Two candidate forums on June 17 that may be of interest to would-be judicial candidates

The 38th Ward Dems, the Norwood Park Township Dems, Dems 45, 30th Ward Democrats, and 39th Ward Democrats will hold a Candidate Forum (they're calling it a Super Tuesday Endorsement Session) on Tuesday, June 17, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Copernicus Center Annex, 5216 W. Lawrence Ave. Candidates for the U.S. Senate, all statewide offices, all countywide offices, Board of Review, County Commissioner, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, State Senator, and State Representatives will be interviewed.

Note that judicial candidates are not specifically mentioned.

Aside to would-be judicial candidates: Get used to this. In the political world, candidates for commissioner of the MWRD rank orders of magnitude ahead of you.

Nevertheless, the good will of sponsors of events like these may be vitally important to the achievement of your judicial ambitions. So it may be worthwhile to attend.

Registration is required (and, obviously, judicial hopefuls would want to register, if only so that some of the worthies sponsoring the event might become aware of your existence). I believe this link will take intersted persons to a Google form from which registration may be accomplished. If that doesn't work, many of the sponsoring groups have websites, Facebook, or Instagram pages.

A similar event, sponsored by the 40th, 43rd, 46th, and 47th Ward Democrats, will take place next Tuesday at the exact same time as the Northwest Side event. The North Side event will take place, however, at DePaul College Prep High School (which you may remember as Gordon Tech), 3300 N. Campbell. Registration for this event is also required (try this link or visit the website, Facebook page, or Instagram page of one of the sponsoring groups).

Another aside to would-be judicial candidates: If slated, or if you attract significant support of any kind, you will find times where you have to be in two places at once. Maybe more than two places. This is another thing you just have to deal with. Figure it out. Plan. Always follow the laws of Illinois -- but be prepared to evade the laws of physics. Because these are the kinds of things that successful candidates do figure out.

Ginger Leigh Odom appointed to 1st Subcircuit vacancy

The Illinois Supreme Court today entered an Order appointing Ginger Leigh Odom to the 1st Subcircuit vacancy created when Judge Carl A. Walker was elected to the Appellate Court.

The appointment is effective June 23 and terminates December 7, 2026.

Odom currently serves as Director of the Expungement Unit in the Office of the State Appellate Defender.

A press release issued by the Supreme Court in conjunction with Odom's appointment notes that Odom has service with the OSAD for over 20 years, becoming Director of the Expungement Unit in 2020. She has been licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 2003, according to ARDC.

Odom additionally serves on the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice where she is a member of the Forms Committee and as an adjunct professor of law at the DePaul University School of Law, according to the Supreme Court's press release.

A profile of Odom on the Chicago-Kent Law School website (Odom is a 2003 graduate of that school) says that she was a "non-traditional student." Odom grew up in Texas and moved to New York to study dance and theater as soon as she was old enough, in the mid-1980s, when the city’s artists were caught in the throes of the AIDS epidemic. A single parent while attending law school, Odom waited tables and tended bar to pay her bills. Quoting now from the Chicago-Kent profile:

“The night that I found out that I passed the bar exam, I got a call from a person that I had never met,” says Odom. “She asked what I would do now that I’d passed the bar. I told her I wanted to work on death penalty cases. She said, ‘Do you want to work for me?’”

The woman was Sheila Murphy, the first female presiding judge in Cook County. She gave Odom a job working a death penalty case out of Texas.

With Murphy’s support and encouragement, Odom again applied to the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender and the Office of the State Appellate Defender, both of which had rejected her just months ago.

Odom joined OSAD. She did apply for associate judge, in 2021 and 2022, and she did present her credentials at a Cook County Democratic Party pre-slatemaking event in 2023.

Odom's appointment was made pursuant to an application process announced by Supreme Court Justice Joy V. Cunningham in December 2024.

Michael Cabonargi appointed to countywide judicial vacancy

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Michael Cabonargi to the countywide vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Mary Ellen Coglan.

The appointment is effective tomorrow, June 13, and terminates December 7, 2026.

