Over 60 Cook County Judges Up for Retention, Make Your Vote Count Nov. 8

CHICAGO, IL -- Good judges matter and it’s important that voters don’t skip that part of the ballot in the upcoming general election. Judges’ terms are longer and they wield incredible power. Participants in early voting, which runs from Oct. 24 to Nov. 7, as well as Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 8, will be voting for judicial candidates to fill vacancies and judges up for retention.

Although many voters find the long list of judges to be the most tedious part of the ballot, it’s important that you vote for judicial candidates because one of them may figure prominently in your life one day. Judges render decisions from child custody and divorce cases, to criminal, traffic and civil cases that can impact our lives for decades to come.

Nearly 60 Cook County judges are up for retention. There are also some contested races to fill judicial vacancies. Nobody expects the average voter to be an expert on the judicial candidates and those up for retention. Patch has assembled some resources to take into the voting booth of judicial evaluations from various bar associations and public interest groups so your vote counts:

• VoteForJudges.org offers non-partisan information on all the judicial candidates. The Chicago Appleseed Fund, the creator of the website, does not recommend or not recommend judges, but provides research-based evaluations from over a dozen bar associations.
• The Chicago Bar Association provides a pocket guide of its judicial recommendations and non-recommendations. The CBA also urges voters to only vote for judges who are highly qualified or qualified.
• Illinois State Bar Association provides summaries and full judicial evaluations. This information is also shared on VoteForJudges.
• Chicago Council on Lawyers is a non-partisan, public interest bar group. The CCL’s evaluations include judges who are up for retention and judicial candidates who won the March 2016 primary.
• IllinoisJudges.Net is mainained by the Illiois Civil Justice League. The ICJL is a coalition of interests in Illinois, including taxpayers, consumers, small businesses, lawyers, doctors, local governments, big businesses, not-for-profit organizations and individual citizens. The coalition fights what it believes to be abuses to the civil justice system. ICJL includes its own ratings, as well as drawing evaluations from bar associations and newspaper endorsements.

Voters are permitted to bring newspaper endorsements, printouts, sample ballots and smart phones to view judicial evaluations into the voting booth.

More resources:

• Chicago Early Voting Sites
• Cook County Suburban Early Voting Sites