A dozen new judges appointed today to the Circuit Court of Cook County

In separate Orders entered today, the Illinois Supreme Court filled a dozen vacancies on the Cook County Circuit Court.

With one exception, each of the new judges won the Democratic Party's nomination for the seats to which they have now been appointed. All of these 12 new judges face no opponent in November.

The new judges are:

• Nadine Jean Wichern (unopposed candidate for the new 20th Subcircuit seat);
• Griselda Vega Samuel (unopposed candidate for the O'Hara vacancy in the 14th Subcircuit);
• James Vincent Murphy III (unopposed candidate for the Wojkowski vacancy in the 10th Subcircuit);
• Stephanie K. Miller (unopposed candidate for the Pierce vacancy in the 14th Subcircuit);
• John A. Fairman (unopposed candidate for the Toomin vacancy in the 15th Subcircuit);
• Bridget Colleen Duignan (unopposed candidate for the new 19th Subcircuit vacancy);
• Rivanda Doss Beal (unopposed candidate for one of the two new 17th Subcircuit vacancies);
• Pablo F. deCastro (unopposed candidate for the countywide Flannery vacancy);
• Audrey Victoria Cosgrove (unopposed candidate for the Daleo vacancy in the 11th Subcircuit);
• Michael M. Chvatal (unopposed candidate for the Felice vacancy in the 4th Subcircuit);
• Jeffrey G. Chrones (unopposed candidate for one of the two new 18th Subcircuit seats); and
• Lloyd James Brooks (unopposed candidate for the other new 17th Subcircuit seat).

If you follow the links to the appointment orders, you'll see that James V. Murphy is the exception referred to above. He has been appointed to the countywide Sullivan vacancy. The unopposed candidate for that vacancy, Judge James Murphy-Aguilù, is already serving, pursuant to a temporary Supreme Court appointment, in the Wojkowski vacancy to which James Murphy, no hyphen, will shortly be elected.

Today's appointments add only eight new judges to the bench. Brooks, Chrones, Fairman, and Miller are all currently serving as associate judges. (But their appointments will open up new subcircuit seats. If I am counting correctly, these appointments will create 'converted' subcircuit seats in the 19th, 20th, 16th, and 17th Subcircuits.)

Ten of these appointments are effective April 29. The Miller and Duignan appointments are effective June 11. All of these appointments terminate on December 2, just in time for these appointees to be sworn in as newly elected judges.

The Supreme Court's press release on today's appointments is available here.