Updated: Resources for Cook County voters looking to make informed choices in judicial races

Cook County judges seeking retention in 2018

As we head into the last few days of early voting and look forward to Election Day on Tuesday (hallelujah! the commercials will finally stop... at least for a few days before the mayoral commercials start up on us), visitors here may be looking to do their due diligence and figure out how to make informed choices about the many judicial races on the November ballot.

There are two types of judicial races on the ballot. First, there are elections to fill judicial vacancies -- to replace judges who have left the bench. For most Cook County voters, there are no choices to make here. All countywide races were decided in the March Democratic Primary; so too were most of the subcircuit races.

There are five exceptions. Voters in the 12th and 15th Subcircuits have to decide one contest in each of their respective subcircuits. Voters in the 13th Subcircuit will have choices in the election of three judges.

The second type of judicial race on the ballot is the retention election. Here, voters get to decide whether judges who were elected (for the most part) six years ago (or any multiple of six) shall be retained in office.

This year, there is one Supreme Court justice and one Appellate Court justice on the retention ballot. Justices of these courts are elected to 10 year terms. But, like their colleagues on the Circuit Court bench, they must also face the voters on the question of whether they shall be retained in office.

There are 59 Circuit Court judges seeking retention this year.

Some voters find the sheer number of retention candidates to be intimidating. But the Chicago Bar Association and the 11 bar groups that together comprise the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening have reviewed all the judges seeking retention and have weighed in with their opinions. The retention judges also have their own website that you can visit for information about jurists seeking to remain in office. (The photograph that accompanies this post was taken from that website.)

What follows are links to FWIW posts regarding the bar associations' evaluations of retention candidates and candidates seeking election in the five contested subcircuit races. You will note that opinions regarding some of these candidates differ. But this information will, hopefully, be of some use to voters:

• Chicago Bar Association finds all retention judges "qualified" -- with one exception;
• Chicago Council of Lawyers finds 58 of 61 retention candidates "Qualified" or better;
• ISBA narratives on retention judges now available;
• Alliance issues grids with all the blanks filled in;
• Alliance grids in the five contested subcircuit races;
• ISBA releases explanations of its ratings in contested subcircuit elections;
• Chicago Council of Lawyers evaluations in contested subcircuit elections; and
• Chicago Bar Association releases ratings for candidates in contested subcircuit races.

If the above and foregoing is stillnot enough for you, here are some additional FWIW posts that you may find useful as you decide which judges or judicial candidates are worthy of your vote:

• The Suburban Bar Coalition offers its ratings of Cook County retention candidates
• BallotReady compiles information regarding judicial candidates
• Injustice Watch offers useful tool for retention voters
• Tribune announces choices for retention ballot, contested subcircuit seats
• IVI-IPO says no to three retention judges