Illinois judicial elections, 2012

The Illinois judicial elections consisted of a primary on March 20th and a general election on November 6th.

Illinois judicial elections summary, 2012

Supreme Appellate Trial Total candidates 5 15 195 Unopposed candidates 0 8 43 Judges facing retention 1 5 101 Judges retained 1 5 101 Judges re-elected 1 10 122 Judges not re-elected 0 0 6 New judges elected 0 4 44 Partisan or Nonpartisan   Partisan   Democratic winners 1 7 41 Republican winners 1 2 24

Supreme Court

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Predecessor	Primary Vote	Election Vote
PucinskiAurelia Marie Pucinski	No	Democratic	Vacancy of Thomas Fitzgerald	21%
RileyJames G. Riley	No	Republican	Vacancy of Thomas Fitzgerald		25.3%   D
CunninghamJoy Cunningham	No	Democratic	Vacancy of Thomas Fitzgerald	23%
TheisMary Jane Theis   A	Yes	Democratic	Vacancy of Thomas Fitzgerald	48%A	74.7%   A
GarmanRita Garman   A	Yes	Republican			A
FlanniganThomas W. Flannigan	No	Democratic	Vacancy of Thomas Fitzgerald	7%

Appellate Court

First District

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Predecessor	Primary Vote	Election Vote
SmithJames Fitzgerald Smith   A	Yes				A
ReyesJesse G. Reyes   A	No	Democratic	Vacancy of Sheila O'Brien	33%A	100%   A
DelortMathias W. Delort   A	No	Democratic	Vacancy of Robert Cahill	25%A	100%   A
ConnorsMaureen Connors   A	Yes	Democratic	Vacancy of Mary Jane Theis	A	100%   A
HowseNathaniel R. Howse   A	No	Democratic	Vacancy of Sharon Coleman	A	100%   A
NevilleP. Scott Neville   A	Yes	Democratic	Vacancy of Michael Gallagher	44%A	100%   A
LavinTerrence J. Lavin   A	Yes	Democratic	Vacancy of John Tully	A	100%   A

Second District

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Predecessor	Primary Vote	Election Vote
BirkettJoseph Birkett   A	Yes	Republican	Vacancy of John O'Malley	A	100%   A

Third District

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Predecessor	Primary Vote	Election Vote
SchmidtDaniel Schmidt   A	Yes				A
LyttonTom Lytton   A	Yes				A

Fourth District

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Predecessor	Primary Vote	Election Vote
PopeCarol Pope   A	Yes	Republican	Vacancy of Sue Myerscough	A	100%   A
TurnerJohn W. Turner   A	Yes				A

Fifth District

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Predecessor	Primary Vote	Election Vote
CatesJudy Cates   A	No	Democratic	Vacancy of James Donovan	A	52.1%   A
ChapmanMelissa Chapman   A	Yes				A
McGlynnStephen P. McGlynn	No	Republican	Vacancy of James Donovan	A	47.9%   D

Circuit Courts

For Circuit Court judicial elections, please visit: Illinois judicial elections, 2012 - Circuit Courts

In the news

Illinois election recap, 2012

Illinois: In the Illinois Supreme Court race, incumbent Democrat Mary Jane Theis defeated her Republican opponent, James G. Riley with 84.5 percent of the vote.

Many of the appellate and circuit court races were decided in the March 20th partisan primary elections, which meant a number of unopposed candidates on the general election ballot. The Fifth District Appellate Court saw some action, as Judy Cates (D) defeated Stephen P. McGlynn (R ) in the race to replace James Donovan.

On the Circuit Court level, the first judges were elected to the newly-created 23rd Circuit Court, which will preside over the counties of DeKalb and Kendall (previously part of the 16th Circuit) as of December 3, 2012. The judges who were elected are Melissa S. Barnhart and Ronald J. Matekaitis.

