Torrick Alan Ward: In his own words

Torrick Alan Ward is a candidate for the Jacobius vacancy in the 9th Subcircuit. His punch number is 194.

My name is Torrick Ward and I’m running for circuit court judge in the ninth subcircuit. I want to thank Jack Leyhane for the opportunity to provide this statement to his readers.

I’m in an interesting race. If you review the bar association ratings, I and everyone else in my race has been found qualified to be a judge. And from what I have seen of my opponents during this election, they are good lawyers and earned those ratings. So I want to focus my statement on why I want to be a judge and what I hope to do when elected.

The judiciary is an important part of our government. What I have seen is that so many people have lost faith that the government can improve the lives of people. I want to change that as I have tried to do in a career in public service and in the private sector. I thought back over my career and I have found that when people believe they get a fair shake in court, even if they lose, their faith in their government and country is strengthened. So that’s why I’m running for judge.

When I am elected judge, I want to be fair to all litigants, but that necessitates recognizing the barriers that exist for many litigants. Going into court, even when represented by an attorney, can be stressful and bewildering for people and I want to provide easy to understand explainers and FAQs so that people know what’s going to happen in my courtroom and why. I’ll confess that as a young lawyer right out of law school, I could have used these myself.

I also want to challenge myself as a judge to review my decisions for implicit bias. It’s easy to ignore those biases that we all have and just assume that we’re making fair and impartial decisions. But it’s harder to actually test and audit your decisions with a critical eye. I pledge to do that. I pledge to make it easier for others to hold me accountable as well by publishing substantive decisions I make for everyone to see.

Finally, I am honored and fortunate to be endorsed by incredible public servants like State Representative Kelly Cassidy, Alderwoman Maria Hadden, Alderman Andre Vasquez and former Mayor of Chicago, City Clerk and current head of Good Government Illinois, David Orr. These women and men are fierce champions of making our community better and I will do everything I can as a judge to prove worthy of their endorsement.