BWLA announces judicial evaluations for 2024 primary

Updated 2/22/24 with additional information

The Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greather Chicago, Inc. has released its evaluations of candidates running for judicial office in Cook County in the March primary. All the Alliance bar groups will be releasing evaluations soon. The Chicago Bar Association, which is not part of the Alliance, expects to have its ratings out by the end of the month. But the BWLA is the first to finish, and release, its list.

An "NR" rating means that the candidate is not recommended by the BWLA; an "R" rating means that the candidate is recommended. Recommendations are not endorsements. As you will note, in some races, the BWLA has recommended all candidates, while in others it has not recommended any candidate.

All of the persons listed below are candidates in the Democratic primary except for those persons with an asterisk (*) following their names. Persons with asterisks following their names are candidates in the Republican primary.

Herewith, then, the BWLA ratings:

ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT, 1ST DISTRICT

Hon. Anne M. Burke Vacancy

Joy Virginia Cunningham – R
Jesse G. Reyes – R

ILLINOIS APPELLATE COURT

Hon. Maureen E. Connors Vacancy

Mary Lane Mikva - R

Hon. Joy V. Cunningham Vacancy

Cynthia Y. Cobbs – R
Carolyn J. Gallagher – R

Hon. Mathias W. Delort Vacancy

Celia Louise Gamrath – R
Leonard Murray – R

Hon. Eileen O’Neill Burke Vacancy

Carl Anthony Walker - R

CIRCUIT COURT - COUNTYWIDE

Hon. James P. Flannery, Jr. Vacancy

Pablo F. DeCastro – R
Chelsey Renece Robinson – R

Hon. Vincent Gaughan Vacancy

Corrine C. Heggie - R

Hon. Catherine Haberkorn Vacancy

Sarah Johnson - R

Hon. Arnette Hubbard Vacancy

Deidre M. Dyer - R

Hon. Marcia Maras Vacancy

Arlene Y. Coleman-Romeo – R

Hon. Raymond W. Mitchell Vacancy

Neil Cohen – R
Wende Williams – NR

Hon. Timothy P. Murphy Vacancy

Edward Joseph Underhill – R
Lori Ann Roper – R

Hon. Lorna Propes Vacancy

Debjani ‘Deb’ Desai – R
Russ Hartigan – R

Hon. William Raines Vacancy

Jennifer Patricia Callahan - R

Hon. Laura M. Sullivan Vacancy

James S. Murphy-Aguilù – R

Hon. Debra B. Walker Vacancy

Chloe Georginna Pedersen – R

CIRCUIT COURT – SUBCIRCUITS

3rd SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Janet Adams Brosnahan Vacancy

Lucy Vazquez-Gonzalez – R
Martin Douglas Reggi – R

3rd SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Edward S. Harmening Vacancy

Pat Heery – R

4th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Peter Felice Vacancy

Michael M. Chvatal – R

4th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Edward J. King Vacancy

Phillip Fowler – R

4th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Edward M. Maloney Vacancy

Koula A. Fournier – R

5th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Casandra Lewis Vacancy

Yolanda Harris Sayre – R

7th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Irwin J. Solganick Vacancy

Deidre Baumann – R
Owens J. Shelby – R

8th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Ann Collins-Dole Vacancy

Loveleen Ahuja – R

10th SUBCIRCUIT- Hon. Clare E. McWilliams Vacancy

Caroline Glennon-Goodman - R

10th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Gregory J. Wojkowski Vacancy

Liam Kelly – R
James V. Murphy – R

11th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Ann Finley Collins Vacancy

Dawn Gonzalez – R

11th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Paula M. Daleo Vacancy

Kim Przekota - R
Audrey Victoria Cosgrove - R

12th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Grace G. Dickler Vacancy

Maria McCarthy* – R
Alon Stein – R

12th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Marguerite Quinn Vacancy

Frank J. Andreou – R
Pamela Curran Smith* – R

12th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Andrea M. Schleifer Vacancy

James ‘Jack’ Costello – R
Matthew Taylor* – NR

13th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Samuel J. Betar III Vacancy

Ralph E. Meczyk – R

13th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Ketki Shroff Steffen Vacancy

Mary Sevandal Cohen - R

14th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. James N. O’Hara Vacancy

Steve Demitro – R
Griselda Vega Samuel – R

14th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Daniel J. Pierce Vacancy

Stephanie Kathryn Miller – R

15th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Anna Helen Demacopoulos Vacancy

Paul A. O’Grady – R
Luciano ‘Lou’ Panici, Jr. – R
Allen Price Walker – R

15th SUBCIRCUIT - Hon. Michael P. Toomin

John A. Fairman – R

16th SUBCIRCUIT - Converted from the Associate Judgeship of the Hon. Lawrence E. Flood

Pedro Fregoso, Jr. – NR

16th SUBCIRCUIT - Converted from the Associate Judgeship of the Hon. Maxwell Griffin

Cecilia Abundis – NR

17th SUBCIRCUIT - Converted from the Associate Judgeship of the Hon. Carmen K. Aguilar

Rivanda Doss Beal – R

17th SUBCIRCUIT- Converted from the Associate Judgeship of the Hon. Brian K. Flaherty

Lloyd James Brooks – R

18th SUBCIRCUIT- Converted from the Associate Judgeship of the Hon. Lauren Gottainer Edidin

Sunil Bhave – R
Jeffery G. Chrones – R

18th SUBCIRCUIT- Converted from the Associate Judgeship of the Hon. James Linn

John Hock – R
Lynn Terese Palac* – R

19th SUBCIRCUIT- Converted from the Associate Judgeship of the Hon. Robert E. Senechalle, Jr.

Bridget Colleen Duignan – R
Dave Heilmann – R
Risa Renee Lanier – R

20th SUBCIRCUIT- Converted from the Associate Judgeship of the Hon. Elizabeth M. Budzinski

Nickolas Pappas – R
John Poulos – NR
Michael J. Zink – R
Nadine Jean Wichern – R

Nickolas Pappas campaign website found

A campaign website has been launched in support of Nickolas Pappas' 20th Subcircuit judicial bid. That's a link to the website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the Sidebar on this site.

Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1995, according to ARDC, Pappas currently operates his own practice. According to his campaign bio, Pappas worked as an analyst at Montgomery Ward's corporate headquarters for a few years before returning to law school. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, according to his campaign bio; his immigrant parents operated a restaurant and tavern "serving the employees from O’Hare Airport and the surrounding warehouses which operated 22 hours out of the day."

After completing law school, according to his campaign bio, Pappas went to work for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, serving there eight years before returning to the private sector, joining a "midsized law firm in downtown Chicago" (Querrey & Harrow Ltd.). He left that position to care for his father in his father's last illness, thereafter setting up his current, solo practice. In his current role, according to his résumé, Pappas has worked as a Special State's Attorney representing the Illinois Department of Healthcare & Family Services in Title IV-D cases. He was also general counsel for Lakeland Healthcare Group, LLC from December 2012 until April 2015.

Pappas has previously applied to be an associate judge; this is his first campaign for election to the bench.

Campaign website found for Luciano "Lou" Panici, Jr.

Supporters of Luciano "Lou" Panici Jr.'s 15th Subcircuit judicial bid have launched a campaign website in support of that venture. That's a link to the site in the preceding sentence; a link has been added to the Sidebar on this site.

Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 2009, according to ARDC, Panici has spent his legal career with the Law Offices of Dennis G. Gianopolus, P.C. in Lansing.

According to his campaign bio, Panici's practice involves municipal prosecutions and defending municipalities in various forms of civil litigation as well as criminal defense work and DUI representations. He has also worked on election, real estate, estate planning, personal injury matters, and serves as an Administrative Hearing Officer for several South Suburban municipalities, according to his campaign bio.

A member of the Board of Directors of the South Suburban Bar Association, according to his campaign bio, Panici lives in Chicago Heights with his wife and two daughters. His father has served as an associate judge in Cook County since 2001.

Looking at the Ashonta Rice story from inside the bubble

Mystified.

Watching (and listening to and scrolling through) the news over the weekend, it struck me that the talking heads were downright mystified that early voting had been stopped, so soon after it started, because the Appellate Court ordered a name off the ballot.

I assume most FWIW readers knew what was going on: The Appellate Court had rejected Ashonta Rice's appeal. The court's order, as is typical in these ultra-time-sensitive cases, does not explain the court's reasoning, but promises that a decision will follow at a later date.

Early voting was impacted because, on February 5, the Appellate Court had entered a different order in that case.

That order was entered pursuant to Rice's Emergency Motion to Stay Enforcement of the January 10, 2024 Electoral Board Decision and the January 30, 2024 Trial Court Order. (The links here are to prior FWIW coverage, but those articles link back to the source decisions.) On February 5 the Appellate Court granted that emergency motion, ordering the election authorities "to include, print, and maintain the name of Ashonta C. Rice as a Democratic Party candidate for Circuit Court Judge for the Cook County Judicial Circuit (vacancy of Hon. Laura M. Sullivan) on all electronic voting machines, vote by mail ballots, overseas ballots, and other forms of ballot at the March 19, 2024 primary election, until further order of court."

The further order turned out to be the Appellate Court's February 16 Order advising that, upon due consideration, it agreed with the Electoral Board and the Circuit Court and Ashonta C. Rice should be removed from the ballot after all.

That outcome was not preordained by the February 5 Order -- obviously -- and I admit that I did not know what to make of that order at first. So I reached out to smart people. After getting some helpful responses, I provided this February 5 update to my post about the Circuit Court's disposition of Rice's appeal:

The Appellate Court has indeed this day entered a stay order directing that the candidate's name remain on the ballot, pending further order of court.

That's not a merits disposition; it was an order entered in response to the candidate's emergency motion for a stay.

There is a very expedited briefing schedule in place (everything, on both sides, must be in by Wednesday, as I understand it). Today's order prevents any actual diminution of the candidate's potential rights while the court addresses the merits of her claims.

Today's order is certainly not bad news for the candidate... but neither is it a 'ruling in her favor.'

(I included that bit about the February 5 Order not being a ruling in Rice's favor because I had earlier allowed in a comment that said, "The Appellate Court just ruled in favor of Ashonta while you are spewing all this negativity.)

I reported the facts, but I didn't put up a separate post about the February 5 order. Given the administrative nature of the order and the hyper-compressed briefing schedule, it seemed likely (at least to the smart people I talked to) that a merits decision would soon follow, one way or the other, and probably before early voting. Therefore, it seemed to be kind of a non-story.

Eleven days from the entry of an order in a not-yet-fully-briefed appeal to a merits disposition is extraordinarily prompt. Unfortunately, even at that torrid pace, the Appellate Court's merits order was not issued until after early voting began.

I probably should have put up a post.

But, even without a separte post, what was available right here on FWIW -- not behind any paywall -- should have been sufficient to allow local media outlets confused by the brief February 16 order to put together an accurate explanation of the events surrounding the temporary suspension of early voting. Instead, the initial reporting could have been interpreted, by the general public, as an instance of our Appellate Court running amuck through our fragile democratic institutions for no apparent reason.

Looking again this morning, it seems that most of the TV websites have caught up with the facts of the story, and have traced the brief pause in early voting to the February 5 order.

Better late than never, I suppose.

This little factoid in an updated NBC5 story caught my attention, however: "At this stage of early voting, the [Chicago Board of Elections] typically expects about two to 300 ballots be cast each day."

I assume this was badly written... the writer probably meant 200 to 300... not that there would be a day where only two persons might stumble into the downtown Supersites looking to cast a ballot. But, still, is the enormous expansion of early voting really worth it for the 1500 or 2000 votes a week it brings in during the early stages of the early voting period? If obliged to make different arrangements, wouldn't most of these super-early-voters make them, and vote at different times? Has anyone figured out a way to measure this?

I will concede that expanded early voting is offered with the best of intentions. But the Appellate Court was likewise acting with the best of intentions when it ordered Ashonta Rice back on the ballot temporarily, whilst it considered her appeal. The drafters of the Election Code presumably also had the best of intentions when they mapped out the methods by which disappointed candidates could appeal adverse electoral board determinations. Ultimately, however, when you increase the number of days for early voting, you put candidate challenges on a collision course with principles of due process. The more you push one way, the more conflicts result. Because the number of available days on the calendar does not expand despite the jumble of all these accumulated good intentions. And confusion can result.

It did result here.

Maybe we should talk about this.

Campaign website found for Griselda Vega Samuel

A campaign website has been launched in support of the 14th Subcircuit candidacy of Griselda Vega Samuel. That's a link to the campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the Sidebar on this site.

Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 2008, according to ARDC, Vega Samuel became became Midwest Regional Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in 2018.

A brief digression here: I'm reporting the candidate's surname as Vega Samuel. The campaign website and MALDEF press release linked in the preceding paragraph refer to the candidate merely as "Griselda." This is accurate, certainly, but not helpful: If elected, the nameplate on the bench will almost certainly not read "Judge Griselda." ARDC sees Vega as a middle name... as in Samuel, Griselda Vega. That is how I've alphabetized it in the candidate list; I try never to contradict ARDC. But, pending an authoritative ruling on the candidate's preferences, I'll continue to use Vega Samuel here. End of digression.

Vega Samuel was born and raised in Rogers Park, according to her campaign biography; she now resides in McKinley Park. She is a first-generation American, and the first in her family to go to college and get a graduate degree. Vega Samuel did her undergraduate work Briar Cliff University, a Jesuit college in Sioux City, Iowa. While still an undergraduate, Vega Samuel worked as an intern for St. Sen. Miguel del Valle. After graduation, but before returning to law school (at the University of Iowa), Vega Samuel worked as an Assistant Development Director at the National Mexican Museum of Art.

A winner of the CBA's Vanguard Award (in 2022), Vega Samuel has also been honored with several other awards, including the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois Latina Lawyer of the Year Award in 2019, according to her campaign website. She began her legal career with Columbia Legal Services in Yakima, Washington, working on an employment class action lawsuit, Perez-Farias v. Global Horizons, Inc., representing Mexican farmworkers in a discrimination, and other state and federal employment violations against multiple growers. Later, after returning to Chicago, Vega Samuel worked for the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, assisting Latina women in domestic violence situations with emergency orders of protection, divorce and custody issues.

This is Vega Samuel's first campaign for election to the bench.

Chicago Federation of Labor announces endorsements in contested Cook County judicial races

The Chicago Federation of Labor has issued its endorsements for the 2024 general primary. Clicking on the word "endorsements" in the preceding sentence will take the reader to the complete list.