In the 2nd Circuit Court, a lawsuit regarding the primary election has prevented the general election results from being released. The lawsuit, brought by Circuit Court candidate Kent Renshaw, challenges his opponent Eric Dirnbeck's primary win. Dirnbeck was on the ballot, running unopposed, in the general election, but the results were suppressed by a judge pending the outcome of the case.

Many of the Illinois ballots, particularly those in Chicago and the rest of Cook County, included a number of retention elections. A total of 107 justices and judges faced retention this year; all of them were successful. Judges needed at least 60 percent of the vote to be retained to a new term. Two judges of the Cook County Subcircuit Courts, Cynthia Y. Brim and Gloria Chevere, were retained with 63.5 percent and 63.1 percent of the vote, respectively.

Illinois Supreme Court race

As featured in JP Election Brief: The Supreme Court Special on October 18, 2012.

The Illinois Supreme Court is currently split 4-3 in favor of Democrats. If incumbent Justice Mary Jane Theis, a Democrat, loses to Republican challenger and Circuit Judge James G. Riley, the political balance of the court would flip.

Effort to stop judicial retentions sprouts up in Illinois

As featured in JP Election Brief: Alabama dollars to Washington lawsuits (and more!) on October 4, 2012.

A grassroots organization called "Citizens for Judicial Integrity" has appeared on the Illinois election stage, opposing the retentions of four judges of the 3rd Judicial Circuit Court in Madison County. The organization is backed by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and is hoping to remove David A. Hylla, John Knight, Barbara Crowder and Chief Judge Ann Callis this November.

Doug Whitley, President of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, explained his support of the anti-retention effort, stating,

“

The citizens and voters of Madison County need to be relieved of the burden of the reputation of this county for being anti-business, where companies are shaken down in the courthouse.

”

For a judge to be retained in Illinois, they need to secure 3/5ths of the vote.

Controversy in Illinois circuit court race

As featured in JP Election Brief: Money and controversies on September 27, 2012.

Associate Judge Laninya Cason of the 20th Judicial Circuit Court, who is vying for the open Circuit Judge position in that circuit, has filed a complaint against her opponent, Associate Judge Zina Renea Cruse.

Cason's 18-page argument was sent in to the state Judicial Inquiry Board earlier this month. It alleges "unethical conduct which puts the judiciary in disrepute," by Cruse. Specifically, it notes that Charles Courtney, Cruse's campaign chairman, is also appearing before the judge as a lawyer in a divorce case. Cason says that this is unethical.

Cruse's campaign responded by pointing out Cason's negative evaluation by the Illinois State Bar Association.

The complaint process through the Judicial Inquiry Board usually takes six months. Another resolution was explained by Attorney Warren Lupel, of the Judicial Ethics Committee. He said the judge may announce, in open court, the conflict regarding her campaign manager appearing before her, then leave the room for the attorneys to discuss amongst themselves. Based on the attorney's decision, the case may proceed or be reassigned. Chief Judge C. John Baricevic, of the 20th Circuit, said that, as far as he knows, such a procedure had already taken place.

Judicial campaigns target TV, spending 4.6 million and counting

As featured in JP Election Brief: Money and controversies on September 27, 2012.

Candidate spending is on the rise in Alabama, Illinois, Texas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Montana and Oregon. According to data compiled by Justice at Stake and the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, candidates from the seven states spent a combined total of $4,673,370 on primary television ads. That figure is more than quadruple the estimated amount spent on television ads during the 2010 primaries. This year's primary spending also surpassed 2004's record of $3.8 million, which included nine states.

The two organizations who compiled the data are trying to show the effects of special interest groups on judicial elections.

“

Money and special interests continue to transform judicial elections around the country. - Alicia Bannon

”

The candidates

The following is a selection of the highest-spending candidates.

