Garcia Beats Ben Braun In Will County Judge's Race

JOLIET, IL - David Garcia's victory over Ben Braun to fill one of the Will County Circuit Court vacancies was convincing. The Democrat won by nearly 15,000 votes based on the unofficial vote totals. Both men are associates judges who were running for the elected office and more prestigious position of circuit judge.

Braun's prospects for winning were greatly reduced back in August when Braun chose to ignore the Will County State's Attorney's Office when prosecutors asked him to set bail at $5 million for 38-year-old Michael Kazecki. The Joliet public school teacher had just been charged with beating his wife to death at their house on McDonough Street.

Instead, Braun set bail at $2 million and the Joliet murder defendant has been out in the community the past two months after coming up with $200,000 to post as bond. Many readers of the Joliet Patch were outraged and ripped Braun in their comments on the articles, vowing not to vote for him in the November election.

ORIGINAL STORY: Ben Braun Sets $2 Million Bail for Joliet Teacher

Garcia is a Joliet Democrat while Braun is a Frankfort Republican. They competed for the vacancy created when long-time Will County Courthouse judge Daniel Rozak retired almost two years ago.

With 100 percent of the unofficial vote totals reported, Garcia had a sizable lead over Braun, about 126,353 votes to Braun's 111,725.

Rozak retired from the bench on January 16, 2017 after serving in elected office since 2000. He had previously been an associate judge from 1995 until 2000.

Back in March, Garcia emerged victorious in a competitive three-way primary amongst the Democratic candidates. Garcia defeated assistant district attorney Moira Dunn of Shorewood and Daniel O'Connell, a long-time Joliet lawyer in private practice.

Braun ran unopposed in the March Republican primary.

Election Results: (with 100 percent of precincts reporting)

• Garcia: 53.07 percent
• Braun: 46.93 percent

According to their candidate bios, Garcia was appointed as an Associate Judge in the 12th Judicial Circuit (Third Appellate District) of Will County on Aug. 14, 2013 in the family division. He became the first Latino judge in Will County.

"Among other proud and deserving recipients, he was presented with an award at the 'Day of the Immigrant' event in Bolingbrook. David was honored to be the Grand Marshall of the Mexican Independence Day Parade, which is an annual event in Joliet which was founded by Margarita Franchini. Prior to his appointment, David spent 18 years as a defense attorney. Throughout his career, he fervently defended his clients with his vast experience and knowledge of the law. He diligently served his clientele in Will, Grundy, Cook, and Kendall counties," his website notes.

As for Ben Braun, he has served Will County as an Associate Judge for twelve years.

"During that time, he has presided over more than one hundred criminal jury trials, hundreds of bench trials, and thousands of hearings in nearly every division of the courthouse. Judge Braun has earned a reputation as one of the state’s most versatile and productive judges, and as a result was designated by the Illinois Supreme Court’s Education Committee to teach other judges how to better run a courtroom and conduct trials. He was also selected to mentor judges to help improve their performance," his campaign literature states.

For more, visit the campaign websites:

• David Garcia
• Ben Braun

More Illinois voting info: Everything To Know About The Illinois 2018 Midterm Elections

Main image via John Ferak/Patch