voter involvement Archives - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

Voting for the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County: Your Guide for the 2024 Primary Election!

The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County (“Court Clerk”) has unique responsibilities that directly impact access to the courts; the Court Clerk is in a position to create or remove many barriers to justice. The Court Clerk answers to a number of constituencies: judges, attorneys, litigants, jur...

Primary Election Results: Voter Turnout was Low, but Judicial Races Weren’t Neglected

Preliminary results are in from the 2022 primary election in Illinois, which included a number of judicial races. Primary turn-out was disappointing – the “second-lowest for a modern-era primary” – with only 1-in-5 Chicago voters participating and suburban Cook County showing a similar turn-out rate...

Judicial Performance Commission Pilot Project

There are 73 Cook County judges up for retention in the November election. Because voters have no real opportunity to independently evaluate such a large slate of candidates, unfortunately, many voters either abstain from the retention vote or make decisions based on familiar ballot cues (e.g. ethni...