Judge Eileen O'Neill Burke announces Appellate Court bid

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Eileen O'Neill Burke has announced plans to seek a seat on the Appellate Court in the 2016 Democratic Primary. That's a link to Judge Burke's campaign website in the preceding sentence; the link will be added to a blog Sidebar when enough Appellate Court candidate websites are accumulated.

Judge Burke currently presides over an individual calendar in the Commercial Calendar Section of the Law Division. Since her election to the Circuit Court in 2008, Judge Burke has served in a number of assignments, including a Law Division motion call. Burke's website notes that, before becoming a judge, Burke had her own firm, handling both criminal defense and civil matters. She began her career in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, serving there for 10 years and, along the way, writing "more than 100 appellate briefs, and [arguing] more than 35 times in the 1st District Appellate Court." Also, according to her campaign website, Burke has also argued three cases before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Judge Burke has served on the Alumni Board of Directors of her law school alma mater, IIT Chicago Kent Law School, since 2012. Her campaign website also notes that she has served as a "host judge" for Women Everywhere, welcoming underprivileged high school girls to the courthouse and presenting information about different career options. Judge Burke has also participated, according to her campaign website, as a presenter in the "Civics in the Classroom" and "7 Reasons to Leave the Party" programs sponsored by the Illinois Judges Association (on which she serves as a member of the Board of Directors).

According to Judge Burke's campaign website, her campaign is being co-chaired by retired Appellate Court Justice Michael Gallagher and retired Circuit Court Judge Maureen Durkin Roy. Her Finance Committee Co-Chairs are Robert Cooney, Terrence J. Sheahan, and Matthew Walsh, II.