Cook County Democratic Party announces 2026 judicial slate

And it's a short one. (Hat tip for Frank Calabrese for being the first to provide it to me, because, this year, I could not attend the slating session in person.)

There are only four countywide vacancies at this point in the election cycle. That's the smallest number of vacancies since 1994, according to 46th Ward Committeeperson Sean Tenner.

Two of the four slated judicial candidates are already serving as judges pursuant to Supreme Court appointment. These are Michael Cabonargi (Coghlan vacancy) and D’Anthony (Tony) Thedford (Karkula vacancy). A third appointee, Linda Sackey (Hooks vacancy), was not slated. The Party endorsed Ava George Stewart and Luz Maria Toledo for the final two known vacancies.

Ava George Stewart was the highest remaining alternate from the 2024 slating. (OK, actually, she started out as the 6th alternate, but she moved up to the second position when Yolanda Sayre chose to run in the 5th Subcircuit.) Stewart has been licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 2003, according to ARDC. According to a profile published on the website of the Womens Bar Association of Illinois, Stewart worked in private practice for over 16 years before becoming Chief of the Misdemeanor/ Traffic Division of the Lake County State's Attorney's Office. According to ARDC, Stewart is now back in private practice in Chicago.

Luz Maria Toledo is a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney, according to ARDC, and has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since 2006. She has not previously sought election to the bench.

The Party also named nine alternates for Circuit Court vacancies that may (or may not) open up between now and November 3, when the special judicial filing period ends. The nine alternates are, in order:

1. Steve McKenzie,
2. Mischelle Luckett,
3. Nisha Dotson,
4. Kevin Ochalla,
5. David Badillo,
6. Gregory Mitchell,
7. Mark Javier,
8. Mark Lawrence, and
9. Anna Sedelmaier.

How many vacancies will open up in the weeks to come? In some years there have been none at all. In 2024, one Circuit Court vacancy opened up. There may be more this time around.

Committeeperson Tenner noted that the election calendar has been pushed up a month this year (to allow more time, on the other end, for the resolution of petition challenges). Some judges who may be contemplating retirement would not necessarily have advanced their plans by that same month, Tenner speculated. There may also be some who are waiting to see how the forthcoming Chief Judge election turns out before finalizing their own plans, he added. Moreover, he said, the continued use of Zoom hearings may make staying on the job more attractive than it might be otherwise.

Frank Calabrese noted that the Party has encouraged legislation creating more subcircuit vacancies; the Party wants candidates to run in those races, he suggested. Given these priorities, judges holding countywide seats may not be facing as much pressure from politicians to step aside, at least compared to other election years.

I heard of at least one more recently elected judge who has vowed never to retire because the Tier II pension system does not make early retirement attractive. Who knows? If this attitude is widespread, turnover will certainly be reduced. But I agree there may be more value than usual in being a slated alternate for 2026.

Until the unexpected passing of Justice Thomas E. Hoffman, there were no vacancies on the Appellate Court. But the Democratic Party slatemakers promptly slated Judge Judith Rice for Hoffman's vacancy. Rice had been the top remaining Appellate Court alternate from the 2024 election cycle. (Justice LeRoy K. Martin, Jr. is about to assume the Hoffman vacancy pursuant to reassignment by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's action came before the slating meeting, but only by a couple of days.)

Party slatemakers also named three Appellate Court alternates. These are, in order, Sanjay Tailor, Sandra Ramos, and William Sullivan. Tailor's selction comes with an asterisk: it is conditional on his appointment to a vacancy on the Appellate Court.

In fact, Tailor is already serving on the Appellate Court; the Supreme Court assigned him to duty on that court in 2022. It may be that, after Justice Martin, Justice Tailor would be the next person to be moved into an up-or-out slot, should an additional vacancy occur, but that is speculation on my part. It would, however, explain the conditional language from the slatemakers.