Circuit Court reinstates Judges Gallagher and Murray to the March primary ballot

Updated to reflect that Notice of Appeal has already been filed

In an Order entered late yesterday afternoon, Judge Marcia O'Brien Conway reversed the decision of the Cook County Officers Electoral Board removing Judges Carolyn Gallagher and Leonard Murray, reviving, for now at least, their bids for, respectively, the Cunningham and Delort vacancies on the Appellate Court.

The Circuit Court's Memorandum and Order is linked in this sentence. The Electoral Board's decision may be accessed at this link.

I use the phrase 'for now at least' because, FWIW has learned this morning, an appeal has already been taken from the Circuit Court's order (it was apparently submitted for e-filing last evening). By using this phrase, I mean to offer no opinion whatsoever on how this case might fare in the Appellate Court.

Non-lawyers (and, truthfully, some of us lawyers as well) may be surprised to learn that it is the Electoral Board's decision that will be reviewed in the Appellate Court, when this case is reviewed there. See, Zurek v. Cook County Officers Electoral Bd., 2014 IL App (1st) 140446, ¶10. (I admit that I did not always know this.)

This story may be updated or supplemented as additional information becomes available.