Associate judge short list should be out tomorrow

Multiple sources have confirmed to FWIW that the Cook County associate judge finalists have been notified. As per Supreme Court Rule 39(b)(3), there will be two finalists for every vacancy.

Supreme Court Rule 39(b)(4)(i) provides, "In judicial circuits having a population of more than 500,000, the chief judge shall notify the Director of the names of those candidates selected by the nominating committee and request that the Director initiate the balloting process. Within 14 days after the chief judge’s notification, the Director shall place the name of each candidate on a ballot in alphabetical order. The ballot shall also contain blank spaces equal in number to the number of vacancies to be filled, in which spaces may be written the name of any qualified applicant whose name does not appear on the ballot as a candidate." Rule 39(b)(5) provides that the full circuit judges eligible to vote must return their ballots within 14 days. The new class of associate judges will be named in roughly a month.