The CFL's endorsements in contested judicial races closely tracks the endorsements made by the Cook County Democratic Party -- but not entirely. In the race for the countywide Mitchell vacancy, where Judge Neil Cohen, the Democratic Party's slated candidate, is being opposed by Wende Williams, the CFL has elected to stay "neutral." (The CFL has also chosen to stay "neutral" in the race for Cook County State's Attorney.)

The CFL did not offer any endorsement in the race for the Brosnahan vacancy in the 3rd Subcircuit, not even a declaration of 'neutrality.'

In contested Cook County judicial races, the CFL has endorsed these candidates:

Supreme Court Vacancy

Joy Virginia Cunningham

Appellate Court Vacancies

Cynthia Y. Cobbs (Cunningham vacancy)
Celia Louise Gamrath (Delort vacancy)

Circuit Court Vacancies

Pablo F. deCastro (Flannery, Jr. vacancy)
Edward Joseph Underhill (Murphy vacancy)
Debjani 'Deb' Desai (Propes vacancy)

Subcircuit Vacancies

Owens J. Shelby (7th Subcircuit - Solganick vacancy)
James V. Murphy (10th Subcircuit - Wojkowski vacancy)
Kim Przekota (11th Subcircuit - Daleo vacancy)
Steve Demitro (14th Subcircuit - O'Hara vacancy)
Luciano "Lou" Panici, Jr. (15th Subcircuit - Demacopoulos vacancy)
Jeffrey Chrones (18th Subcircuit - Converted from Edidin vacancy)
Bridget Colleen Duignan (19th Subcircuit - Converted from Senechalle, Jr. vacancy)
Michael Zink (20th Subcircuit - Converted from Budzinski vacancy)

ISBA Awards nominations due by March 4

It's Awards Season... and not just in Hollywood.

The Illinois State Bar Association is soliciting nominations for a host of awards -- not all of which, by their terms, are 'career achievement' awards meant as solace for someone sailing off into the sunset -- some are specifically limited to mere youngsters -- well, under 37, anyway. There's even an award specially for law students.

What follows is a list of all ISBA awards for which nominations are being sought, along with a brief description of the award as supplied by the ISBA. The linked awards title will take the reader to a more complete description of the awards, including additional eligibility requirements, and a nomination form, for those inclined to make one. Some links will give interested persons lists of past award winners. All have email contacts (different email contacts) for any remaining questions about the awards:

Austin Fleming Newsletter Editors Award
This award honors outstanding editors or past editors of Association newsletters. It is based on the concept of meritorious service to the Association and is not necessarily to be given every year.

The Carole K. Bellows Women of Influence Award
The Carole K. Bellows Women of Influence award honors two individuals each year that raise awareness to the unmet legal needs of women, advocates for action addressing women’s issues, or promotes involvement by women in the legal community at all levels.

Civics Education Award
The Committee on Law-Related Education has established “ISBA Civics Education Award” designed to annually honor up to three individuals who have helped educate the public about civics, especially our legal system.

CLE Achievement Award
This award honors individual ISBA members who are under age 37 and/ or admitted to practice under 7 years who have made notable contributions to ISBA continuing legal education. The award recognizes the recipient’s overall involvement in ISBA’s CLE programming, as well as the potential for future leadership in that area. It is not necessarily presented every year.

CLE Distinguished Service Award
This award honors individual ISBA members who have made outstanding contributions to ISBA continuing legal education. The award does not recognize a single program, but the meritorious work of the recipient over a substantial period of time. It is not necessarily presented every year.

Community Leadership Award
Given by the ISBA's Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), the honor recognizes individuals for efforts to foster understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their issues of concern.

Diversity Leadership Award
The Diversity Leadership Award recognizes long standing, continuing and exceptional commitment by an individual or an organization to the critical importance of diversity within the Illinois legal community, its judiciary and within the Illinois State Bar Association.

Elmer Gertz Human & Civil Rights Award
The Gertz Award recognizes long-standing, continuing and exceptional commitment by an individual or an organization to the protection or advancement of Human Rights.

John C. McAndrews Pro Bono Service Award
The award is named in memory of Rock Island attorney John McAndrews, who chaired the ISBA Committee on Delivery of Legal Services and is awarded to individual lawyers, law firms and corporate law departments, and bar associations for providing free legal services to the income eligible in Illinois or expanding the availability of legal services to the income eligible in Illinois.

Joseph R. Bartylak Memorial Legal Services Award
This award is named in memory of legal services attorney Joseph R. Bartylak to annually honor his extraordinary commitment and dedication to civil legal services and his outstanding service to Illinois' vulnerable and low-income population.

Law Student Division Public Service Award
Awarded annually to a law student participating in activities that enhance professional responsibility and provide service to the public. The award is based on extracurricular accomplishments and service related activities during the law school career.

Excellence in Legal Education Award
The Committee on Legal Education, Admissions and Competence has established "The Excellence on Legal Education Award" designed to annually honor a law school program that emphasizes real world skill for students.

Law Enforcement Award
The Law Enforcement Award was created to recognize sworn law enforcement officers for conduct that promotes justice and to distinguish those individuals whose service to the public brings honor and respect to the entire criminal justice system. The award is given sparingly to recognize those who truly excel in the field of law enforcement.

Matthew Maloney Tradition of Excellence Award
This award is named in memory of Princeton attorney Matthew Maloney, who was a past chair of the ISBA General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section Council and is awarded to individual lawyers who are in a general solo or small firm practice.

Roz Kaplan Government Service Award
The Roz Kaplan Government Service Award honors government attorneys whose dedication and service have made a difference. The Award recognizes attorneys who, like Roz Kaplan, dedicate their careers to government service.

Richard H. Teas Legislative Support Award
In memory of Richard H. Teas, a long-time member of the ISBA Trusts and Estates Section Council, who contributed hours of his own time in analyzing, drafting, and testifying on legislation. Awarded to acknowledge ISBA members' meritorious service provided in support of ISBA's legislative efforts in the Illinois General Assembly.

Young Lawyer of The Year Award
The ISBA Young Lawyers Division recognizes two outstanding young lawyers – one practicing outside Cook County and one within – at an awards luncheon. Award recipients must be members in good standing of the Illinois State Bar Association and have not yet reached age 36.

Board of Governors Award
The award is given to ISBA members for significant service to the profession and the public.

The ISBA also sometimes confers Laureate Awards, intended for those practitioners deemed to exemplify the highest ideals of the profession. However, the ISBA has announced that it is not accepting nominations for Laureate Awards at this time.

Nadine Jean Wichern: In her own words

Nadine Jean Wichern is a candidate for the 20th Subcircuit vacancy converted from the Associate Judgeship of Elizabeth M. Budzinski. Her punch number is 164.

My name is Nadine Jean Wichern and I am a candidate for Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County from the 20th Subcircuit, which includes portions of the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, North Center, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Andersonville, Uptown, and Edgewater. I have been rated “Recommended” or “Qualified” by 15 bar associations and endorsed by Personal PAC.

My interest in the law was sparked by seeing my parents suffer through a mortgage foreclosure on my childhood home and my mother having to file for bankruptcy after my father’s death in my freshman year of high school. My brother, who had Down Syndrome, passed away when he was four, and I was two, years old, and my mother passed away during my first year of law school, leaving me as the only member of my immediate family at the age of 23. These experiences have given me empathy for the human condition and made me strive to do justice for everyday people.

