Local Attorneys Angle To Become Lake County Judges

WAUKEGAN, IL — Applications are closed and the review process has begun for the 21 Lake County attorneys hoping to be appointed as a judge. The retirement of Michael Fusz as an associate judge was effective Saturday, and polling is underway among members of Lake County Bar Association members to evaluate the qualifications of the applicants to replace him.

According to a spokesperson for the 19th Judicial Circuit, The candidate ratings are expected to be completed by the end of December, and a vote of the county's 14 circuit judges will decide who will serve the final three and a half years of Fusz's four-year term in the nearly $200,000-a-year post.

Ten of the applicants are sole practitioners:

• Robert O. Ackley of Round Lake
• Shyama Parikh Chauhan of Lake Forest
• Michael J. Conway of Lake Villa
• Matthew J. DeMartini of Antioch
• Roderick A. Drobinski of Wauconda
• John L. Joanem of Wadsworth
• Christopher M. Kennedy of Libertyville
• Gretchen A. Neddenriep of Gurnee
• Martin N. Walker of Zion
• David S. Weinstein of Gurnee

Five are prosecutors in the office of Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim:

• Kenneth W. LaRue of Waukegan, Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney
• James R.M. Newman of Lake Villa, Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney
• Danielle M. Pascucci of Long Grove, Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney
• Lauren Kalcheim Rothenberg of Deerfield, Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney
• Donald R. Tyer of Long Grove, Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney

Four are partners at private firms:

• James C. Bertucci of Libertyville, partner at Bertucci & Bertucci
• Lisa L. Dunn of Deerfield, partner at Massucci, Blomquist, Anderson & Dunn
• Craig M. Mandell of Highland Park, partner at Berger Schatz
• Michael J. Perillo of Grayslake, partner at Noonan, Perillo & Thut

One is the general counsel of a business he co-founded and a village trustee:

• William E. Meyer of Lake Bluff, general counsel DesignerShare LLC

One is a public defender:

• Daniel Naranjo of Barrington, Assistant Cook County Public Defender

The public has the opportunity to comment in writing on any of the above applicants. Letters must be received by Dec. 18 and should be addressed to: The Office of the Chief Judge, Lake County Courthouse, 18 N. County Street, Waukegan, IL 60085.

Before his retirement last week, Fusz spent more than 15 years on the bench in Waukegan, serving in the traffic and misdemeanor, civil and family divisions. He presided over more than 180 civil and criminal cases, according to a release.

Fusz's path to the becoming a judge went through a clerkship with the late Illinois Supreme Court Justice Howard Ryan, state's attorney's offices in McHenry and Lake counties and two decades of service with the United States Navy Reserve, including a year of active duty in 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom before he was appointed associate judge in 2004.

In a statement marking his retirement, Ukena acknowledged Fusz's "admirable" 42-year legal and judicial career.

"He has provided exemplary service to the citizens of Lake County during his tenure on the bench. His knowledge of the law, disposition, and his fairmindedness made him an excellent jurist," Ukena said. "We wish him the very best in his future endeavors."

Starting Jan. 2, 2020, Judge Diane Winter will take over as chief judge of Lake County circuit courts. Circuit judges elected her earlier this year to a term running until Jan. 4, 2021, according to an announcement from the 19th Judicial Circuit. She will be eligible for retention to an additional term, since chief judges in the county serve a maximum of two years in the role.

"I will do my best to continue the excellence in leadership demonstrated by my predecessors. I look forward to working with my judicial peers, our justice partners, our County partners, and continuing to serve the people of Lake County," Winter said in a statement following her election.

Winter practiced general law and had a nearly two-decade legal career before being appointed an associate judge in 2000. She was appointed a circuit judge in 2008 before winning in the Republican Party primary and general election in the 2010 election to remain a circuit judge.

Since then, she has presided in the criminal misdemeanor and traffic, probate and civil divisions, becoming the presiding judge of the family division in 2018 and the deputy judge in 2018.

According to the 19th Judicial Circuit website, Lake County's circuit judges serve six-year terms elected by the public. Becoming an associate judge requires the support of 60 percent of those judges in a secret ballot election with a majority of judges voting.

There are 15 circuit judge positions, though one is currently vacant following the September death of Thomas Schippers, at 59 at his Mundeliein home. The Northbrook-raised former journalist, prosecutor, personal injury lawyer, senior investigative counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives and assistant Illinois attorney general had, most recently, served as presiding judge of the civil division and had been retained by voters last November.

"Those of us who served with him were inspired by his dedication to the law as well as his loving nature and were incredibly moved by the manner in which he addressed his valiant battle with cancer," Ukena said in a statement on his passing. "Tom’s keen intellect, sense of humor, guidance and support will be missed, not only by his judicial colleagues, but by the entire Nineteenth Judicial Circuit and the Lake County Legal Community."

Five candidates filed paperwork with the Illinois State Board of Elections to run in the March 17, 2020, primaries to fill Schippers' former seat on the 3rd subcircuit through 2024.

The Democratic field includes two local assistant state's attorneys — Tyer and Pascucci — who are also seeking election to Fusz's former seat, as well as private attorneys Marnie Michelle Slavin, of Buffalo Grove, and Rhonda Kind Bruno, of Mundelein.

Lake County Associate Judge Christoper Morozin, of Libertyville, is the only active Republican candidate to have filed paperwork by the deadline for established party candidates, according to the state elections board.

Earlier in 2019, two new associate judges appointed to the Lake County bench this year have been former family law partner Patricia Cornell, of Old Mill Creek, and former federal prosecutor, Bolling "Bodie" Haxall, of Barrington. Over the summer, circuit judges voted to retain all 25 associate judges that requested reappointment to four-year terms ending on June 30, 2023:

• Luis A. Berrones
• Michael B. Betar
• David P. Brodsky
• Jenelle K. Christensen
• Raymond D. Collins
• Patricia L. Cornell
• Stephen M. DeRue
• Ari P. Fisz
• Michael J. Fusz
• Bolling W. Haxall, III
• Daniel L. Jasica
• Charles D. Johnson
• David Christopher Lombardo
• Reginald C. Mathews
• Jacquelyn D. Melius
• Christopher B. Morozin
• Paul B. Novak
• Veronica M. O’Malley
• Theodore S. Potkonjak
• Elizabeth M. Rochford
• Helen S. Rozenberg
• Stacey L. Seneczko
• James K. Simonian
• George D. Strickland
• Donna-Jo R. Vorderstrasse