Supreme Court recalls a number of judges to service in Cook County

Updated December 17, 2025 to reflect Corrected Orders entered today regarding the starting date for two of the recalled judges

In a series of orders entered yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court recalled eight judges to service in Cook County, most of them starting December 15 and all of them ending on December 7, 2026, when the new class of elected judges will take office.

Two of the judges recalled and assigned to service in Cook County never served as a judge here. Judges Carla Alessio Policandriotes, formerly sat in the 12th Judicial Circuit (Will County), and Joseph Mac Leberman, served in the far Downstate 1st Circuit. (Since this article first appeared, the Supreme Court has entered a Corrected Order -- now linked -- indicating Judge Policandriotes will return to the bench on December 22.)

One of the orders entered yesterday was vacated today, due to "clerical error."

The other judges recalled yesterday (who are still being recalled as of today) are:

• Jeanne R. Cleveland,
• Sebastian T. Patti,
• Donald J. Suriano,
• Diane M. Shelley (corrected order), and
• James R. Brown

If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time in over a decade that any judges have been recalled to service in Cook County.

Section 12(c) of Article VI of the 1970 Illinois Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power to appoint judges to vacancies, but, in addition, Section 15(a) of Article VI gives the Court the authority to recall and assign "[a]ny retired Judge or Associate Judge, with his or her consent... to judicial service for which he or she shall receive the applicable compensation in lieu of retirement benefits."

This language explains why each of the recall orders linked here begins with an acknowledgement that the judge has consented to the recall: Judges, once retired, can't be drafted into additional service against their wills.

It is not just the retired judge who must consent to the return engagement: While it may not be spelled out in the Illinois Constituton, the Court would not ordinarily return a judge to service against the wishes of the chief judge in the circuit to which the retired judge would be assigned. (Weasel words are used here because I can't assert as an absolute fact that the Court has never placed a particular retired judge back in harness despite the objections of a chief judge. Usually, however, the Court only returns judges to service where the chief judge in a circuit persuades the Court of a need for additional help -- if it were otherwise, a recalled judge might show up for work and find that he or she has nothing to do. If the chief judge is seeking help, it would stand to reason that the chief might also have some input into who might provide that help.)

While anyone browsing the archives of Supreme Court orders will find recall orders entered from time to time outside Cook County, the last time that I know of anyone being recalled here was in 2013 (I know I can rely on FWIW readers to correct me if I am in error here) (also, if anyone goes back to the linked 2013 article, the links therein are broken -- but that is not my fault -- the Court has changed websites in the intervening years).