I am a first-generation college and law school graduate, and have devoted my entire 23-year legal career to public service. After graduating near the top of my law school class, I had the honor of clerking for Judge William J. Bauer on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. I then joined the Illinois Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Attorney General. While there, I was selected by the National Association of Attorneys General for a Fellowship before the United States Supreme Court.

I later was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the City of Chicago’s Department of Law, before returning to the Attorney General’s Office as a supervisor in 2011. Since 2015, I have served as Chief of the Civil Appeals Division in that Office. As Division Chief, I lead 24 attorneys who litigate all appeals for the State and its officials and employees, which cover diverse areas of law, including constitutional issues. I also advise the Office’s trial attorneys, general counsels of state agencies, and Solicitor General on litigation strategies.

I taught legal writing courses at local law schools for 11 years. I have presented at continuing legal education programs and authored legal treatises, including chapters of Illinois Civil Appeals: State and Federal (IICLE). I am on the DePaul Moot Court Alumni Board and a Director for the Appellate Lawyers Association. I also am Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Law and Debate Club, through which I help educate high school students about the legal system; on the Mentorship Committee for the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois; and mentor law students through the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, Chicago Bar Association, and The Appellate Project. The Illinois Governor has appointed me to the Uniform Law Commission for a term. And in 2023, I received a Women In Law Award from the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin / Chicago Lawyer Magazine for being a female leader in the legal community.

Before law school, I earned a B.A. in political science and history, with a minor in English, from Indiana University. While in college, I played the trombone in the marching and basketball bands. I was born in Anaheim, California, where I lived until I left for college. And I have lived within what constitutes the 20th Subcircuit since moving to Chicago 26 years ago.

I view becoming a judge as a natural extension of the public service that I have been doing for more than two decades. If I have the honor of being elected, I will listen to all sides of a case with an open mind, fully research the applicable law, decide cases without personal or political agenda, and clearly explain the reasons for my decisions. And I will bring my proven work ethic and even temperament to the position.

Thank you so much to Jack Leyhane for this opportunity to share information about my candidacy with you. You can learn more about me at www.nadine4judge.com. If you reside in the 20th Subcircuit, I humbly ask for your vote. Please punch #164 on the Democratic ballot for the March 19, 2024 primary election.

Best to you all,
Nadine Jean Wichern

Paul A. O'Grady campaign website found on the Internet

A campaign website has been launched in support of Paul A. O'Grady's bid for the Demacopoulos vacancy in the 15th Subcircuit. That's a link to the new site in the preceding sentece; a link has also been added to the Sidebar on this site. O'Grady has also launched a campaign YouTube channel.

Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 2000, according to ARDC, O'Grady's campaign website notes that he attended law school at night, while still serving as a Flossmoor police officer. He has also previously served as Chief of Staff to the Cook County Sheriff and as Chair of the Orland Park Fire Protection District. O'Grady currently serves as Orland Township Supervisor and as managing partner of Peterson, Johnson & Murray LLC, according to his campaign website.

This appears to be O'Grady's first campaign for judicial office.

Cook County judicial candidates invited to submit statements to FWIW

This post is specifically directed at Cook County judicial candidates in contested races and their campaign advisers. (You few, you happy few....)

Getting one’s message out to voters in a county as large as this one is a herculean challenge. Subcircuits may look a lot smaller on the map, and they are a little smaller this year than they were before, but each covers a lot of ground, as anyone who has ever tried campaigning door-to-door will attest.

By this point in the campaign cycle, the enormity of the task before you has become clear, whatever support you are already privileged to have. Each of you has a day job to keep up with – and, in your spare time, you are still seeking endorsements, filling out questionnaires, and showing up at any event that will have you. You have undoubtedly noticed, at these events, that judicial candidates spend a lot of time seeing... each other. You may be getting around, but you’re not always around likely potential voters; at least you're not always around potential voters you haven’t already met.

I’d like to give you an opportunity to get your message directly to potential voters.

Google says that this website has been viewed around 4.42 million times to date; while a lot of those page views come from candidates and their friends and families, as the primary draws ever nearer, this site will be seen by increasing numbers of likely voters. They come here looking for information about judicial candidates for whom they might vote. In other words, they come here looking for you.

What would you like to tell them?

I will print any statement that any Cook County judicial candidate cares to make right here on For What It’s Worth. This is the ninth election cycle in which I’ve extended this invitation. I will print what I get (subject to a couple of ground rules set out below), whether I get five statements or 25. When I put up the Organizing the Data posts shortly before the primary, I will link back to any statements I’ve received, providing voters an additional chance to receive your message directly.

I make this offer because, when I ran for judge in 1994 and 1996, I would have given my right arm to have had such a forum.

Things were different, of course, back then: The Internet was still a largely undiscovered country. I think I was just learning how to use email in those days; I definitely was using an AOL address. But, today, you have the opportunity to reach nearly every single voter in Cook County without leaving your den. You can of course speak to voters directly on your own sites as well, but I am offering you an additional platform, an additional opportunity for voters to find out about you when they start searching the Internet for information about our upcoming judicial elections.

Candidates need only send me an email (that's a link to my email address; there's also a link you can find in the sidebar of this blog) with their essay.

You may be wondering what you should say. I don’t know that there is any “right” answer. You can send me a statement of personal philosophy, the stump speech you’ve always wanted to make, the pitch you’d like to make at every voter’s front door, your ‘closing argument’ to the electorate, or whatever else you think appropriate.

I’m not going to tell anyone what to say or how to say it.

However, I would suggest, as my mother used to say, that you don’t make your own candle shine brighter by trying to blow out someone else’s. Tell voters why you should be elected, not why your opponent should not be.

I strongly suggest that you put your statement in the first person (be personal, use “I” and “me”) because I will run your statement as your statement, under your byline, by Sally Smith, by John Jones. I know some of you are paying consultants to help you craft your message, and there may be a temptation to simply delegate this task. Resist that temptation. Get feedback from your advisers before you send me anything (especially if you're paying for it anyway), but let your voice come through in your essay. I know writing such an essay won’t be an easy task: As lawyers, we’re used to advocating for a client -- for someone else. It is not as easy to talk about ourselves. But this is an opportunity for you to define yourself, rather than be defined by questionnaire responses.

If I don’t already have your picture, send me a head shot. I’ll run your picture with the post. I will not edit candidate statements. I’ll print what you send. (That’s why I need an email, to verify what was sent, and by whom.) To see what other candidate statements have looked like, click on the "In Their Own Words" tag here or at the bottom of this post and start scrolling down. I will only put up one statement per candidate.

I realize some of you already have personal statements posted on your own campaign websites. If you ask me to run a substantially similar statement here, or even the same statement, I will do so. But I will not pull statements from your site to put on my own. If you want me to put your statement here, you have to send me the statement.

I will begin accepting, and posting, candidate essays immediately. Because I will link to them from the Organizing the Data posts, there’s no advantage to delay. And if you do try and wait until the last minute, when I am working on those roundup posts, I may be unable to get your essay posted. So please, if you're interested, send something ASAP.

I do not intend to impose any limit on the statement’s length; presumably all of you are familiar with the concept of "tl;dr." For illustration purposes, my word processor advises me that this post is about 1,080 words long.

Raw numbers to chew on

Updated, with correction, 2/14/24

I started moaning about this last November.

