Advocates Society recommends 40 Cook County Circuit Court judges for retention

The Advocates Society has released a list of 39 Cook County Circuit Court judges and one McHenry County judge that it recommends for retention on the November ballot. The announcemet is reproduced above. The McHenry County judge is 22nd Circuit Chief Judge Michael J. Chmiel. The 39 Cook County judges are:

1. Ronald Bartkowicz
2. Mary Brosnahan
3. Joel Chupack
4. H. Yvonne Coleman
5. Adrienne Davis
6. Daniel Degnan
7. Kent Delgado
8. John Ehrlich
9. Ellen Flannigan
10. Peter Gonzalez
11. Ieshia Gray
12. Jack Hagerty
13. Robert Harris
14. Lindsay Huge
15. Lionel Jean-Baptiste
16. Preston Jones, Jr.
17. Martin Kelley
18. Kathaleen Lanahan
19. Stuart Lubin
20. Lisa Ann Marino
21. Diann Marsalek
22. Thomas McGuire
23. Scott D. McKenna
24. Michael T. Mullen
25. Shannon P. O'Malley
26. Erika Orr
27. Linda Perez
28. Marian Perkins
29. Joanne Rosado
30. Stephanie Saltouros
31. Beatriz Santiago
32. Debra Seaton
33. James Shapiro
34. Tom Sianis
35. Rosa Maria Silva
36. Maura Slattery Boyle
37. James Varga
38. Andrea Webber
39. Jeanne Wrenn

Tickets available for October 18 Illinois Bar Foundation Gala

The Illinois Bar Foundation will hold its 2024 Gala on Friday, October 18, at the Old Post Office, 433 W. Van Buren. This black tie event will begin with a VIP reception at 6:00 p.m.; a general reception will follow at 6:30 p.m. A full seated dinner and program will follow the receptions, with live and silent auctions, dancing, and cocktails.

At the program, the IBF will bestow its Distinguished Award for Excellence on Jay Edelson of Edelson PC, saluting his "leadership in the Illinois legal and philanthropic communities coupled with his dedication to serving others through the practice of law." In addition, event organizers promise "a little whimsy."

Tickets for the event are $500 apiece, although discounted tickets (for $400 each) are available for nonprofit and government attorneys and judges. Complimentary valet parking and coat check are avaialble, but these tickets do not include admission to the VIP reception.

Event tickets that include admission to the VIP reception are $1,000 each.

Sponsorships are also available (Benefactor - $10,000, Gala Partner - $25,000, Gala Cornerstone - $50,000, Presenting Sponsor - $75,000). Each increasing level of sponsorship comes with increasing perks and numbers of VIP tickets. For a complete list of all available sponsorships, or to simply order tickets, click on this page of the IBF website. While the physical program book is already at the printer's, there are still opportunities to be included in the digital program book.

In addition, the IBF is hosting a raffle offering a five-night stay for two to the winner's choice of Tuscany, Bali, Thailand, Paris, or Greece. For more information about the raffle, visit this page of the IBF website. Questions about the Gala may be directed to Jessie Reeves, Director of Events & Administration, at jreeves@illinoisbarfoundation.org.

October 24 fundraiser for Judge de Castro

It wasn't supposed to be this way. Pablo de Castro won his Democratic primary race this past March and then, in April, since he (and all countywide Cook County judicial candidates) had no Republican opposition, the Illinois Supreme Court gave de Castro an early start on his judicial career.

Now, however, de Castro finds that he is not unopposed after all.

Thus, Judge de Castro's supporters are planning a fundraiser for his fall campaign. The event is set for Thursday, October 24, starting at 7:00 p.m., at Sketchbook Brewing Co., 4901 Main St., Skokie. Jazz singer and songwriter Kurt Elling will perform.

Tickets are $150 each. Sponsorships are available (Friend - $250, Supporter - $500, Host - $1,000). Tickets are available at this DemocracyEngine link on the candidate's website. And, who knows? Perhaps that QR code in the graphic above may also do something, for those who know how to work such things....

Probate Division update: Docket books out, screens and keyboards in

A note and an accompanying photo from the Chief Judge's Office:

Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans met with Probate judges and staff on Friday, September 27 to celebrate the opening of new Probate Division Courtroom 1813. This new courtroom replaces the antiquated docket room and is updated with high tech equipment which will improve access to justice for lawyers and litigants. As of October 1, 2024, cases assigned to guardianship of minors' estates Calendar 1, are being heard in the new courtroom by Judge Daniel R. Degnan. Pictured are Judge Terrence J. McGuire, Chief Judge Evans, Judge Degnan (seated), Presiding Judge Daniel B. Malone, Judge Susan Kennedy-Sullivan, and Judge Amee Alonso.

I wonder if there are any docket books left in the Daley Center; this may be the finish. When I started out, there were docket books in every division. Unlike a lot of court files, the old books were too big and heavy to grow legs and walk away. The status of any given case could be ascertained, even if the file jacket was missing. Or, and this sometimes proved to be the case, the file was not missing, but actually accounted for, only in another location, such as a courtroom.

Technology is great -- you're reading this, aren't you? -- but it is subject to hacking by enemies foreign and domestic, sunspots, power outages, and (perhaps, someday) control of all those AI entities we're so heedlessly setting up and letting loose. Is there no one left who saw James T. Kirk or Dr. Who fight existential battles with megalomaniacal machines? Those old TV shows were warnings, people....

Seventy-seven of 78 Cook County jurists recommended for retention by the Chicago Bar Association

Updated 10/4/24 after CBA's release of explanation for its recommendation regarding Judge Marino

The Chicago Bar Association released its "Judge Smart" Guide for the upcoming election.

The headline here has the main story: The CBA has recommended retention for 77 of the 78 Cook County jurists seeking new terms. That number includes both of the Appellate Court justices seeking retention, as well as 75 out of the 76 Circuit Court judges seeking new six-year terms. The only judge not recommended for retention was Judge Lisa Ann Marino.

The CBA JEC has released the following explanation of its rating regarding Judge Marino:

Judge Lisa Marino has been found “Not Recommended” for retention as a Circuit Court. Judge Marino was admitted to practice in 1988 and was elected as a judge in 2012. She has been sitting in the First Municipal District, Housing Section, since 2016. Significant concerns about Judge Marino’s knowledge of the law, temperament, and diligence resulted in the “Not Recommended” finding.

The CBA did not recommend Marino for retention in 2018; as in 2024, in 2018 Marino was the only retention judge receiving a 'not recommended' rating from the CBA. Marino's biography on the Cook County Retention Judges website correctly notes that the CBA did rate Marino qualified when she was elected to the bench in 2012.

The CBA no longer explains its reasons for rating retention judges qualified.

The CBA "Judge Smart" Guide also discloses the CBA's rating for Republican countywide candidate Tien H. Glaub. (Glaub was not a candidate in the Republican primary and was not therefore not evaluated at that time.) But Glaub did file for associate judge in 2021, and the CBA did issue an unfavorable rating then. That rating was not changed for this election:

Pursuant to section 34, rule 27.4 of The Chicago Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Committee’s Governing Resolution, The Executive Committee has voted that Tien H. Glaub’s prior finding of NOT RECOMMENDED shall stand.

FWIW has not yet done an Organizing the Data post on the now-contested countywide Flannery vacancy, pending the release of all bar evaluations of Glaub's candidacy.

Voters can read the CBA's evaluations for all candidates on the November ballot, but with the exception of the race for the Flannery vacancy and four suburban subcircuit races, all judicial elections on the November ballot in Cook County are uncontested.

FWIW has published Organizing the Data posts in those four subcircuit races. These posts contain the CBA's explanation of its ratings of the competing candidates. These posts may be found at these links:

• Organizing the Data: 18th Subcircuit - Converted from Associate Judgeship of Linn;
• Organizing the Data: 12th Subcircuit - Dickler vacancy;
• Organizing the Data: 12th Subcircuit - Quinn vacancy; and
• Organizing the Data: 12th Subcircuit - Schleifer vacancy.

Appellate Lawyers Association needs sponsors, judges for November Moot Court competition

The Appellate Lawyers Association is looking for judges and sponsors for its annual Hudson Memorial Moot Court Competition, to be held November 1 and 2. The Friday, November 1 sessions will be held at DePaul University College of Law, while the Saturday, November 2 sessions will be conducted at the Daley Center.

Non-ALA members are welcome to serve as judges or brief graders.

Or sponsors.

Or all of the above. Actually, the ALA would be probably be pleased as punch were you to volunteer to judge and write a check as a sponsor.

There will be three sessions for the tournament's November 1 first round, at 9:30 a.m., noon, and 3:30 p.m. Thirty-four judges are needed for each session. Ten judges will also be needed for the quarterfinal round of the competition, on November 2, at 9:30 a.m. (Actual Appellate Court Justices will judge the semi-final and final rounds.)

The ALA will also need 34 brief graders.

To volunteer for one of these slots, click on this page of the ALA website and follow the applicable link.

Judges will receive CLE credit for their service. The Supreme Court Rules do not permit graders to receive CLE credit. (Personally, this seems backward to me: Grading the briefs seems at least as credit-worthy as serving as a judge at one of these compensations -- but, to date, the Supreme Court has not solicited my views on the subject.)

Now... about those sponsorship opportunities.... The ALA is offering four levels of sponsorship (Bronze - $250, Silver - $500, Gold - $750, and Platinum - $1,000). Only two Platinum sponsorships are available.

The benefits appertaining to each level of sponsorship may be found by following the applicable links from this page of the ALA website. Yes, it's the same page as the one linked above. But you are clicking to a different link from this page.

Unless, of course, you offer to both judge and sponsor. Which, as noted, the ALA would like very much....