Saturday, August 01, 2015

Who sits where -- I can't believe it's already August edition

Petitions can begin circulating a month from today. The Cook County Democratic Party will meet to formally choose its judicial slate on August 18 and 19.

So it's time, again, to update the list of known Cook County judicial vacancies. Generally, these are vacancies that have been filled by interim Supreme Court appointment (or in which appointment processes are underway). There are surely other vacancies which the Supreme Court has not filled (there are rumored to be three vacancies in the 6th Subcircuit, for example, but below you will see listed only two). There will be additional vacancies, and additional appointments between now and late fall when the Illinois State Board of Elections posts an authoritative list of judicial vacancies in anticipation of the 2016 primary (a preliminary list of vacancies should go up on the ISBE website sometime this month).

As always, errors or omissions in this list are mine alone and I am grateful for additions and corrections provided.

Appellate Court Vacancies

Vacancy of the Hon. James R. Epstein -- Stuart E. Palmer
Vacancy of the Hon. Patrick J. Quinn -- Bertina E. Lampkin

Countywide Vacancies

Vacancy of the Hon. Paul P. Biebel, Jr. -- John Fitzgerald Lyke, Jr.
Vacancy of the Hon. Richard J. Elrod -- Rossana P. Fernandez
Vacancy of the Hon. Thomas L. Hogan -- Alison Conlon
Vacancy of the Hon. Michael J. Howlett, Jr. -- Aleksandra Nikolich Gillespie
Vacancy of the Hon. Themis N. Karzenis -- Devlin J. Schoop
Vacancy of the Hon. Noreen Valeria Love -- Jean Margaret Cocozza
Vacancy of the Hon. Patrick W. O'Brien -- James L. Kaplan
Vacancy of the Hon. Susan Ruscitti-Grussel -- Daniel P. Duffy

Subcircuit Vacancies

1st Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Cynthia Y. Brim -- Maryam Ahmad
Vacancy of the Hon. Vanessa A. Hopkins -- Anthony E. Simpkins

4th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. William J. Kunkle -- Edward John King

5th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Jane L. Stuart -- Freddrenna M. Lyle
Vacancy of the Hon. Shelli Williams-Hayes -- Robin D. Shoffner

6th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Leida J. Gonzalez Santiago -- vacant
"A" Vacancy* -- Anna M. Loftus

7th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Anthony L. Burrell -- Marianne Jackson

9th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Andrew Berman -- Jerry A. Esrig

10th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Garritt E. Howard -- Eve M. Reilly

11th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Carol A. Kelly -- Marc William Martin
Vacancy of the Hon. Susan F. Zwick -- William B. Sullivan

12th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Sandra Tristano -- Carrie E. Hamilton
"A" Vacancy** -- Roger G. Fein

I will update this list periodically, as new vacancies are announced or filled.

A navigation tip that blog newcomers may find helpful: If you click on one of the subjects at the bottom of this post, e.g., "2016 Judicial Primary," you will get a page filled with blog posts similarly tabbed, starting with the most recent post at the top.

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* This is the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge William J. Maddux. Vacancies of judges elected to city-only or suburbs-only judicial vacancies prior to the adoption of the subcircuit system in the early 1990s are assigned to subcircuits as they occur pursuant to a schedule included in the original subcircuit legislation.

** This is the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Robert J. Quinn. Like Judge Maddux, Judge Quinn was elected to a 'Chicago-only' Circuit Court vacancy in 1992, the last time judges were elected on a citywide or suburbs-only basis (and also the first time judges were elected from Cook County Subcircuits).
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousTuesday, August 04, 2015 5:55:00 PM

    Committee to Elect D Renee Jackson Judge D-1 Statement of Organization 8/4/2015 3:50:16 PM
    Filed on paper

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFriday, August 07, 2015 5:31:00 PM

    Alright my favorite blog, let’s have some Friday fun.

    Can’t help but notice that this particular posting has more focus on the 6th sub-circuit vacancies than all the rest. So of course I need to weigh-in. Especially with the mention about how there may be a 3rd vacancy.