Cabonargi had recently been serving as Regional Director of the Great Lakes Region (Region V) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), responsible for Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and 34 indigenous tribal nations. According to a press release issued by the Supreme Court in conjunction with his appointment, Cabonargi served as a commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review between 2011 and 2022.

Licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 2001, according to ARDC, Cabonargi began his legal career as a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge William J. Hibbler. According to the Supreme Court's press release, before joining the Board of Review, Cabonargi worked for Bell, Boyd and Lloyd, LLC and, later, as a senior attorney and prosecutor in the Division of Enforcement at the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

A Wikipedia article about Cabonargi notes that he was a vice-chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois from 2019 to 2023. He was elected State Central Committeeman from the 9th Congressional District in 2018. Before attending law school, according to Wikipedia, Cabonargi worked as a staff assistant and economic development advisor in the Chicago office of U.S. senator Paul Simon. In 1997, Cabonargi worked as a staff assistant in the Chicago office of U.S. senator Dick Durbin.

Cabonargi was slated by the Cook County Democratic Party for Clerk of the Circuit Court in 2020, but lost in the primary.

Cabonargi's appointment was made pursuant to an application process announced by Supreme Court Justice Joy V. Cunningham in December 2024.

Chief Judge Evans announces several new presiding judges

The following is a press release issued yesterday by the Office of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans:

Chief Judge Evans is pleased to announce the following judicial assignments.

The Hon. Thomas V. Lyons, II, has been appointed Acting Presiding Judge of the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, effective immediately.

Judge Lyons was appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2008, and was elected to that position in 2010. Judge Lyons began his judicial career in Traffic Court, and then as a jury trial judge in the First Municipal District. Since 2014, Judge Lyons has served as a trial judge in the Law Division.

Judge Lyons began his legal career in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he served in the Criminal, Narcotics, Special Prosecutions, and Civil Actions Bureaus of that office. Judge Lyons served as Deputy Chief of the Civil Actions Bureau under State’s Attorney Richard Devine before working as a trial lawyer in private practice.

Judge Lyons succeeds Law Division Presiding Judge James P. Flannery, Jr. and Acting Presiding Judge Kathy M. Flanagan.

“I am honored and humbled to be chosen to serve the division in this capacity,” Judge Lyons said. “I look forward to continuing to work with the Chief Judge, and the judges and attorneys working in the Law Division to help the division run as efficiently and fairly as possible.”

Judge Lyons is the former Chairman of the Torts Section Council for the Illinois State Bar Association, a member of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Judges’ Association and the Illinois Judges’ Foundation. He is a frequent presenter at CLE presentations and seminars and serves as a faculty member for the Education Conference of Illinois Judges.

He earned his BA from Northwestern University and his JD from Loyola University School of Law.

The Hon. Maureen Ward Kirby has been appointed presiding judge of the County Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Judge Ward Kirby has been serving as Acting Presiding Judge since July 2023, when she replaced the Hon. Rena Marie Van Tine, who was appointed a justice with the First District Appellate Court.

Judge Ward Kirby joined the bench in 2007 following a distinguished career as partner at Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, handling complex commercial litigation cases. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable James H. Alesia of the Northern District of Illinois.

Prior to joining the County Division, Judge Ward Kirby was assigned to traffic court in the First Municipal Division and was later transferred to the Domestic Relations Division.

Judge Ward Kirby is also a frequent lecturer on civil mental health law, is a member of the Illinois Mental Health Task Force, and currently serves on the Illinois Supreme Court Special Advisory Committee for Justice and Mental Health Planning. Judge Ward Kirby is a certified Supreme Court of Illinois new judge judicial mentor and has previously served as a New Judge Cohort Leader. She graduated magna cum laude from Boston College and from Loyola University of Chicago Law School.

The Hon. Geary W. Kull has been appointed Presiding Judge of the Fourth Municipal District of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Judge Kull has been serving as Acting Presiding Judge since October 2023.

Judge Kull has been a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County since 2009, and has served in the Fourth Municipal District, in Maywood, since 2011. He was first appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court, and won election to the Ninth Subcircuit in 2010.