Alabama Candidates Tommy Bryan, Charles Graddick, Charles Malone and Roy Moore spent a combined total of $1,391,530 Illinois Candidate Mary Jane Theis spent $1,198,590 Candidate Joy Cunningham spent $135,580 Texas Don Willett spent $1,167,930

West Virginia Candidates Letitia "Tish" Chafin, Robin Jean Davis, Louis Palmer and Jim Rowe spent a combined total of $586,050 Arkansas Candidates Raymond Abramson and Jo Hart spent a combined total $168,410 Montana Candidate Elizabeth Best spent $22,110 Oregon Candidate Nena Cook spent $3,170

The Brennan Center for Justice is a "'nonpartisan public policy and law institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice'". Justice at Stake is a nonpartisan nonprofit "working to keep America's courts fair and impartial."

Illinois 2012 retention elections

As featured in JP Election Brief: 2012 Retention Elections on July 5, 2012.

In Illinois, a lone Supreme Court justice stands for retention, Rita Garman. She has served on the Supreme Court since 2001.

Illinois primary results

As featured in JP Election Brief: The Rainbow Connection on March 22, 2012.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis faced three opponents in this week's Democratic primary election and received 48 percent of the vote, winning her party's nomination. She will compete against Republican James G. Riley in the general election.

On the Illinois Appellate Court, there were three races in the First District. Below are the results:

For the Cahill vacancy, Mathias W. Delort won the six-way Democratic primary with 25 percent of the vote.

For the Gallagher vacancy, P. Scott Neville won a three-way Democratic primary with 44 percent of the vote.

For the O'Brien vacancy, Jesse G. Reyes won a five-way Democratic primary with 33 percent of the vote.

Lights out in Illinois Supreme Court debate

As featured in JP Election Brief: Three in the midwest and two in the south on March 8, 2012.

On Tuesday, the four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the Illinois Supreme Court were left in the dark during part of their debate on Chicago Tonight. The TV studio where the debate was being filmed experienced a complete blackout for about 25 minutes.

One of the debate topics revolved around incumbent Judge Mary Jane Theis' relation with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Judge Theis was appointed to a temporary term in October of 2010, during which she took part in a unanimous ruling that determined Emanuel was eligible to run for mayor. Theis's opponents, Judge Joy Cunningham and Aurelia Marie Pucinski, said that Theis was Emanuel's neighbor and should have recused herself from the case. Pucinski noted Emanuel's campaign contributions by to Theis's campaign, but Theis responded, "The fact that one of the litigants in the case lives in the same area that I lived, I really don't think that the people of the city of Chicago would question my integrity."

Another topic of debate was bar association ratings. Theis and Cunningham received positive ratings from all of the major groups of lawyers, while Pucinski and lawyer Thomas W. Flannigan did not. Pucinski said, "What a great idea - let's let lawyers decide who they like. I do not think that the bar ratings are the be-all and end-all of this campaign." Flannigan only received an endorsement from one bar association.

You can watch the online portion of the debate here: Chicago Tonight: Illinois Supreme Court Candidate Forum.

See also

• News: Cook county judge hopefuls attend 'the slating' to lobby for Democratic party endorsements, November 8, 2011

External links

• Illinois State Board of Elections - Offices Up for Election
• Illinois State Board of Elections, Judicial Vacancies
• Morris Daily Herald, "Former prosecutor Navarro enters race for La Salle judge," August 2, 2011
• The Register-Mail, "Tim Londrigan eyes circuit judge race," August 24, 2011
• The State Journal-Register, "Bernard Schoenburg: "Tim Londrigan eyes circuit judge race," August 25, 2011
• T. Scott Webb seeks election as circuit judge 9/10
• Chicago Sun-Times, "Democratic primary for Illinois Supreme Court a three-woman race," October 4, 2011
• BND.com, "Madison County Judge Romani won't seek retention; Napp to seek position," October 18, 2011
• Carmi Times.com, "Judy Cates seeks election," October 27, 2011, Judy Cates election website
• Benton Evening News, "Stephen Swofford will run for 2nd Circuit judge seat," November 30, 2011
• VoteforJudges.org: Judicial Evaluations for Chicago area judges