I was (and remain) distressed by the fact that so few candidates came forward to seek election to the bench in Cook County. No less an authority than Dr. Albert J. Klumpp, a PhD in public policy analysis with a national reputation for his expertise on judicial races, said I was late (as usual) in figuring out the trend. He wrote, in a comment, "I made this very point four years ago in the CBA Record--that the number of canididates per judicial vacancy has been dropping substantially over the years. In the 1990s there were 4.7 candidates per vacancy; in the 2000s there were 4.0, and in the 2010s there were 2.9. What we're seeing here is just more of the same trend. I don't claim to know what's causing it, but somebody had better start looking into it because we're nearing the point where unqualified people can help themselves to judgeships just by putting their names in."

A couple of readers added comments that the judicial pension today is not as sweet as it was back in the day. Which is absolutely, objectively true. Just the other day, I was talking to a friend who mentioned that a recently-elected judge of his acquaintance told him he was never going to retire: The Tier 2 pension benefits just weren't worth it, he said.

Gosh.

In the private sector, for most people, pensions went the way of the dodo by the mid-1980s. Tier 2 not enough? Really? For a lot of us, any pension would be more pension than we are ever going to get.

Maybe the pension benefits do factor in, somehow.

But it occurred to me that there may be a bigger picture here.

I'd been nursing a hypothesis for some time now, but I didn't want to mention anything until the final numbers were in.

But I think it's fair to compare now. These numbers are from the ISBE website. Let's look at total numbers of candidates, statewide, in presidential primary years:

• 2000 - Total number of primary candidates... 1236
• 2004 - Total number of primary candidates... 1584
• 2008 - Total number of primary candidates... 1657
• 2012 - Total number of primary candidates... 1278
• 2016 - Total number of primary candidates... 1755
• 2020 - Total number of primary candidates... 1221
• 2024 - Total number of primary candidates... 909

There's a drop-off in candidate numbers that Tier 2 judicial pensions alone cannot explain.

Something's broken here. And not just in judicial elections. What do you think it is? How do you think we can fix this?

I'll hang up now and listen for your answers.

Try to give me comments I won't have to flush.

State's Attorney Candidate Forum tonight at City's Edge

State's Attorney candidates Eileen O'Neill Burke and Clayton Harris, III are scheduled to meet tonight, at City's Edge, 5310 W. Devon, for a candidate forum starting at 7:30, according to this announcement that FWIW received from outgoing 41st Ward Committeeperson Joe Cook. (Although he is not running for reelection in the 41st Ward, Cook is also a candidate in the upcoming primary; he is running for 45th Ward Committeeperson. He did not move; the ward boundaries did.)

Campaign website launched, fundraiser tomorrow for Judge Jeffrey Chrones

Supporters of Jeffrey G. Chrones' bid for the 18th Subcircuit vacancy converted from the Associate Judgeship of Lauren Gottainer Edidin have launched a campaign website in support of that effort. That's a link to the new campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the Sidebar on this site.

Chrones' supporters are also planning a fundraiser for their candidate tomorrow, Tuesday, Feburary 13, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., on the 12th floor of 161 North Clark Street. Daniel O'Brien, Karen Patterson, and Michael Gallagher as the listed co-chairs of this event.

Tickets are $150 each, but sponsorship levels are available (Friend - $250, Supporter - $500, Patron - $1,000, Sponsor - $2,500, or Benefactor - $5,000). To register for this reception, click on this page of the candidate's website.

Chrones currently serves as an associate judge; he was selected in 2018 and retained in 2023. At the time of his selection, Chrones was a shareholder in Johnson & Bell, serveing as outside counsel to Pace Suburban Bus Service and otherwise focusing his practice on transportation, toxic tort, employment and product liability.

According to his campaign bio, Chrones began his legal career as a civil litigator for the Attorney General’s Office, defending and prosecuting matters on behalf of state agencies and the People of the State of Illinois. He subsequently became a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney, prosecuting countless misdemeanors and felony matters involving violent crimes, including murder, narcotics and sex offense cases. Chrones has been licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1993.

Chrones has lived in the area that is now within the new 18th Subcircuit. According to his campaign bio, Chrones and his wife, Hellena, are the parents of three adult children.

Bridget Colleen Duignan campaign website found online

A campaign website has been found for Bridget Colleen Duignan, candidate for the 19th Subcircuit vacancy converted from the Associate Judgeship of Robert E. Senechalle, Jr. That's a link to the campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the Sidebar on this site.

Duignan's campaign bio notes that she is a managing partner of the firm of Latherow & Duignan, and has represented "victims of medical negligence, construction negligence, sexual abuse, and wrongful death, for over 15 years." Duignan's campaign bio also stresses her bar association involvement: She is on track to become President of the Illinois State Bar Association in 2025 (currently Second-Vice President) and has been appointed as Chair of the ISBA's Political Action Committee. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Bar Foundation and on the Board of Managers for the Illinois Trial Lawyers, according to her campaign bio.

Duignan served as Chair of the St. Barnabas School Board (2021), and currently serves as Legal Advisor to the Farmworkers Landscapers Advocacy Project (FLAP) and on the Board for Catherine’s Caring Cause, according to her campaign bio. She was a 2020 recipient of the Top Women Lawyers in Leadership Award, according to her campaign bio.

IVI-IPO announces endorsements in some Cook County judicial races

The Independent Voters of Illinois - Independent Precinct Organization has announced its endorsements of candidates running in the March primary.

The complete list of endorsements is on the IVI-IPO home page (linked in this paragraph). In contested Cook County judicial races, the IVI-IPO has made the following endorsements:

Supreme Court Vacancy

Joy Virginia Cunningham

Appellate Court Vacancies

Cynthia Y. Cobbs (Cunningham vacancy)
Celia Louise Gamrath (Delort vacancy)

Circuit Court Vacancy

Pablo F. deCastro (Flannery, Jr. vacancy)

Subcircuit Vacancies

Owens J. Shelby (7th Subcircuit - Solganick vacancy)
Audrey Victoria Cosgrove (11th Subcircuit - Daleo vacancy)
Allen Price Walker (15th Subcircuit - Demacopoulos vacancy)
Sunil Bhave (18th Subcircuit - Converted from Edidin vacancy)
Michael Zink (20th Subcircuit - Converted from Budzinski vacancy)

Found on the Internet: Campaign website of Dave Heilmann

A campaign website has been launched for Dave Heilmann, candidate for the 19th Subcircuit vacancy converted from the Associate Judgeship of Robert E. Senechalle, Jr. That's a link to the campaign website in the preceding sentence; a link has also been added to the Sidebar on this site.

Heilmann's website lays out his qualifications in a bullet-point résumé format. Among the entries are the following:

• Mayor – Village of Oak Lawn, Illinois 2005-2013,
• President/Commissioner Oak Lawn Park District 1989-2003,
• Partner: Clausen Miller, P.C. Chicago, Il. 36 years of litigation practice. Admitted to U.S. District Court Northern and Central Districts of Illinois. Illinois Trial Bar, Federal Trial Bar 1987-present,
• National City Livability Award for Outstanding Achievement: United States Conference of Mayors,
• Appointed Special Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant State’s Attorney to represent Chief Judges and Circuit Court Judges,
• Outstanding Community Leader Award – Advocate Christ Medical Center/Hope Children’s Hospital 2012, 2015....

Licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 1987, according to ARDC, Heilmann appears to be the only Cook County judicial candidate in this election cycle with his own author's page on Amazon.com.

