Convicted Cook County Judge Drops Re-Election Bid

CHICAGO — A Cook County judge found guilty of fraud earlier this year has abandoned her efforts to win re-election in November after a federal judge rejected attempts to overturn her conviction. Despite the felony conviction and a decision by the Illinois Supreme Court to suspend her law license, the sitting judge filed paperwork to seek retention on the bench.

Circuit Judge Jessica Arong O'Brien, 51, of the 100 block of South Park Terrace in Chicago, was found guilty in February of one count of bank fraud and another of mail fraud for lying to lenders to get them to finance $1.4 million in loans for investment properties on the South Side. Prosecutors said she illegally pocketed $325,000 and purchased the property through a straw buyer, who pleaded guilty and testified against her.

But her lawyers said O'Brien should be allowed to remain on the ballot and continue collecting a paycheck. They argued she had technically not been convicted until U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin ruled on her motions to throw out the guilty verdict.

Tuesday, Durkin issued a 54-page ruling denying O'Brien's post-trial motions for an acquittal or a new trial. He said more than 100 pages of motions filed by O'Brien's new attorneys largely rehashed arguments that had already been made.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported O'Brien filed paperwork to withdraw from the race with the Illinois Secretary of State's Office late Wednesday. She said the decision was made "in light of the federal court's ruling in my case yesterday." The state board of elections was due to certify the ballot Friday.

O'Brien became the first elected Filapina judge elected in Cook County when she won a seat on the bench in 2012. She studied restaurant management after arriving in the country and before going to law school, according to online biographies. O'Brien is married to another sitting Cook County judge, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The fraud scheme for which O'Brien was convicted took place between 2004 and 2007, before O'Brien became a judge. At the time, she was working full-time for the Illinois Department of Revenue, part-time as a loan officer for a Lincolnwood-based mortgage company and as the owner of her own company O'Brien Realty LLC, prosecutors said.

In April, the Illinois Supreme Court suspended O'Brien's license to practice law, and she has been on administrative leave since her indictment last year. The judge continues to collect her $200,000 annual salary even though she no longer performs and judicial duties, according to the Office of the Chief Judge in Cook County, which does not have the power to remove judges.

In June, the Judicial Inquiry Board filed a complaint with the Illinois Courts Commission, which does have the power to fire sitting judges, in an effort to suspend O'Brien without pay from before her term ends in December. A hearing in the case was scheduled for Sept. 24 at the Supreme Court.

"[O'Brien] has continued since her suspension to hold the office of title of Circuit Court judge, continues to receive a judicial salary, and seeks retention in the upcoming judicial elections," according to a summary of the complaint.

"Further, the Complaint alleges that this undermines public confidence in the judicial system, is prejudicial to the administration of justice, and brings the judicial office into disrepute."

Related:

• Judge Found Guilty Of Fraud Argues For Keeping Job During Appeal
• Judge Convicted Of Mortgage Fraud By Federal Jury
• Cook County Judge Faces Trial On Federal Fraud Charges
• 'Trailblazing' Judge Indicted on Fraud Charges

Sept. 4 Order by U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin: