A couple of other updates on retention returns

Nothing world-shaking here, but some may find this 'inside baseball' stuff of interest:

I'm reporting tonight that all 78 jurists on the Cook County retention ballot were retained, with the possible exception of Judge Shannon O'Malley, who is right at the 60% mark, just above or just below, with every update.

And there will be several more updates from the election authorities before the results are certified. But there are a couple of other stories, too:

Judge Ieshia Gray is the only other retention judge polling below 60% in this evening's City returns... but she is not very far below the mark, at 59.65%, and her suburban percentage, 64.51%, is more than sufficient to offset the City deficit.

Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. is painfully close to the 60% mark in this evening's City numbers (60.01%) but he, too, is the beneficiary of better numbers in the suburbs (65.55%).

And, of course, I keep saying 78 jurists on the retention ballot -- and there were, if you counted -- but that's not entirely correct. Celia Gamrath was on the retention ballot, but she is no longer on the Circuit Court bench. She was an unopposed candidate for the Appellate Court this past Tuesday, and she was appointed to the Appellate Court by the Supreme Court, effective September 6.

It is not unheard of for a judge seeking election to the Appellate Court to remain on the retention ballot, too. We lawyers are a risk-averse bunch. And there was that time, quite a few years back now, where a judge got elected to the Appellate Court and lost his Circuit Court retention bid. But Gamrath's case was different, in that, by taking the Appellate Court appointment, she left the Circuit Court behind. The Supreme Court even included Gamrath's 8th Subcircuit vacancy in its recent announcement of vacancies to be filled.