Justice Tailor announces application process for two countywide, two subcircuit vacancies

Remember when I mentioned that Justice Tailor had announced a committee to assist with screening candidates for temporary appointments to judicial vacancies? Well, it appears the committee is about to be activated. Here's the press release from the Supreme Court:

Supreme Court Justice Sanjay T. Tailor has begun an application process for four judicial vacancies – two at-large vacancies and two subcircuit vacancies – in Cook County.

The at-large vacancies are for the seats of Judge Diana Rosario (vacant as of June 1, 2026) and Judge Shelley Sutker-Dermer (vacant effective December 7, 2026), and the subcircuit vacancies are for the seats of Judge Sybil Thomas (19th Subcircuit, vacant as of January 31, 2026) and Judge Pamela Loza (12th Subcircuit, vacant effective September 18, 2026).

Under the Illinois Constitution, judicial vacancies are filled on an interim basis by Supreme Court appointment. Justice Tailor will make recommendations to the Supreme Court after applicants for the position undergo a screening and evaluation process.

The application form and instructions may be obtained by visiting the Illinois Supreme Court’s website at www.illinoiscourts.gov and following the instructions in the latest news scroller announcing the Cook County vacancies.

Applications must be filed electronically and the deadline for submission is 5 p.m. on September 10, 2026.

The persons appointed to fill the vacancies will serve until the first Monday in December following the November 2028 election.

To be eligible for consideration for appointment, the applicant must be a lawyer in good standing, licensed to practice law in Illinois, and a resident of the county or subcircuit at the time of appointment.

To be honest, I'm a little surprised that the 19th Subcircuit 'vacancy' is included in this list. As the press release notes, this judgeship was created by the retirement of Associate Judge Sybil C. Thomas and it was assigned to the 19th Subcircuit by operation of the Judicial Circuits Districting Act of 2022. It is a position that has sprung into existence through legislative legerdemain; it would be filled, under the statute, in the forthcoming 2028 general election, but since it has not existed heretofore -- that is, it has never been filled -- how can it now be considered "vacant"?

Filling the position by temporary appointment will not increase the judicial population: Judge Thomas is no longer serving. But for the Judicial Circuits Districting Act of 2022, Judge Thomas's vacancy would have been filled by the appointment of a new associate judge. But, under the Act, that associate judgeship has ceased to exist. But how is there a vacancy in an office that has never had an occupant?

Hopefully someone can explain this to all of us. (And, no, I really don't think for one moment that any eligible 19th Subcircuit resident with judicial ambitions will let this statutory conundrum deter their filing an application for this position. But I'd still like an explanation. If there is one.)