Proposals to Reform the Judicial Retention Process

Two bills recently introduced into the Illinois state legislature have caught our attention. Representative Kelly Cassidy has sponsored HJRCA0010, a proposal to amend the Illinois constitution and create a judicial performance commission for the evaluation of judicial retention candidates. Rep. C...
February 26, 2013

Ballot Order for Judicial Retention Candidates

Ballot order for judicial retention candidates is essentially nonsensical to the voter. They’re not alphabetical. The ballot order of retention candidates is not based on filing date, either. They are in an order set by statute, 10 ILCS 5/16-6.1 The judicial retention candidates are identified on t...
February 15, 2013

Chicago Council of Lawyers Speaks Out on the Judicial Election Tomorrow

Chicago Appleseed has long been partnered with the Chicago Council of Lawyers, acting as a research institute for issues identified by Council members. We'd like to share the following editorial from the Chicago Council of Lawyers, regarding tomorrow's judicial retention election. Editorial Stateme...
November 5, 2012

Voting for Judges

For this election ballot voters are faced with a list of nearly 60 judges seeking retention. Only 60% of the votes cast on any judge need be in favor of retention for a judge to keep her seat —no judge has lost office since 1990.  Voters must think critically about the retention election and should...
November 1, 2012

Thoughts after the Primary Election

In the run up to yesterday’s primary race, Appellate Justice Aurelia Pucinski was a vocal critic of the role of campaign financing in judicial elections. Judge Pucinski was particularly critical (audio link, relevant portion at the -1:20 mark) of the role of PAC money and money from donors and organ...
March 21, 2012
1 2 3 4 5 6