high school dropout. After much work and a few breaks, I completed my GED, finished college, graduated from law school and passed the Illinois Bar.

With the experience I obtained during several diverse positions in my life, with my legal knowledge, and my integrity, honesty and commitment to the rule of law, I believe I would be an asset to the Circuit Court of Cook County.

My diverse background has taught me a great deal about people and their need for a fair and impartial justice.

I will treat all persons who appear before me with dignity, courtesy, and professionalism.

I will strive to make a fair and impartial decision in every case.

Steve Demitro
https://demitro4judge.com

OK, so what else you got?

You're a determined, and somewhat skeptical, voter. Fine. You've gone through the Start Here post, and clicked or scrolled through all Organizing the Data posts on all the contested races on your ballot.

You take nothing for granted. You've looked at all the Endorsements posts, too, making sure that I didn't give a candidate credit for any endorsement I couldn't actually verify. (Pro tip: Many candidates have more endorsements than I list here on FWIW -- but I only report endorsements where I can confirm the identity of all Cook County judicial candidates to whom the endorser gave the nod -- you can often find more endorsements for candidates on their respective websites.)

But you want more.

You want to be certain that I'm not holding out on you.

Well, perhaps you will find it helpful to look at VoteForJudges.org... or Charlie Meyerson's Chicago Public Square 2024 Illinois Primary Voter Guide Guide (a guide to voter guides). Both will offer to send you right back here to FWIW (if you're a sci-fi buff, you may be concerned about getting trapped in a temporal loop but, as far as I know, no one has ever reported that happening... not they could report back, of course, if it actually happened...).

VoteForJudges.org and Chicago Public Square will also offer you BallotReady, which will build a ballot for you and provide information about each candidate on the ballot.

Chicago Public Square and BallotReady deal with the entire ballot, not just the judicial races, so you may find that helpful.

Or your search engine may have set you down here despite the fact that you don't vote in Cook County and don't care about judicial elections here. Two things: (1) Be grateful that AI hasn't advanced to that stage yet, so we can still laugh about it, even if it is increasingly nervous laughter and (2) if you are from Illinois, outside of Cook County, you can find Illinois State Bar Association evaluations of judicial candidates seeking election in your county by clicking to this page of the ISBA website and finding your county there.

And, of course, there's always the March 2024 Cook County Judicial Election Guide published by Injustice Watch. We all publish the same bar association ratings, but, just for one example, the Injustice Watch guide often has information about candidate spending and finance that I haven't reported. You may find that helpful.

Readers may also find some stand-alone stories about the current election cycle to be of interest. For example:

• "In a hyper-local judicial race, questions about what counts as community representation," about the contest in the 14th Subcircuit, by Maya Dukmasova and Alejandra Cancino, Injustice Watch, published March 12,


• "A perennial candidate pins her hopes on her sixth run for judge," by Kelly Garcia, a story about the 7th Subcircuit contest, Injustice Watch, published March 12 (in which yours truly is quoted),


• "Name-change law used to target women running for judge," by Grace Asiegbu, Injustice Watch, published March 14 (in which yours truly is not quoted, but see also, "Has §7-10.2 of the Election Code become a Catch-22 for married women running for judge?", FWIW, published January 16, and four subsequent articles including this one) (update - a motion to publish has been allowed in the Rice case - more on that later),


• "Kim Przekota squares off against Audrey Cosgrove in race for judge," by Bob Skolnik, Wednesday Journal, first published March 13, and


• "Will third time be a charm for Martin Reggi’s run for judge?", by Bob Skolnik, Riverside-Brookfield Landmark, published March 12.

Voters really can find a lot of information about Cook County judicial candidates... if they want to look.

Last and final pre-primary 'grids' from the Alliance

Readers who closely examined yesterday's Organizing the Data posts may have noticed a couple of instances where the Alliance ratings recited therein did not tie back to the last incarnation of Alliance grids posted here on FWIW. There was a reason.

I had a new, updated, presumably final set of grids from the Alliance to work from. I didn't have time yesterday to post these -- but I do so herewith.

For persons not familiar with the Alliance grids, here is the ratings key:

The hard one to spot, depending on the device on which you're viewing this, may be the superscript ¹ in several boxes. This symbol denotes that the particular group was unable to evaluate the particular candidate, and it's not the candidate's fault.

A complete list of all the Alliance bar groups and links to their respective websites follows at the end of this post.

Click on any image to enlarge or clarify:

The Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening is comprised of the Arab American Bar Association (AABAR), the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area (AABA), the Black Men Lawyers’ Association (BMLA), the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago (BWLA), the Chicago Council of Lawyers (CCL), the Cook County Bar Association (CCBA), the Decalogue Society of Lawyers (DSL), the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois (HBA), the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois (HLAI), the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association (LAGBAC), the Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA), and Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI), working collaboratively to improve the process of screening judicial candidates in Cook County, Illinois.

