Mahoney holding on by slimmest of margins in retention count; a look at where Portman-Brown did, and did not have, support

Nothing is certified yet, so nothing is official. But the County has not posted new numbers since Sunday afternoon.

At the moment, then, Judge John J. Mahoney appears---despite a torrent of "no" votes when VBM ballots were tabulated---to have hung on to keep his seat on the Circuit Court bench. In the City of Chicago, Mahoney polled 457,575 "yes" votes, or only 57.44% of the 796,557 votes cast in the City on his future. In the suburbs, however, Mahoney has 508,556 "yes" votes and 304,636 "no" votes, a favorable percentage of 62.54%.

Put them together, and Mahoney has 966,131 "yes" votes out of 1,609,749 counted -- a favorable percentage of 60.00174934%. One can't cut it much closer than that and survive. So we must await final results.

Mahoney was recommended for retention by the Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Council of Lawyers. But the Illinois State Bar Association and three other Alliance bar groups, inclucing the Cook County Bar Association, recommended a "no" vote, as did the Suburban Bar Coalition.

Judge Jackie Marie Portman-Brown was among those recommended on the Soul Slate. She was also recommended for retention by both the Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Council of Lawyers. Portman-Brown was, however, not recommended for retention by the Illinois State Bar Association and six other Alliance bar groups. Like Mahoney, the Suburban Bar Coalition recommended against Portman-Brown's retention. The Chicago Tribune also recommended against her retention. Portman-Brown had been removed from active judicial duty and assisgned to administrative duties earlier in 2020.

When the votes were counted, Judge Portman-Brown fell below the necessary 60% survival threshold in both the City and suburbs. Frank Calabrese has put together this map showing where Portman-Brown did, and did not have, support:

Map created by, and reprinted with the permission of, @FrankCalabrese.