Prior to joining the bench, Judge Kull served as an assistant public defender for Cook County between 1975 and 1981, including as a member of the Murder Task Force between 1979 and 1981. Before going to the Public Defender’s Office, Judge Kull served for three years as a case worker for the Cook County Department of Public Aid. At the end of his service with the Public Defender, Judge Kull maintained a private criminal defense practice between October 1981 and 2009.

Judge Kull is a graduate of John Marshall Law School (now the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law), and has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Arizona. When appointed Acting Presiding Judge in 2023, Judge Kull replaced the Hon. Ramon Ocasio III, who was appointed a justice with the First District Appellate Court.

Judge Evans also assigned Circuit Judge Catherine A. Schneider to the County Division, effective June 9, 2025. Judge Schneider was previously assigned to the Law Division.

Judge Evans also assigned Circuit Judge John T. Tully, Jr to the Law Division, effective June 9, 2025. Judge Tully was previously assigned to the County Division.

Judge Evans also assigned Circuit Judge Ralph E. Meczyk to the Fourth Municipal District, effective June 10, 2025. Judge Meczyk was previously assigned to the Traffic Division.

Judge Daniel O. Tiernan plans 8th Subcircuit run, campaign website established

Cook County Associate Judge Daniel O. Tiernan has announced plans to seek the Gamrath vacancy in the 8th Subcircuit. His campaign recently launched a campaign website in support of this effort. That's a link to the campaign website in the preceding sentence. Eventually, as we get further into the 2026 election cycle, this link will be added to a list of campaign websites in the Sidebar here on the web version of FWIW.

Tiernan entered judicial service in February 2019, when the Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to a vacancy in the old 14th Subcircuit. He was a candidate for that vacancy in the 2020 election cycle.

Like many judicial appointees over the years, Tiernan applied for associate judge, even as he was running to keep the seat to which he'd been appointed. He was one of six sitting judges who were chosen as associate judges in the 2019 selection process.

Tiernan's campaign bio notes that he attended Brother Rice High School, Moraine Valley Community College, Northern Illinois University, and Northern Illinois University College of Law. Tiernan spent 12 years in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office after graduating from law school. He then became "a Managing Partner and Principal owner in the Law Firm of Delgado and Tiernan, PC, establishing his law firm in the heart of the 8th Subcircuit," spending 10 years in this role before joining the Cook County Office of the Independent Inspector General.

Tiernan's campaign bio also points out his active support of a number of charities, including the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a childhood cancer research charity, the Niall Mellon Township Trust, which helps build houses for the homeless and schools for children, and March Forth Kenya Kids, a program that uses music to enrich the lives of children from economically challenged families.

Judge Michael Zink announces plans to run in 20th Subcircuit, launches campaign website

Michael Zink, who was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to a 20th Subcircuit vacancy late last year, has announced plans to seek election to the vacancy to which he was appointed.

A campaign website has been launched in furtherance of this effort. That's a link to the campaign website in the preceding sentence. Eventually, as we get further into the 2026 election cycle, this link will be added to a list of campaign websites in the Sidebar here on the web version of FWIW.

In a press release announcing his election bid, Zink's campaign quotes him as saying, "I am running for judge because public service is my calling. I want to ensure our judicial system is fair and accessible, and that judges reject implicit bias and promote equal justice under the law."

Zink's campaign announcement touts both his "extensive litigation experience in Cook County’s civil courts" and a number of endorsements, including those of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Congressman Mike Quigley, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, State Senator Sara Feigenholtz, State Representative Margaret Croke, State Representative Ann Williams, Alderperson Bennett Lawson (44th Ward), Alderperson Angela Clay (46th Ward), Alderperson Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th Ward), Democratic Committeeperson Maggie O’Keefe (40th Ward), Democratic Committeeperson Lucy Moog (43rd Ward), and Democratic Committeeperson Sean Tenner (46th Ward).

Before his appointment to the bench, Zink was a candidate for a 20th Subcircuit vacancy in the 2024 election cycle.