Mary L. Mikva
2016 - Present
2034
9
Mary L. Mikva is a judge of the Illinois 1st District Appellate Court. She assumed office in 2016. Her current term ends on December 4, 2034.
Mikva (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for judge of the Illinois 1st District Appellate Court. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Mikva completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Mikva received her J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in 1980.[1]
Mikva began serving as a judge on the Illinois First District Appellate Court in 2016. Before that, she was a judge on the Cook County 8th Subcircuit in Illinois from 2004 to 2016.
Prior to her judicial election in 2004, Mikva was a partner at the law firms of Abrahamson Vorachek & Mikva and Seliger & Mikva. She also worked as a criminal defense attorney with Patrick A. Tuite & Associates. She was a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. and U.S. District Judge Prentice Marshall).[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Illinois intermediate appellate court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Illinois 1st District Appellate Court
Incumbent Mary L. Mikva won election in the general election for Illinois 1st District Appellate Court on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mary L. Mikva (D)  | 100.0 | 1,505,682 |
| Total votes: 1,505,682 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Illinois 1st District Appellate Court
Incumbent Mary L. Mikva advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois 1st District Appellate Court on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mary L. Mikva | 100.0 | 434,524 |
| Total votes: 434,524 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Mikva in this election.
2022
See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2022)
Cook County Circuit Court 8th Subcircuit, Mary L. Mikva's seat
Mary L. Mikva was retained to the 8th Subcircuit of the Cook County Judicial Circuit Court on November 8, 2022 with 77.0% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
77.0
|
860,475 | ||
No |
23.0
|
256,900 | |||
Total Votes |
1,117,375 | ||||
|
|
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.[2][3] Mary L. Mikva was retained in the Illinois Cook Circuit Court, Mary Mikva Retention Election with 75.40 percent of the vote.
| Illinois Cook Circuit Court, Mary Mikva Retention Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Mary L. Mikva | 75.40% | |
| 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.[4]
The chief judge of each circuit court is selected by peer vote; he or she serves in that capacity indefinitely.[4]
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.[5][4]
Midterm vacancies are filled by Illinois Supreme Court appointment.[4]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:[4]
- a U.S. citizen;
- a circuit/county resident; and
- licensed to practice law in Illinois.
2010
- See also: Illinois judicial elections, 2010
Mikva was retained in 2010, receiving 76.97% of the vote.[6][7]
Mikva was recommended for retention by the Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County.[8]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mary L. Mikva completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mikva's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- I will work hard to ensure that every litigant is treated fairly and that the merits of their case are considered fully.
- Electing qualified judges is extremely important.
- I am committed to protecting rights.
A second chance.
I was elected to the Circuit Court of Cook County in 2004. I was assigned to the Child Protection Division for six years. In that assignment, I organized and taught classes for attorneys and other judges on parental rights and the Juvenile Court Act. I also became very involved with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy in Washington D.C.
In 2010 Justice Mikva I assigned to the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court. In this new position, I handled some of the most complicated and challenging cases to come before the circuit court, including cases on pension reform, pension underfunding, legislative remaps and large class actions.
Arab American Bar Association \n Recommended
Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area \n Recommended
Black Men Lawyers’ Association \n Recommended
Black Women Lawyers Association \n Recommended
Chicago Council of Lawyers \n Well qualified
Cook County Bar Association \n Recommended
Decalogue Society of Lawyers \n Highly recommended
Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois \n Recommended
Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois \n Qualified
Illinois State Bar Association \n Highly qualified
LAGBAC-Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association \n Recommended
Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois \n Recommended
Women’s Bar Association of Illinois \n Recommended
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2022
Mary L. Mikva did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Illinois 1st District Appellate Court |
Officeholder Illinois 1st District Appellate Court |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 DePaul University College of Law, Biography: Mary L. Mikva
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Illinois," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ State of Illinois, "About the Courts in Illinois," accessed June 30, 2014
- ↑ Cook County Clerk, "General Election – Combined Summary Report," November 2, 2010
- ↑ Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County sample ballot (dead link)
- ↑ Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County, "Report on the Judges Seeking Retention on the November 2, 2010 Ballot in Cook County"
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