Iris Y. Chavira seeks 14th Subcircuit vacancy, launches campaign website

Iris Y. Chavira, a Division Chief and Senior Administrative Law Judge for the City of Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings, has announced her intention to seek one of the two available 14th Subcircuit vacancies in the 2022 Democratic Primary. That's a link to her campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link will be added to the site Sidebar when that is set up.

Chavira's campaign biography notes that she worked as an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago Department of Law before joining the Department Administrative Hearings, rising to supervisor of the Federal Civil Rights Litigation Division.

Before that, according to the campaign bio, Chavira was an Associate General Counsel with the Office of Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, managing "a portfolio of nine state agencies, focusing on public safety and education," managing "the Governor’s executive clemency process, assisting with the granting of thousands of clemency petitions, including the Governor’s first-ever pardon based on innocence."

Chavira began her legal career as an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, handling both civil and criminal matters.

According to her campaign bio, Chavira serves on the Board of Advisors and Southwest Regional Advisory Board for Catholic Charities of Illinois, is a member of DePaul University College of Law Alumni Engagement Board, a is member of the Women’s Leadership Committee for the Latino Leadership Council. She has been an active member of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, having served on the Executive Board and Board of Directors for over five years.

Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 2008, according to ARDC, this is Chavira's first attempt to obtain judicial office.