Who Sits Where: I've been doing it all wrong edition

The 2024 election will be the first conducted under the Judicial Circuits Districting Act of 2022, P.A. 102-0693. Section 60 of this Act amended several provisions of the Circuit Courts Act, 705 ILCS 35/0.01 et seq., but, of course, FWIW readers are most interested in the amendments made to §2f, 705 ILCS 35/2f.

That's the provision that increases the number of Cook County subcircuits from 15 to 20. And, in particular, readers are interested in §2f(d-5) which addresses the 'allotment' of "formerly associate judgeships" which are 'converted' into seats in the new subcircuits, up to 10 in each election cycle, until 55 have been created, 11 for each of the new Subcircuits 16-20.

The number of these newly allocated, or converted "formerly associate judgeships" continues to grow, as we'll get to when we get to the actual list below.

In prior lists, I had been referring to these as (for example) the "A" vacancy in the 16th Subcircuit. Why? Because when the original Cook County subcircuits were created, and the procedures implemented for distributing the vacancies reallocated (as former City-only or Suburbs-only judgeships fell vacant), or converted (as 60 associate judgeships became subcircuit seats), or otherwise created by the provisions of §2(a)(4)(i)-(v) of the Judicial Vacancies Act, 705 ILCS 40/2(a)(4)(i)-(v), that's how those positions were listed. I was a candidate for the "C" vacancy in the 10th Subcircuit in the 1994 judicial primary, for example. While we did not have any Alphabet-Letter vacancies to fill in 2022, we had an "A" vacancy in the 2nd Subcircuit in 2020; in 2016, we had "A" vacancies in the 6th and 12th Subcircuits.

But that's not how we're doing things this time, and I've been wrong to assume otherwise. The following list corrects that error.

You may wonder why there was a change. I certainly did.

According to Matt Dietrich, the Public Information Officer for the Illinois State Board of Elections, "It was determined that the judgeships in Cook County which are being allocated to the new subcircuits are not 'new judgeships,' but are instead existing associate judgeships which are being converted to the new subcircuits as those associate judgeship seats become vacant. When a vacancy occurs in a Cook County associate judgeship it gets converted to a seat in one of the new subcircuits, so it isn’t creating a new judgeship for the circuit or subcircuit, but is instead shifting the judgeships from associate judges to regular judgeships assigned to the new subcircuits."

And, of course, in a strict numerical sense, this is correct: The total number of judicial officers serving in Cook County trial courts is not changed by the creation of the new subcircuits because the increase in the number of new resident judgeships (the statutory name for subcircuit judgeships) is offset by a corresponding reduction in Cook County associate judge positions. See, §2(b-5) of the Associate Judges act, 705 ILCS 45/2(b-5). But this does rather gloss over the differences between judges elected by the public and associate judges, who elected by the judges of the circuit. The distinction has become less important over the course of my professional career, certainly, but it still exists.

The ISBE says, "This is the first time we have seen this type of allotment for judgeships, and have examined it closely in coordination with our Legal Division, representatives from Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, Cook County Clerk, and the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. All parties are in agreement that this is the most accurate way to list and describe these vacancies, due to the unique nature in which they are being created. To reiterate, they are different from an elected judge’s seat coming open, and they are not new judgeships created and added to the allotment for the county."

It certainly is accurate, and refreshingly transparent, to publicly disclose the provenance of each new subcircuit vacancy as it is 'converted.' But this is certainly not the first time judgeships have been allotted or converted like this. Even if one considers the conversion of the 56 City-only and 27 Suburb-only judgeships to subcircuit vacancies back in 1990 when the Cook County subcircuits were first created to be meaninfully different from the allocation or conversion now underway, there are still the 60 associate judgeships converted to subcircuit vacancies under the 1990 legislation (see 705 ILCS 40/2(a)(4)(i)-(v)). Those 60 AJ spots that became subcircuit seats pursuant to the legislation a generation ago also had a corresponding offset in the Associate Judges Act. See 705 ILCS 45/2(b). (Of the 165 resident judgeships created by the 1990 statute, only 22 were truly "new" or "additional," 705 ILCS 40/2(a)(4)(iii) and (iv).)

Bottom line, however, is this: New statute, new rules. And would-be candidates had better adhere to them. Dietrich cautioned that the new vacancies "will be certified to the ballot exactly like we have them listed on the page of vacancies. We would expect candidates to list them on their nomination documents in a similar manner that clearly identifies the specific seat they are seeking candidacy for."

