Judge assigned to administrative duties after putting youngster in lockup

Andy Grimm has tweeted an update to his February 27 story on the on the Chicago Sun-Times website:

“It was all my idea” says mom of 6-year-old placed in holding cell by Cook County Judge Jackie Portman-Brown; child was judge’s grand-niece https://t.co/jCt4HpXytG

— Andy Grimm (@agrimm34) February 28, 2020

For now, anyway, it appears that Judge Jackie Portman-Brown locked up her 6-year old grandniece, apparently at the request of the child's mother.

According to several news outlets, Portman-Brown has been assigned to administrative duties pending a March 4 meeting of the Circuit Court Executive Committee.

Portman-Brown was elected (as Jackie Marie Portman) to a 5th Subcircuit vacancy in 2008. She did not submit her credentials for bar association screening in that election cycle. However, she did submit for screening when she ran for retention in 2014, and was found recommended for retention at that time by each of the Alliance bar groups and also by the CBA.

I found a number of what, for me, were baffling comments on Facebook -- about cowbells and 99.999999...% -- but I eventually also found a link to this largely flattering 2016 piece, by Maya Dukmasova, on the Chicago Reader website, "Cook County's most unconventional judge takes justice beyond the bench," and this explained the Facebook references.