Nine candidates file in Ninth Judicial Subcircuit

Updated 10/27/09


As might be expected, Judge Michael Ian Bender filed only for the seat he now holds by Supreme Court appointment, the "A" vacancy in the 9th Subcircuit. Similarly, Judge Yehuda Lebovits filed only for the seat that he now holds by appointment, the Otaka vacancy.

Seven others filed for both 9th Subcircuit vacancies. These include Steven James "Steve" Bernstein, Jeffrey Dov Greenspan, Judge Geary W. Kull, William Joseph Luby, and Abbey Fishman Romanek. Each of these candidates has a campaign website; each has previously been profiled here on FWIW. (For some reason, the Board of Elections website has Judge Geary W. Kull listed as "Gerry W. Kull.")

In addition to these candidates, Niles Township Assessor Scott Bagnall filed for both vacancies. An attorney since 1986, Bagnall has a personal injury practice in the Loop; his office website stresses his experience in bicycle, motorcycle and aviation cases. (On his firm's "aviation" page, Bagnall advises that he "holds a FAA commercial license with single, multi- engine land and instrument ratings along with basic ground instructor, advanced ground instructor and instrument ground instructor certificates and flight instructor airplane and flight instructor instrument certificates."

The last of these seven candidates to file for both 9th Subcircuit vacancies is Mary S. Trew, the Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic of Cook County. Trew started her legal career in Michigan in 1981. She worked as a criminal defense attorney in Detroit before moving to Illinois. An Illinois attorney since 1991, Trew was among the finalists for Associate Judge in 2007.

There will almost certainly be more candidates in the 9th Subcircuit. Not filing this morning, for example, was declared candidate Dennis M Fleming.