Cornelius Wins Will County Judge Race

JOLIET, IL - Democratic Joliet attorney Vincent F. Cornelius told Joliet Patch that he was thankful to the voters of Will County for electing him to the bench as a new Circuit Court Judge. Cornelius defeated Associate Judge Victoria McKay Kennison, a Republican, in Tuesday's general election by around 10,000 votes, according to unofficial vote totals.

Cornelius was one of two Democrats elected to the Will County Circuit Court. The other was David Garcia who beat Ben Braun.

"You never know how these things go with elections, but we've been working really, really hard, a lot of people have been working really hard for us all over the county," Cornelius told Joliet Patch during the victory night celebration. "I hope to bring trial experience ... and to be a problem-solver that people need when they walk up those courthouse steps. I'm looking forward to getting my sleeves rolled up in the city of Joliet and getting to work."

With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Cornelius had 123,406 votes to Kennison's total of 113,303, a margin of more than 10,000 votes. At the bottom of this article is a short Joliet Patch video interview of Cornelius from Tuesday night after his victory.

The position became open because veteran Will County Circuit Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes, one of the most high-profile judges at the courthouse, notified the Illinois Supreme Court that she intended to retire from the bench effective in August rather than serve out her entire term of office.

Election Results: (100 percent of precincts reporting)

• Kennison 47.87 percent
• Cornelius 52.13 percent

In June, Kennison was awarded The Excellence in Judiciary Award from the Illinois State Crime Commission at The Drury Lane, Oak Brook. According to her bio, in 2011 Kennison accepted the appointment as Associate Judge of the 12th Judicial Circuit.

During her tenure on the bench Judge Kennison has concentrated in the areas of domestic violence, having issued thousands of orders of protection on behalf of victims. She also served as interim Presiding Judge of the criminal misdemeanor division in 2017 wherein she was responsible for leadership of the numerous misdemeanor courtrooms in Will County, including offenses such as driving under the influence of alcohol.

Kennison's campaign ran on the platform of "Experienced, Fair and Just."

Vincent Cornelius is a lawyer in private practice in Joliet. His website notes that he is a 2017 recipient of the Joliet Catholic Academy Alumni Association’s Career Achievement award. He attended elementary school and jr. high school in Joliet Public School District 86, where his mother taught and served for thirty-four years.

"I have tried hundreds of cases in my 28-year legal career, and I have had the honor of serving the legal profession and the community at large in many significant areas. The combination of courtroom experience and leadership service have prepared me well to serve Will County as its next Circuit Court Judge," Cornelius states on his website.

His campaign literature noted that Cornelius is recognized in America’s Best Lawyers (2018), Leading Lawyers (2018) and Super Lawyers (2015 to Present), and he has a Superb 10.0 AVVO rating.

For more about the candidates you can check out of their websites:

• Victoria Kennison
• Vincent Cornelius

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

Image via John Ferak/Patch