Judge Araceli De La Cruz campaign website launched

A campaign website is now up and running for Judge Araceli De La Cruz. That's a link to the new website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the site Sidebar.

Appointed to a countywide vacancy by the Illinois Supreme Court, De La Cruz began her judicial career quite recently. Shortly after her appointment was announced, De La Cruz was slated for a countywide vacancy by the Cook County Democratic Party.

This is the second time De La Cruz has run for judicial office. She also ran, with Democratic Party backing, for a countywide vacancy in the 2020 election cycle.

De La Cruz was first licensed to practice law in Illinois in 2001, according to ARDC. Her campaign biography notes that she spent the first eight years of her legal career as a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney. She moved over to the Chicago Transit Authority in 2009, starting as Chief of Safety and Security Compliance, then serving as Deputy Chief of Staff in 2010 – 2011, before becoming the CTA's Chief Safety and Security Officer, Senior Vice President.

In 2014 De La Cruz became Chief of General Prosecutions in the Division of Professional Regulation of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Then, in 2016, De La Cruz became General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer for Acero Schools of Chicago, a non-profit unionized public charter school network comprised of 15 schools serving some 7,000 students, according to her campaign bio. She was working for Acero Schools at the time of her judicial appointment.