Personal PAC makes endorsements in Cook County judicial races

Updated 3/13/24 with additional endorsements

Personal PAC, the abortion rights lobbying group, has issued its list of endorsements for the forthcoming primary.

The complete list of Personal PAC endorsements for the 2024 primary can be found at this link. In contested Cook County judicial races, Personal PAC has made these endorsements:

Supreme Court Vacancy

Joy Virginia Cunningham

Appellate Court Vacancies

Cynthia Y. Cobbs (Cunningham vacancy)
Celia Louise Gamrath (Delort vacancy)

Circuit Court Vacancies

Pablo F. deCastro (Flannery, Jr. vacancy)
Neil Cohen (Mitchell vacancy)
Edward Joseph Underhill (Murphy vacancy)
Debjani "Deb" Desai (Propes vacancy)

Subcircuit Vacancies

Owens J. Shelby (7th Subcircuit - Solganick vacancy)
Liam Kelly (10th Subcircuit - Wojkowski vacancy)
Kim Przekota (11th Subcircuit - Daleo vacancy)
Griselda Vega Samuel (14th Subcircuit - O'Hara vacancy)
Sunil Bhave (18th Subcircuit - Converted from Edidin vacancy)
Bridget Colleen Duignan (19th Subcircuit - Converted from Senechalle vacancy)
Risa Renee Lanier (19th Subcircuit - Converted from Senechalle vacancy)
Nickolas Pappas (20th Subcircuit - Converted from Budzinski vacancy)
Michael J. Zink (20th Subcircuit - Converted from Budzinski vacancy)
Nadine Jean Wichern (20th Subcircuit - Converted from Budzinski vacancy)

BREAKING: Appellate Court rules Gallagher and Murray ON the March primary ballot

As is customary in these cases there will be a written disposition explaining the Appellate Court's reasoning... but not right away. The news now, however, is that, in an order entered this afternoon, the Appellate Court has affirmed the Circuit Court's order reversing the Cook County Officers Electoral Board's decision. Judges Carolyn Gallagher and Leonard Murray are back on the March primary ballot... subject to possible review by the Illinois Supreme Court.

Possible... but unlikely... of course, if I could predict the future, I'd pick this weekend's Powerball numbers and retire in style. So I'm not predicting. I am merely saying that, looking at past history, the odds are that no further review is likely. More to come... when more is available.

Saturday, February 10: Candidate Meet and Greet at Mt. Prospect Public Library

John Hock and Associate Judge Sunil Bhave, two of the three candidates in the Democratic primary for the two vacancies in the new 18th Subcircuit, will be at the Mt. Prospect Public Library, 10 S. Emerson Street, tomorrow, Saturday, February 10, at 1:30 p.m., for a meet and greet. A Q&A session will be moderated by St. Sen. Ann Gillespie, according to a Facebook post about the event.

Hock is unopposed in the March primary, but will face unopposed Republican primary candidate Lynn Terese Palac in the November election. Judge Bhave faces a challenge in his primary race from a colleague, Associate Judge Jeffrey G. Chrones. No Republican candidate filed for that vacancy.

Found on the Internet: Campaign website of Chelsey Renece Robinson

A campaign website has been found for Chelsey Renece Robinson, candidate for the countywide Flannery vacancy. That's a link to the candidate's website in the preceding sentence; a link has been added to the Sidebar on this site as well.

Licensed in Illinois since 1996, according to ARDC, Robinson practices with the firm of Owens & Robinson. Her campaign website says she "is a community activist fighting for equity in employment, criminal justice, and human rights." According to her campaign website, Robinson is the Co-Founder of the Pro-Vision Project Mentoring Program and currently serves as the First Vice President and Chairperson of the Criminal Justice Committee for the Chicago Southside Branch of the NAACP.

The new campaign website notes that Robinson "was privileged to share her legal expertise as a legal consultant for a nationally syndicated court television show for 20 years." The show in question is not named but, from past campaigns, we know this is a reference to the Judge Mathis show.

Robinson was a candidate for a countywide vacancy in 2022; she ran for a 2nd Subcircuit vacancy in 2020.

Lincoln's Birthday fundraiser for Justice Cobbs

Supporters of Justice Cynthia Y. Cobbs' bid to hold her seat on the Appellate Court have organized a fundraiser for this coming Monday, February 12, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., on the Mezzanine Level of the 70 West Madison St. Building (the building formerly known as Three First National). Cong. Robin Kelly is the listed host of this event; Patricia Brown Holmes, a former judge, and the managing partner of Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP, is the listed co-host. Light refreshments will be served.

Individual tickets are $250 apiece. Sponsorships are available (Friend - $500, Bronze - $1,000, Silver - $1,500, Gold - $2,500, and Platinum - $5,000). All tickets and sponsorships are available from the Events Page of the candidate's website.

WBAI Judicial Reception set for March 6

The Women's Bar Association of Illinois will hold its annual Judicial Reception on March 6, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.

Tickets for this event are $150 each for members, $195 each for non-members. Law students and new attorneys (licensed for under two years) will be admitted for $95 each. Sitting judges will be admitted free.

The WBAI will honor six current or former judges at this event. Recipients of the Hon. Mary Heftel Hooton Award include recently retired Circuit Court Judge Janet Adams Brosnahan, current Cook County Associate Judge Maryam Ahmad, U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Rowland, Illinois Appellate Court Justice Sanjay T. Taylor, and retired 7th Circuit Judge Ann Claire Williams. The late Judge James P. Flannery will be recognized posthumously.

To purchase tickets, or to register for the event, click on this page of the WBAI website. Information about sponsorship opportunities may be found here.

Advocates Society Annual Installation & Award of Merit Dinner set for February 29; Early Bird pricing available until February 15

The 2024 Advocates Society Annual Installation and Award of Merit Dinner will take place on Thursday, February 29 in the Lincoln Room of the Union League Club of Chicago, 65 W. Jackson Blvd.

An opening reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by the dinner at 7:00 p.m., with the installation and awards program and closing reception from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth M. Rochford will swear in McHenry County Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Chmiel as President of the Advocates for the coming year. Cook County Chief Judge Timiothy C. Evans will administer the oaths of office to the rest of the new officers, which this year include:

• Hon. Thomas E. Nowinski, First Vice President,
• Atty. Kathy E. Bojczuk, Second Vice President,
• Atty. Roman Drewniak, Third Vice President,
• Atty. Julia Jensen Smolka, Treasurer,
• Hon. Michele Gemskie, Secretary, and
• Atty. Alon Stein, Historian.

Appellate Court Justice Aurelia M. Pucinski will present the Advocates Award of Merit to Marta Almodovar.

Early bird pricing is available for this event until February 15. Until February 15, individual tickets are $170 each ($280 with an ad in the event's virtual program). Tables of 10 can be had for $1,700.

From February 16, the ticket price will be $195 (ticket and ad, $300; table of 10, $1,950).

Ads in the virtual event program can be purchased without purchasing event tickets. The cost of a stand-alone congratulatory ad is $150. The digital ad size is 11" wide by 8.5" high.

Sponsorships are also available. Except where indicated, sponsors receive an event ticket, an ad in the virtual program, acknowledgement on the Advocates website and promotional materials, and on event signage. Please note that some sponsorships are exclusive, and may be already claimed, depending on when you inquire. Sponsorships include:

• Bronze Event Sponsor - $500 (does not include event ticket),
• Silver Event Sponsor - $1,000,
• Gold Event Sponsor - $1,500 (includes two event tickets),
• Opening Reception Sponsor (one available) - $1,000,
• Centerpiece Sponsor (one available) - $1,000,
• Wine at Dinner Sponsor (one available) - $1,000, and
• Closing Reception Sponsor (one available) - $1,000.

