They're looking for evaluators now because 2026 judicial candidates will shortly be popping up, like dandelions in the early spring.
The candidates will be surfacing earlier than ever this year because of our insane primary system.
Persons who are now thinking of running for judge are running for a job whose starting date is the first Monday in December 2026. For those of you who don't wish to take off your shoes to calculate, that's 668 days from today. Essentially one year... on Mars. That vast length of time still may be difficult to comprehend. Let's try it this way: At the next status hearing on your Law Division case, tell the honorable motion judge that you want 668 days to get your depositions done. Then duck. Not a civil attorney? How about this: April 11, 2023 was 668 days ago. How much water has gone under the bridge since then for you, Dear Reader?
Normal people, in the real world, don't usually deal with timescales like this when dealing with potential employment. You, Dear Reader, may have sought work previously. At least I don't think FWIW attracts many readers who are still living with Mom and Dad. When seeking employment, you have looked at positions currently open, or coming open soon. Where a job is made available, you have presumably sought the earliest possible start date, allowing only for a courteous transition from your current situation (the proverbial two weeks' notice, typically, with adjustments appropriate to the circumstances).
For those serious about running in the next election cycle, your part is not to question the rationality of our system (that way lies madness); rather, your part is to figure out how to survive in the real world, and remain employed, while pursuing this chimera. You have to pretend, for one thing, that the election calendar makes sense, though it doesn't, because you must master it.
Remember: Assuming that this election is consistent with our recent elections, the identities of those persons who will get to be judges 668 days hence will be determined in 403 days, on March 17, 2026. To get on the ballot -- to have a chance to run in the Democratic primary -- you will have to start circulating petitions in August of this year -- only six months down the road.
Makes it a bit more immediate, don't it? (Even if it doesn't make it one iota less insane....)
The Cook County Democratic Party lives with this calendar. With everything moved up a month or so for the 2026 campaign season, slating may be in June this year... in four months or so... pre-slating may be in April... perhaps no more than 60 days hence.
Which brings us back to the March 29 Road to the Robe presentation. No speakers have been announced for this event, but, in the past, the persons who have presented were truly well-versed in Cook County election law and procedure. Anyone thinking of running in 2026 would do well to consider attending this event. The information you need to register is on the graphic above.
But... remember this: The Cook County Democratic Party is not just putting on an educational event; it is actively shopping for candidates. This is one way of finding out who is running... and who the Party may be interested in backing.
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