In looking at these evaluations, keep this statement from the Alliance in mind: "Judicial candidates are rated by the Alliance members based on detailed information supplied by candidates, a background check by trained lawyers/investigators, and interviews of each candidate. Ratings reflect the Alliance's opinion of whether candidates have the necessary qualifications for judicial service or ascension to a higher office and are not a reflection of the candidates' abilities as lawyers or judges."

Organizing the Data: 3rd Subcircuit - Adams Brosnahan vacancy

Candidates are listed in the order that they appear on the ballot in the Democratic primary; no Republican filed for this vacancy. This post may be updated before the primary as new information becomes available.

Lucy Vazquez-Gonzalez - #161

Campaign Website
(newly added)

Bar Association Evaluation Narratives

The Chicago Bar Association says:

Lucy Vazquez is “Not Recommended” for the office of Circuit Judge. Ms. Vazquez was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 2009. She is currently a solo practitioner concentrating in family law and immigration. At this stage of her career, Ms. Vazquez does not possess sufficient practice experience to effectively serve as a judge. Also, Ms. Vazquez needs to address concerns about her punctuality and tardiness.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers says:

Lucesther “Lucy” Vazquez was admitted to practice in 2009. She worked as an associate in a small firm handling family law cases from 2009 to 2017. She became a solo practitioner in 2017 where she handles family law, probate, immigration, and mediation matters. Most of her courtroom work is as a guardian ad litem. She has served as an administrative law judge from 2020 to the present handling non-complex City of Chicago building code violations. She is reported to be knowledgeable in her fields of practice and she is reported to have a good temperament. However, the Council is concerned that there have been reports questioning her punctuality and diligence --noting that she sometimes fails to meet court deadlines and return communications to other lawyers. We are also concerned about her lack of litigation experience in more complex matters. The Council finds her Not Qualified for the Circuit Court.

The Illinois State Bar Association says:

Ms. Lucester “Lucy” Vazquez-Gonzalez has been licensed since 2009. After working with several law firms in the area of family law; since 2017 she has had her own practice, focusing on family law and immigration. She is an appointed Guardian Ad Litem in Cook, Will and DuPage counties and has been an Administrative Law Judge since 2020 hearing building code violations. She is the Secretary of the Puerto Rican Bar Association, a member of various other bar associations, and has been an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois – Chicago School of Law, formerly known as The John Marshall Law School.

Most, but not all, attorneys contacted during the investigation reported that she has an excellent handle on family law; some disagreed, stating that she did not have a good grasp of the law, and that her cases were not complex legally. There were no concerns over sensitivity to diversity, fairness, or demeanor. She has no jury trial experience and limited bench trials, especially in recent years. ISBA finds Lucy Vazquez-Gonzalez not qualified to be elected to the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Other Bar Association Evaluations

Arab American Bar Association: Recommended

Asian American Bar Association: Not Recommended

Black Men Lawyers' Association: Not Evaluated (through no fault of the candidate)

Black Women Lawyers' Association: Recommended

Cook County Bar Association: Recommended

Decalogue Society of Lawyers: Recommended

Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois: Not Recommended

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois: Qualified

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Bar Association (LAGBAC): Not Recommended

Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois: Recommended

Women's Bar Association of Illinois: Not Recommended

Endorsement

Girl, I Guess

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Martin Douglas Reggi - #162

No 2024 Campaign Website found
(Photo obtained from Riverside-Brookfield Landmark)

Bar Association Evaluation Narratives

The Chicago Bar Association says:

The CBA's evaluation was still 'pending' when this post was published. This will be updated when a rating issues. - Ed.

The Chicago Council of Lawyers says:

Martin Reggi was admitted to practice in 1980. He served from 1980 to 1985 as an Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney. He has been a sole practitioner since 1985 with a litigation practice spanning a variety of civil and criminal matters.

Mr. Reggi is considered to have good legal ability with substantial litigation experience, much of which involving more complex matters. He is praised for his temperament. The Council finds him Qualified for the Circuit Court.

The Illinois State Bar Association says:

Martin Reggi has been licensed since 1980. Except for several years early on as an assistant state’s attorney, he has been a sole practitioner with a general practice focusing on criminal defense, civil litigation, real estate closing, Secretary of State hearings and evictions. He has some jury trial experience, none of it recent, bench trial experience in what appear to be misdemeanors: quasi-criminal hearings appear to be in municipal matters. He is a member of various bar associations but has not been active in those organizations or in any community activities.

While attorneys reported that he is fair, impartial, a realist in his representation of clients, and treats all with respect, concerns were raised during the investigation about the depth and breadth of his current legal experience. ISBA finds Martin Douglas Reggi not qualified to be elected to the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Other Bar Association Evaluations

Arab American Bar Association: Recommended

Asian American Bar Association: Recommended

Black Men Lawyers' Association: Recommended

Black Women Lawyers' Association: Recommended

Cook County Bar Association: Recommended

Decalogue Society of Lawyers: Not Recommended

Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois: Recommended

Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois: Qualified

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Bar Association (LAGBAC): Recommended

Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois: Recommended

Women's Bar Association of Illinois: Recommended

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