Applications for the next class of Cook County Associate Judges to be taken through August 31

Well, that didn't take long.

The ink is barely dry on the commissions of the latest class of Cook County Associate Judges and already applications are open for the next class.

The above link will take you to the Illinois Courts website where you download an application to which you may affix a 'wet signature' -- which, for those who weren't with us last time, merely means a conventional signature, in ink, as opposed to an "e-signature" which must be affixed to the fillable online application. Persons choosing the fillable online application get, as a bonus, the opportunity to play a game of "beat the clock": Online applications, if not completed sooner, will expire after six hours and, according to the website, "information entered will not be saved."

Associate judge applications are not kept "on file," so (as one person has already asked today) applicants from the last or prior applicant classes must complete a new application in order to be considered.

For online applications, the deadline is August 31 at 11:59 p.m. Paper applications (with 'wet signatures') must be received in the Chicago office of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts prior to 5:00 p.m. on that same day, Friday, August 31.

For non-lawyers who may happen across this post, there is nothing nefarious or suspicious about a new class of associate judges opening so soon after the last class was sworn in. This is an automatic process, triggered by the language of Supreme Court Rule 39(b)(1), which must be undertaken "as soon as practicable, but no later than 30 days after the accumulation of five consecutive vacancies for which notice has not been given."

The notice signed today by Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans to the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts advises that there are now six vacancies. There will, presumably, be more before the next class is sworn in.