Congratulations to the presumptive winners... but....

I mentioned earlier today that Steven Q. McKenzie, Ava George Stewart, and Judge D'Anthony "Tony" Thedford are running unopposed in the Democratic Primary for their respective countywide vacancies and that Judge Judith C. Rice is running unopposed in the Democratic Primary for the Hoffman vacancy on the Illinois Appellate Court. I mentioned, too, that -- no Republicans having filed in any of these races (indeed, no Republicans having filed in any Cook County judicial race) -- these individuals are almost certain to be elected a year from now, on the first Tuesday of November 2026.

My congratulations to each of these candidates and also to each of the following subcircuit candidates, who also remain unopposed after the filing period closed yesterday:

• John Carroll - 3rd Subcircuit - Murphy vacancy (appointed to this vacancy earlier this year by the Illinois Supreme Court);


• Kim Przekota - 11th Subcircuit - Roberts vacancy (appointed to this vacancy earlier this year by the Illinois Supreme Court);


• Robert "Bob" Groebner - 13th Subcircuit - Curry, Jr. vacancy;
• Brittany Michelle Pedersen - 13th Subcircuit - Martin C. Kelley vacancy;
• William F. Kelley - 13th Subcircuit - Thomas J. Kelley vacancy;
• Dan Naranjo - 13th Subcircuit - O'Malley vacancy (appointed to this vacancy earlier this year by the Illinois Supreme Court);


• Julian Sanchez Crozier - 16th Subcircuit - Converted from the Associate Judgeship of Callie L. Baird;
• Jessica Karina Velez - 16th Subcircuit - Converted from the Vacancy of the Hon. Patricia Mendoza;


• Sam Bae - 18th Subcircuit - Converted from the Vacancy of the Hon. Frank J. Andreou;


• Sara McGann - 19th Subcircuit - Converted from the Vacancy of the Hon. John A. Fairman (appointed to this vacancy in July by the Illinois Supreme Court); and


• Michael J. Zink - 20th Subcircuit - Converted from the Vacancy of the Hon. David E. Haracz (appointed to this vacancy last year by the Illinois Supreme Court).

That's 11 uncontested subcircuit vacancies so far, out of a total of 23. (It was 22, but we have to add in the new Ross vacancy in the 5th Subcircuit.)

Anyway -- before objections are filed to anyone's nominating petitions -- before any electoral board proceedings that may further diminish the field of candidates -- already three of the five countywide vacancies and nearly half of the subcircuit vacancies are uncontested. That's great for the candidates in question... and I do mean that... but is this news equally great for the voters? What does this say about how lawyers view judicial service? Or about the costs and sacrifices necessary to attain the bench? What does this say about the health of our political process generally? I don't pretend to have anwers to these questions, but I have significant concerns.