The blizzard has stopped in Chicago but, in Springfield, a blizzard has just begun

A blizzard of paper, that is. Candidate nominating petitions.

I grabbed this photo of the Illinois State Board of Elections office in Springfield from former Ald. Bob Fioretti's Twitter feed this morning (he's in line waiting to file for the State Senate); below is another view gleaned from the Aldertrack Twitter feed.

A lot of Cook County judicial candidates are in line here that you've heard about -- and a lot you haven't yet heard about besides. One announced judicial candidate who is not in line this morning, according to email recently received, is Carolyn Gallagher. She has decided to pursue the recently opened Johnson vacancy instead.

Being the first to file in any judicial race means only that you (or your surrogate) gets to warm up sooner than all the other candidates in your race: All candidates in line when the doors opened this morning were eligible for the ballot lottery.

That said, the first two Cook County judicial candidates to have their names posted this morning by the ISBE were Judges Eve Reilly (who is running against the party in the 10th Subcircuit to try and hold the seat to which she's been appointed) and Marianne Jackson (who has been slated by the Democratic Party for for the Burrell vacancy in the 7th Subcircuit, the vacancy she now fills by appointment).

Also filing in the 7th Subcircuit (for the Rivkins-Carothers vacancy) and also for the countywide Karzenis vacancy is River Forest practitioner Brian J. O'Hara. I haven't found a campaign website for Mr. O'Hara yet; here is a link to his office site. According to ARDC, Mr. O'Hara has been licensed in Illinois since 1980. According to O'Hara's firm website, O'Hara is a graduate of Loyola University and Northwestern University Law School. He's been a sole practitioner in River Forest for over 15 years. His website touts his real estate practice and notes that he "also represents parents, minors, foster parents, and others in juvenile court as a member of the Conflict Panel of the Cook County Juvenile Court since 1989. Also included in Brian’s practice is general civil litigation, and estate work." According to his firm website, O'Hara is a member and past chairman of the River Forest Traffic and Safety Commission and also volunteers for the Chicago Area Alternative Education League (CAAEL) as a fundraiser and board member.

Judge Jerry Esrig was among the first in line this morning, trying to hold the Berman vacancy to which he was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court. The ISBE website shows, however, that he already has one challenger -- but there's a problem. The website lists Thomas Peter Kougins as filing against Judge Esrig -- but ARDC does not list any lawyer in the State with that surname. There was a Thomas Peter Kougias who ran in the 9th Subcircuit in 2014; I'm assuming "Kougins" and "Kougias" are one and the same. Look -- with all that paper, surely someone at ISBE may be forgiven one little typo.

Assistant State's Attorney Richard "Rick" Cenar has also filed in the 10th Subcircuit. Mr. Cenar did appear before the 10th Subcircuit slating committee in September but was, like Judge Reilly, passed over. He has been licensed since 1986. I've been unable to locate any campaign website so far.

Obviously, there's lots more to come here. Updates will be forthcoming as work permits during the day; a bigger recap should follow this evening.