But I still had a question about the vacancies created by the retirements of Judges Solganick and Toomin. These judges were elected prior to the original subcircuit act. Every other judge who fell within this category had their vacancy converted to an "A" vacancy in whatever subcircuit had the next opening under the "determination by lot" conducted by the Illinois Supreme Court pursuant to §2(d) of the Circuit Courts Act, 705 ILCS 35/2f(d). But the ISBE list shows a Solganick vacancy in the 7th Subcircuit and a Toomin vacancy in the 15th. Why?

The ISBE takes the position that the same reasoning that applies to the new subcircuits should now be applied to vacancies being assigned to existing subcircuits. Dietrich explained, "The Toomin and Solganick vacancies are created from an elected judicial officer’s seat after they retired. These are not new seats, they are being reassigned to subcircuits, and they are still in the Cook Circuit. The Cook Circuit still has the same number of judges, there is no net gain that would be realized if there was truly an 'additional judgeship.'"

There is certainly nothing 'wrong' with doing things this way; it merely is different. It is a departure from past practices. But, most important, it is the procedure that candidates will have to follow in order to get on the ballot. Dietrich again: By way of example, "for someone running for the Toomin vacancy in the 15th subcircuit, their nomination documents would indicate that the candidate is seeking nomination for Judge of the Circuit Court, in the 15th Subcircuit of the Cook County Judicial Circuit, to fill the vacancy of the Honorable Michael P. Toomin."

One final caveat before getting to the updated list: Some of the judges whose vacancies are listed below may still be coming into work -- but, once they have advised of their intent to leave, their vacancies are created.

Any and all errors of omission or commission in the following list are mine alone and I am grateful for additions and corrections provided. This list will be updated as events warrant.

Supreme Court Vacancy

Vacancy of the Hon. Anne M. Burke -- Joy V. Cunningham

Appellate Court Vacancies

Vacancy of the Hon. Maureen E. Connors -- Mary L. Mikva
Vacancy of the Hon. Joy V. Cunningham -- Cynthia Y. Cobbs
Vacancy of the Hon. Mathias W. Delort -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Eileen O'Neill Burke -- Carl A. Walker

Countywide Circuit Court Vacancies

Vacancy of the Hon. James P. Flannery, Jr. -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Vincent Gaughan -- Corrine Cantwell Heggie
Vacancy of the Hon. Catherine Haberkorn -- Sarah Rodak Johnson
Vacancy of the Hon. Arnette Hubbard -- Deidre M. Dyer
Vacancy of the Hon. Marcia Maras -- Arlene Y. Coleman-Romeo
Vacancy of the Hon. Raymond W. Mitchell -- Neil H. Cohen
Vacancy of the Hon. Timothy P. Murphy -- Edward J. Underhill
Vacancy of the Hon. Lorna Propes -- Debjani D. Desai
Vacancy of the Hon. William Raines -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Laura M. Sullivan -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Debra B. Walker -- Chloé G. Pedersen

Subcircuit Vacancies

3rd Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Edward S. Harmening -- Unfilled

4th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Peter A. Felice -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Edward J. King -- Phillip J. Fowler
Vacancy of the Hon. Edward M. Maloney -- Unfilled

5th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Casandra Lewis -- Unfilled

7th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Irwin J. Solganick -- Owens J. Shelby

8th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Ann Collins-Dole -- Unfilled

10th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Clare E. McWilliams -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Gregory J. Wojkowski -- James S. Murphy-Aguilu*

11th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Ann Finley Collins -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Paula M. Daleo -- Unfilled

12th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Grace G. Dickler -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Marguerite Quinn -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Andrea M. Schleifer -- Unfilled

13th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Samuel J. Betar III -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Ketki Shroff Steffen -- Unfilled

14th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. James N. O'Hara -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Daniel J. Pierce -- Unfilled

15th Subcircuit
Vacancy of the Hon. Anna Helen Demacopoulos -- Unfilled
Vacancy of the Hon. Michael P. Toomin -- Unfilled

16th Subcircuit
Converted from the Associate Judgeship of Lawrence E. Flood
Converted from the Associate Judgeship of Maxwell Griffin, Jr.

17th Subcircuit
Converted from the Associate Judgeship of Carmen K. Aguilar
Converted from the Associate Judgeship of Brian K. Flaherty

18th Subcircuit
Converted from the Associate Judgeship of James B. Linn

19th Subcircuit
Converted from the Associate Judgeship of Robert E. Senechalle, Jr.

20th Subcircuit
Converted from the Associate Judgeship of Elizabeth M. Budzinski

---------------------------------------------------------
*  Judge Murphy-Aguilú has been slated for a countywide vacancy by the Cook County Democratic Party. However, he continues to serve by assignment to this vacancy, subject to further order of the Illinois Supreme Court.