Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Mark L. Levitt
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This judge is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
This page is about the Illinois Circuit Court judge. If you are looking for the Missouri Municipal Court judge, please see Mark Levitt.
Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!
2022 - Present
2025
3
Mark L. Levitt is a resident judge on the Nineteenth Circuit Court (4th Subcircuit) in Illinois. He was elected to the bench in 2010.[1][2] Levitt successfully ran for retention in 2016. He was elected Chief Judge of the Illinois Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court by the Circuit Judges on June 10, 2021 to replace Diane E. Winter. His term as Chief Justice began on January 3, 2022 and will end on January 1, 2023.[3]
Biography
Levitt is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Lake County Bar Association, and the Illinois Judges Association. He formerly served as league president of the Deerfield Youth Baseball Association as well as on the Deerfield Public School District 109 School Board. He is also a member of the Deerfield Rotary and the Deerfield Lions.[3]
Education
Levitt received an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1987, going on to earn his J.D. there in 1990.[2]
Career
- 2022-present: Chief Judge, Illinois Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court
- 2010-present: Judge, Illinois Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court (Elected)
- 1990-2010: Assistant Public Defender, Cook County[4][2]
Elections
2016
Judges of the Illinois Circuit Court stand for retention after their first full term. To be retained, a judge must receive at least 60 percent of the vote.[5][6] Mark L. Levitt was retained in the Illinois Nineteenth Circuit Court, Mark Levitt Retention Election with 82.07 percent of the vote.
| Illinois Nineteenth Circuit Court, Mark Levitt Retention Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Mark L. Levitt | 82.07% | |
| Source: Illinois Board of Elections, "Elections Results, General Election 11/8/2016," accessed November 28, 2018 | ||
Selection method
- See also: Partisan elections
There are 513 judges on the Illinois Circuit Court, each elected in partisan elections to six-year terms. Upon the completion of these terms, judges who wish to continue serving must compete in uncontested, nonpartisan retention elections.[7]
The chief judge of each circuit court is selected by peer vote; he or she serves in that capacity indefinitely.[7]
The circuit courts are also served by 391 associate judges, who are limited in that they may not preside over cases in which the defendant is charged with a felony (an offense punishable by one or more years in prison). Associate judges are appointed to four-year terms by circuit judges.[8][7]
Midterm vacancies are filled by Illinois Supreme Court appointment.[7]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:[7]
- a U.S. citizen;
- a circuit/county resident; and
- licensed to practice law in Illinois.
2010
Levitt defeated Republican Wallace B. Dunn with 50.77% of the vote in the general election.[9][10][4]
- See also: Illinois judicial elections, 2010
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Illinois Judges.net
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Official biography of Judge Levitt
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court, "CIRCUIT JUDGE MARK L. LEVITT ELECTED 19TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT’S NEXT CHIEF JUDGE," accessed June 22, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lake County News-Sun, "Campaign 2010: Six seek circuit judge posts," October 25, 2010
- ↑ Illinois State Bar Association, "Judicial Evaluations - How it works," accessed November 19, 2019
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Illinois," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Illinois," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ State of Illinois, "About the Courts in Illinois," accessed June 30, 2014
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "2010 General Election Results"
- ↑ Illinois State Bar Association, "Tuesday's judicial results for all circuit outside of Cook," November 2010
Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois
State courts:
Illinois Supreme Court • Illinois Appellate Court • Illinois Circuit Court
State resources:
Courts in Illinois • Illinois judicial elections • Judicial selection in Illinois