All tickets, ads, or sponsorships may be obtained via this page on the Advocates website.

Supreme Court assigns Third District justices to hear First District ballot challenge

In an Order entered last Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court assigned a number of justices from the Third Appellate District to hear the pending appeal in the Gallahgher and Murray case.

As FWIW readers already know, an appeal was promptly taken from the Circuit Court's recent order reinstating Judges Carolyn J. Gallagher and Leonard Murray to the March primary ballot.

Murray is, or would be, pending the outcome of the present appeal, a candidate for the open Delort vacancy; Circuit Court Judge Celia Louise Gamrath is the Democratic Party's slated candidate for this vacancy, and the only other candidate who filed for this vacancy.

But Gallagher is, or would be, a candidate for the Cunningham vacancy. Justice Cynthia Y. Cobbs holds this vacancy pursuant to Supreme Court appointment; she must hold this seat in the forthcoming election in order to remain on the Appellate Court. If Gallagher is removed from the ballot, Cobbs, the slated candidate of the Cook County Democratic Party, would be unopposed for election.

The text of Thursday's Supreme Court Order (linked above) states, in pertinent part, "On the request of Honorable David W. Ellis, Chair of the Executive Committee, First District Appellate Court that judges of another district be assigned to the Appellate Court, First District, to consider the matters of Carolyn J. Gallaher (sic) and Leonard Murray, Petitioners-Appellees, v. Objectors Elizabeth Watson and John J. Lydon, Respondents-Appellants * * * , Case No. 1-24-0224, and the Supreme Court having determined that the public necessity so requires: IT IS ORDERED that Appellate Judges Adrienne W. Albrecht, Liam C. Brennan, Linda E. Davenport, Joseph P. Hettel, William E. Holdridge, Mary W. McDade, and Lance R. Peterson, or a panel as designated by the Presiding Judge of the Third Appellate District Court are hereby assigned to the First Appellate District case on such dates as may be necessary for the purpose of hearing matters in the above-named case."

WBAI and NSBA "Galentine's Day" Networking Event set for February 13

The Women's Bar Association of Illinois and the North Suburban Bar Association are jointly sponsoring a "speed networking" event on Tuesday, February 13, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at Guildhall, 694 Vernon Avenue in Glencoe.

Tickets for this event are $40 apiece for members, $55 for non-members. Registration can apparently be accomplished from the QR code in the above graphic. It may be easier, however, at least for some, to use this page of the WBAI website, or this page of the NSBA website.

Fundraiser Wednesday for Judge Neil Cohen

Only a few countywide judicial primary races are contested in Cook County in this election cycle.

Judge Neil Cohen is in one of these contested races.

And his supporters are looking to raise funds to fend off the one and only challenger in his race.

The Cohen campaign has scheduled a fundraiser for Wednesday, February 7, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., on the 20th floor of the 120 N. LaSalle St. Building. Tom Cronin and David Hyde are the listed hosts for this event.

Tickets are $150 each... but sponsorships are also available (Bronze - $500, Silver - $1,000, Gold - $2,500, or Platinum - $5,000). To RSVP, email Info@JudgeNeilCohen.com or call Bridget Dooley at (630) 640-7933. Donations are accepted through the candidate's website.

HLAI Judicial Reception set for Thursday, February 15

The Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois will hold its annual Judicial Reception on Thursday, February 15, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the University Club of Chicago. 76 E. Monroe Street.

Tickets are $150 each for HLAI members... and only for HLAI members. To attend the event, one must first join HLAI (prorated annual memberships are available, according to the association website). Judges, of course, are welcome at no charge, members or not, but must register. HLAI members can purchase tickets, and judges can register, at this page of the HLAI website.

AABA Annual Installation Ceremony & Awards Reception set for Feburary 8

The Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago will hold its 36th Annual Installation Ceremony and Awards Reception on Thursday, February 8, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Venue West, 221 N. Paulina Street.

In addition to the installation of its officers for the coming year, the AABA will confer a number of awards at this event. Honorees include:

• Abiman Rajadurai, General Counsel of McDonald's Operating Company & Sr. Counsel, Global Labor & Employment - In-House Counsel Leadership Award,
• Sharon Hwang, Shareholder, McAndrews - Law Firm Partner Diversity Leadership Award,
• Ivy Lee. Assistant General Counsel, CompTIA - Rising Star Award, and
• Dennis Mondero, Executive Director, Chinese Mutual Aid Association - Justice Award.

Appellate Court Justice Rena Marie Van Tine will conduct the installation of AABA officers. Kristy Gonowon, Corporate Counsel & Director at Lowe's Companies Inc., will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.

Tickets for the event are $185 each. Public sector and non-profit attorneys (and law students) can purchase tickets for $150. All tickets are available from this page of the AABA website.

CCBA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Geraldine Simmons Prayer Breakfast February 24

The Cook County Bar Association (a new website is currently in preparation) will hold its annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and its Geraldine Simmons Prayer Breakfast three Saturdays from today, on Feburary 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Metropolitan Club of Chicago, 233 S. Wacker Drive.

Tickets are priced at $100 each (tables of 10 can be purchased as well). And, yes, sponsorships are also available:

• Silver Sponsor - $2,500,
• Gold Sponsor - $5,000,
• Platinum Sponsor - $10,000, or
• Diamond Sponsor - $15,000.

All tickets and sponsorships can be purchased from this TicketFalcon link. For more information about sponsorships, contact Lisa Hollyfield at lyoung@cookcountybar.org.

Decalogue Society Judicial Reception set for February 28

If you were planning on being the exclusive Hot Dog Sponsor for the Decalogue Society's forthcoming Judicial Reception, set this year for Wednesday, February 28, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at the Chicago offices of Hinshaw & Culbertson, 151 N. Franklin Street, then I have bad news: David S. Olshansky has beaten you to the punch.

But, as of this writing, you can still snag the exclusive Diamond Sponsorship, which comes with 12 event tickets, for only $3600.

Tickets for the reception are $125 for non-members, $100 for members. Law students can get in for $18 each, and the price includes a one-year membership in the Decalogue Society. Judges will be admitted free, gratis, and for nothing. Tickets can be purchased and judicial registrations can be made at this link.

And, if the Diamond Sponsorship is not in your budget, there are other sponsorship opportunities available. A complete list of all sponsorship benefits is available at this link. These other sponsorship opportunities include:

• Bronze - $250,
• Silver - $500,
• Gold - $1000, and
• Platinum - $2500.

And, as the graphic above should suggest, the Decalogue is this year observing its 90th anniversary. The anniversary dinner will be held July 11. Persons interested in being sponsors of both the judicial reception and the anniversary dinner should click here.

CBA Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Winter Concert tomorrow

The Chicago Bar Association Symphony Orchestra & Chorus will hold its Winter Concert (part of its ongoing Conductor Quest) tomorrow, Saturday, February 3, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., at St. James Episcopal Cathedral, 65 E. Huron.

The CBASO has been auditioning finalists for its new music director at recent concerts. Tomorrow's concert will feature two more finalists, Nicholas Koo and Jennifer Huang.

