16 file in 15th Judicial Subcircuit -- so far

Some people are shunning human contact these days for fear of contracting the H1N1 virus. One wonders if some people aren't shunning contact with Kevin J. Murphy these days for fear of contracting writer's cramp: Not only did he file petitions for each and every countywide vacancy (see preceding posts), he filed petitions in all three of Cook County's 15th Subcircuit vacancies.

The only other persons filing in all three of these vacancies were Carl Evans, Jr., Nicholas W. Karas and Assistant State's Attorney Mary Beth Kent Duffy. An attorney since 1992, Kent Duffy filed for the "A" vacancy in the 15th Subcircuit and two countywide vacancies in 2007 but withdrew from each of these races. She did run for the Nowinski vacancy in the 15th Subcircuit in 2006, finishing second to Daniel P. Brennan. She also ran countywide in 2004 for the Siracusa vacancy, finishing fourth behind Timothy P. Murphy. Evans stayed in the race for the 15th Subcircuit "A" vacancy in 2008, but was not successful. A solo practitioner with an office in Palos Heights, Evans has been an attorney since 1993. His Sullivan's listing says Evans practices criminal defense, real estate and personal injury law.

Michael T. Huguelet filed for both the Lipinski and Panichi vacancies. A solo practitioner from Orland Park, and an attorney since 1979, Huguelet's practice has, according to his firm website, been concentrated in estate planning. Frank James Ryan also filed for both the Lipinski and Panichi vacancies. Ryan, an attorney since 1981, maintains an office in Oak Forest where, according to Sullivan's, he maintains a general practice with concentrations in domestic relations and real estate. Ryan ran for the countywide Murphy vacancy in 2008. He had a campaign website then; that link is no longer active and I've yet to find an updated one.

Pat Flanagan and Scott Edward Lipinski filed for both the Lipinski and Phelan vacancies. Flanagan ran for the countywide Orlando vacancy in 2004. A lawyer since 1999, Flanagan practices with Brittain & Ketcham, P.C. in Elgin. According to the Lawyers.com listing for this firm, Flanagan's practice is in real estate, personal injury, foreclosures, and insurance defense. Lipiniski is an Assistant Public Defender and the son of former Judge Marcella C. Lipinski. Scott Lipinski ran for the "A" vacancy in the 15th Subcircuit in 2008 but did not participate in the bar association evaluation process in that election cycle.

Ten other candidates filed for only one 15th Subcircuit vacancy apiece.

In the race for the Lipinski vacancy, these are Karla Marie Fiaoni, an attorney working in Cook County Commissioner Joseph M. Moreno's private law firm; Olympia Fields Mayor Linzey D. Jones; and Richard G. Karwaczka, an attorney with offices in Rosemont. Judge John A. Wasilewski, who was appointed to the Lipinski vacancy by the Supreme Court in May 2009, has not filed.

Former State Representative, George F. Scully, who was appointed to the Panichi vacancy, did file petitions Monday seeking that seat. Also filing exclusively in the race for the Panichi vacancy was Assistant State's Attorney Mary Therese Quinn. Quinn ran in the 2006 primary, unsuccessfully seeking nomination to the Nowinski vacancy.

Judge John C. Griffin, appointed by the Supreme Court to the Phelan vacancy, filed to keep his seat. That's a link to his campaign website in the preceding sentence; I did not have that previously, but it has been added to the Sidebar. I also discovered that Judge Griffin has this Facebook page.

Also filing exclusively for the Phelan vacancy were Thomas "TJ" Somer, who ran for the "A" vacancy in the 15th Subcircuit in 2008, and Nichole C. Patton. That's a link to Ms. Patton's campaign website, which she was kind enough to send to me after she saw this post. (I mentioned Patton's Facebook page in that post.) I have added Patton's campaign website link to the Sidebar as well.

As many candidates as there are already in the 15th Subcircuit, it seems safe to bet there will be still others. For example, Assistant State's Attorney Thomas R. Mahoney had indicated plans to run, but has not yet filed.