    The situation in the 6th is so fluid that one major candidate has already bowed out and the other one is thinking about it thereby saving lots and lots of money. There is no agreement among the committeeman regarding the remaining candidates and everybody knows it. So the candidates that were going to run with the overwhelming blessings of the party bosses are out and that leaves only marginal candidates that have love/hate relationships with everybody else. Two will indeed get slated but subsequent to the slating session, they will be dropped like hot potatoes and the committeemen will focus on the people they really want to elect.

    There are two in particular that I like to call the “court jesters” complete with the funny hats and jungle bells. And these Johnny-come-lately candidates have managed to do something no one thought was possible. And that is converting this once strictly Latino district into a sure-fire opportunity for the election of two white candidates.

    And why is that? Because the court jesters are two Latino big-time losers from the 2012 election cycle desperately trying for a comeback. In the process, the jesters are pissing off the very people they should have been courting. Instead, one of them got himself a nice, sturdy, heavy duty pair of knee pads permanently attached to him, so as to be ready at all times, and the other one is hoping for some kind of a “sneak-attack” if a third vacancy is announced. That second jester is so dumb, he’s planning on collecting signatures for that phantom third vacancy before the Supreme Court even declares it. And he calls himself a lawyer. Doesn’t he know that objections will be filled against every single one of those signatures? But then again that second one is slow by anybody’s standards.

    So, here come the real candidates. The ones with the pretty, porcelain-finished white faces and the Irish, Polish, Scottish and ancient English last names. The ones with loads of dough from the big and powerful power brokers in Cook County and big money LaSalle Street law firms. And the winners of the two declared vacancies will be two of them. Two chosen in some top floor conference room in one of the beautiful, gleaming Ivory Towers in the strictly-business part of the city.

    And that phantom third vacancy, well that’s the only one a Puerto Rican will get. Because what the court-jesters don’t know (well not until now) is that that is why one of the major candidates already bowed-out. Because a “bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” and that major candidate’s brilliant and all-knowing sponsor knew that. Done deal baby, so forget about the last minute signatures and “sneak attack” petition filings. That vacancy will come well after the polls close on Election Day. So you’re going to have to file in one of the two existing vacancies and scratch and claw your way through the election cycle like everyone else. Just like you did in your losing bid in 2012. And oh yeah, given what’s coming from downtown, good luck with that.

    As always, your fan, E.P.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousWednesday, August 12, 2015 11:21:00 PM

    “E.P.” clearly believes that all judicial candidates that run in the 6th must be Latin; and any “porcelain-finished white faces” should not even be allowed on the ballot. In the last post, “E.P.” has gone a step further; now requiring that the Latin candidates must meet his/her approval. Heaven has St. Peter at the gate and apparently the 6th subcircuit has “E.P.”. How sad this must all be for you, “E.P.”. The 6th subcircuit Committeemen will soon slate one caucasian and one Latin candidate; both of whom will not meet your approval. One because he is caucasian, and one because he is not your kind of Puerto Rican.

    Based on your last post, you are completely out of the information loop. The two top guys are all in and the Committeemen love them. As you will see in the next several weeks, when 6th subcircuit slating occurs, the candidates that are slated will have unanimous support from the individual Democratic Committeemen. In fact, in the history of 6th subcircuit judicial elections, never will the slated candidates have such overwhelming and widespread support from the Committeemen. They will truly be consensus candidates.

    Further, no “major” candidate has dropped out. You are spreading false information. Be honest as to what really happened: the one candidate whom you speak and her “sponsor” appeared at the Puerto Rican Day Parade with matching tee shirts and flyers and where just about thrown out of Humboldt Park. It was embarrassing. Thereafter, her “sponsor” found she could not get the support of even one Committeeman. She is out simply because she knows she is not going to get slated over the two real “major” candidates. Very hard, in not impossible, to win in the 6th without being slated. So, very sorry “E.P.” but this time it is going to be different; it is going to take more than just being born Puerto Rican to get slated, and subsequently elected.

    ReplyDelete

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