Koo is currently serves multiple orchestras across the United States including the Minnesota Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony Association, the San Diego Symphony, and Memphis Symphony. He has assisted a number of notable conductors including Donald Runnicles, Peter Oundjian, Fabien Gabel, and Marin Alsop and has worked alongside soloists such as Emanuel Ax, Hélène Grimaud, Joyce Yang, and Paul Huang. He has made a number of appearances conducting the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in their regular season and is active in the Chicago area both on and off the podium, additionally working with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association in artistic media and video production. Koo received the 2023 Career Assistance Award from The Solti Foundation U.S.

Huang currently serves as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Northwestern Medical Orchestra. Her most recent engagements include Music Director of the Merit School of Music Chamber Orchestra, Music Director of Thompson Street Opera Co., and Associate Conductor of the Chicago City-Wide Symphony Orchestra. Before moving to Chicago in 2021, Huang worked with several ensembles in the Bay Area, serving as Resident Conductor of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Santa Rosa Symphony Aspirante Youth Orchestra, Music Director of the UCB Summer and Chamber Orchestras, and Assistant Conductor and Chorus Director of West Edge Opera. An accomplished violinist, pianist, and vocalist, Huang has performed under the baton of world-class artists such as Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, and David Robertson.

Tomorrow's program is expected to include music by Brahms and Florence Price, Chabrier's España, Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, and (with Michael Poulos and Arthur Carvajal, soloists) Vivaldi's Double Trumpet Concerto. The CBA Chorus is also expected to provide choral selections by Mozart and Faure.

Tickets for tomorrow night's concert are $20 at the door ($15 for law students, or students 18 and under) and will be available after 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available today, however, at this Eventbrite link, at $15 each for adults and $10 for qualifying students.

The CBASO has its own website, too. Like FWIW, the CBASO site is hosted by Blogger; here is the link.

Two weeks left for entries in District Court's Justice Inspired contest

Admittedly, the first half of this sentiment probably won't make the cut in this year's courthouse beautification initiative called Justice Inspired, sponsored by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association:

via GIPHY

Although... the world would be a whole lot better place if more people were excellent to each other.

But I digress, and time grows short.

The District Court and the FBA are inviting all kindergarten through grade 12 teachers to engage their students in submitting quotes on behalf of their classes or classrooms that will be engraved and installed on walls inside of the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse. (Thus, sentiments that do 'make the cut' really will.) Teachers may submit one quote per class or classroom.

The Court and FBA are seeking quotes that inspire justice, peace, equality, fairness, inclusion, redemption, freedom, community, and other ideals and/or reflect upon the significance of debate, the law, courts, and the constitution to democracy and to our nation. Quote sources may include but are not limited to historical and contemporary figures, literary works, or musical compositions.

Teachers are encouraged to use the project to engage students in the following:

• when studying the works of a particular artist, musician, or writer,
• when learning the biography of historic or contemporary figure,
• when examining history, or
• when discussing contemporary issues and current events.

Classes that submit a winning quote will be awarded, c/o the teacher, a $450 Amazon gift card and a replica of their recommended quote.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 16, 2024.

Submissions should be emailed using the submission form. Click HERE to download the entry form.

Email completed entry forms to: Education@ilnd.uscourts.gov

A committee comprised of Judges from the Northern District of Illinois, members of the FBA and members of the Northern District of Illinois Historical Association will select from among the submitted classroom entries. Winners will be notified the week of March 4, 2024.

There are, of course, some provisos, a, a couple of quid pro quos: Schools must be in the Northern District of Illinois. The Northern District of Illinois includes the following counties: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, La Salle, Will, Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, Winnebago.

Teachers may submit one entry per classroom or class period. Quotes should be no more than 25 words, not including the source of the quote. If duplicate entries of a single quote are submitted by multiple teachers and that quote is selected as a winning quote, the quote with the best reason as to why it was chosen will be deemed the winner.

I am keenly aware that most FWIW readers are not K-12 teachers. But I would bet that FWIW readers have family members who are, or neighbors, or friends. Share this with them. And, if the above and foregoing rules and regulations are insufficient to answer any lingering questions your teacher friends and relations may have, email inquiries may be directed to Lauren_Thiel@ilnd.uscourts.gov.

Yolanda Harris Sayre to be sworn in Friday as Circuit Court judge

Pursuant to an order entered today by the Illinois Supreme Court, Yolanda Harris Sayre, unopposed candidate for the Cassandra Lewis vacancy in the 5th Subcircuit, will be sworn in Friday, February 2, to that vacancy.

Today's order brings to eight the total number of newly appointed judges, all drawn from the ranks of unopposed candidates, all being temporarily appointed to the vacancies to which they will be elected in November.

Sayre's appointment, like the others, is effective Friday and ends on the first Monday in December. Her appointment order, like the others in this new, and new kind of, judicial class, notes that she "has received recent positive ratings from members of the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening and the Chicago Bar Association following the interviews and evaluations."

Each of the appointment orders also stress that this is being done as a matter of "public necessity in order to ensure a more adequate level of judicial staffing within the Circuit Court of Cook County." It effectively makes up for the associate judgeships that have been 'converted' into new subcircuit positions -- and perhaps faster than a class of associate judgeships might have been selected as well.

The Supreme Court's press release concerning the announcement is here.

Sayre was slated for a countywide vacancy by the Cook County Democratic Party in 2022. In this election cycle, as FWIW readers may recall, Sayre was slated by the Cook County Democratic Party as its second alternate for any late-opening countywide vacancies. However, Sayre told slatemakers that she was eyeing a run for the 5th Subcircuit so, in an unusual move, the Party stipulated that, should Sayre make the 5th Subcircuit run, Ava George Stewart, who had been designated as the 6th alternate, would skip ahead of those in front of her and take Sayre's place. Running in a subcircuit race turned into a great career move for Sayre.

Circuit Court reinstates Judges Gallagher and Murray to the March primary ballot

Updated to reflect that Notice of Appeal has already been filed

In an Order entered late yesterday afternoon, Judge Marcia O'Brien Conway reversed the decision of the Cook County Officers Electoral Board removing Judges Carolyn Gallagher and Leonard Murray, reviving, for now at least, their bids for, respectively, the Cunningham and Delort vacancies on the Appellate Court.

The Circuit Court's Memorandum and Order is linked in this sentence. The Electoral Board's decision may be accessed at this link.

I use the phrase 'for now at least' because, FWIW has learned this morning, an appeal has already been taken from the Circuit Court's order (it was apparently submitted for e-filing last evening). By using this phrase, I mean to offer no opinion whatsoever on how this case might fare in the Appellate Court.

Non-lawyers (and, truthfully, some of us lawyers as well) may be surprised to learn that it is the Electoral Board's decision that will be reviewed in the Appellate Court, when this case is reviewed there. See, Zurek v. Cook County Officers Electoral Bd., 2014 IL App (1st) 140446, ¶10. (I admit that I did not always know this.)

This story may be updated or supplemented as additional information becomes available.

Circuit Court affirms Electoral Board's decision keeping Ashonta Rice off the March primary ballot

In an Order entered yesterday, Circuit Court Judge Maureen Ward Kirby, the Acting Presiding Judge of the County Division, affirmed the Cook County Officers Electoral Board's decision removing Ashonta Rice from the March primary ballot.

The judge's Order is linked in this sentence. The Electoral Board's decision is available at the link in this sentence.

This story may be updated with additional information, when and if it becomes available.