Illinois judicial elections, 2014

Illinois judicial elections, 2014
Overview
Total candidates:	302
Primary candidates:	141
General election candidates:	232
Incumbency
Incumbents:	176
Incumbent success rate:	98%
Competition - general election
Percent of candidates in contested races:	12%
Percent uncontested:	20%
Percent retention:	68%
Partisan victories
Republican	28
Democratic	32

2015 → ← 2013
Judicial Elections
Judicial elections, 2014
Judicial election dates
Candidates by state
Supreme court elections

Last updated: November 2014

The 2014 Illinois judicial elections consisted of partisan elections and retentions. In 2014, many races were decided in the primary election, due to participation by only one party in those races. Most candidates were judges facing retention elections. Despite the fact that judges must receive at least 60 percent of the votes to win in these elections, no Illinois judge has lost a retention since 1990, as of 2014.

See: Illinois elections summary, 2014.

Election dates

• December 23: Filing deadline (partisan primaries)
• March 18: Primary election
• May 4: Filing deadline (retentions)
• November 4: General election

In addition to candidate lists, this page includes information about how the state's judicial elections work, as well as articles about noteworthy news in races across the state.

General election: Contested races

(I) denotes incumbent

Cook County 12th Subcircuit, Jordan vacancy

• James L. Kaplan, 49.4%A
• James Paul Pieczonka, 50.6%A

Cook County 4th Subcircuit, Billik, Jr. vacancy

• Ian Brenson, 41%A
• John J. Mahoney, 59%A

Second Judicial Circuit Court, Sawyer vacancy

• Cassandra A. Goldman, 47.1%A
• William C. Hudson, 52.9%A

Third Judicial Circuit Court, Callis vacancy

• Clarence W. Harrison II, 45.7%A
• John B. Barberis, Jr., 54.3%A

Fourth Judicial Circuit Court, Tungate vacancy

• Ericka Sanders, 44.8%A
• Martin W. Siemer, 55.2%A

Fourth Judicial Circuit Court, Middendorff vacancy

• Stanley Brandmeyer, 51.6%A
• William J. Becker, 48.4%A

Fifth Judicial Circuit Court, Clary vacancy

• Karen E. Wall, 44.1%A
• Thomas M. O'Shaughnessy, 55.9%A

Tenth Judicial Circuit Court, Shore vacancy

• Bradley Popurella, 35.6%A
• James A. Mack, 45.9%A
• John A. Grivetti, Jr., 18.5%A

Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court First Subcircuit, A vacancy

• Dave Carlson, 58.6%A
• Diane M. Para, 41.4%A

Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court First Subcircuit, Livas vacancy

• Daniel Rippy, 58%A
• Sherri Hale, 42%A

Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court Second Subcircuit, A vacancy

• Daniel L. Kennedy, 55.6%A
• Dinah Lennon Archambeault, 44.4%A

Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Court, Hamer vacancy

• Michael L. Wassell, 36.7%A
• Terence M. Patton, 63.3%A

Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Court, Stengel vacancy

• James B. Eagle, 46.9%A
• Linnea E. Thompson (I), 53.1%A

Twentieth Judicial Circuit Court, Cook vacancy

• Heinz M. Rudolf, 49.5%A
• Stephen P. McGlynn (I), 50.5%A

Retentions

The following judges faced a retention election in order to keep their seat. In such elections, the incumbent judge is not being evaluated against an opponent. Rather, he or she simply receives votes of "yes" to retain or "no", do not retain.

Supreme Court

• Lloyd Karmeier, 60.77%A

First District Appellate Court

• Thomas Hoffman, 75.8%A

Second District Appellate Court

• Susan Hutchinson, 80.5%A

Third District Appellate Court

• Mary O'Brien, 78.5%A
• William Holdridge, 78.9%A

Fourth District Appellate Court

• Robert Steigmann, 79.9%A

Cook Judicial Circuit Court

• Debra B. Walker, 76.3%A
• Diane Gordon-Cannon, 74%A
• Eileen Brewer, 75.9%A
• Evelyn Clay, 74.8%A
• James Flannery, 74.9%A
• Joan Powell, 73.3%A
• Kathleen McGury, 76.4%A
• Kerry Kennedy, 75.7%A
• Kristyna C. Ryan, 76.1%A
• Laura Sullivan, 73.5%A
• Lewis Nixon, 71.8%A
• Lynn Egan, 76.4%A
• Margaret Brennan, 76.5%A
• Marilyn Johnson, 75.6%A
• Mary Anne Mason, 75.3%A
• Mary Ellen Coghlan, 75.9%A
• Maureen Ward Kirby, 74.8%A
• Michael Hyman, 72.6%A
• Michael Toomin, 73.1%A
• Sebastian Patti, 72.6%A
• Sheila McGinnis, 75.7%A
• Shelley Sutker-Dermer, 73.7%A
• Themis Karnezis, 70.3%A
• Thomas Flanagan, 70.8%A
• Thomas J. Byrne, 74.2%A

Cook County 1st Subcircuit

• Donna L. Cooper, 75.6%A

Cook County 2nd Subcircuit

• James L. Rhodes, 72.2%A
• Marjorie C. Laws, 74.2%A
• Valarie Turner, 75.4%A

Cook County 3rd Subcircuit

• Janet Adams-Brosnahan, 74.4%A
• Kenneth J. Wadas, 72.3%A
• Patrick J. Sherlock, 73.3%A

Cook County 4th Subcircuit

• James G. Riley, 74.6%A
• James J. Gavin, 75.1%A
• Patrick T. Rogers, 74.6%A
• Peter A. Felice, 72.1%A

Cook County 5th Subcircuit

• Casandra Lewis, 74.3%A
• Dominique C. Ross, 73.7%A
• Jackie M. Portman, 75.3%A
• Rickey Jones, 71.8%A

Cook County 6th Subcircuit

• Edmund Ponce de Leon, 71.2%A
• Mauricio Araujo, 70.6%A
• Raul Vega, 71.4%A

Cook County 7th Subcircuit

• Anita Rivkin-Carothers, 72.9%A
• Patricia M. Martin, 75.6%A

Cook County 8th Subcircuit

• Ann Collins-Dole, 75%A
• Candace J. Fabri, 73.8%A
• John Fleming, 74.1%A
• Robert E. Gordon, 74.2%A
• Thomas J. Lipscomb, 72%A

Cook County 9th Subcircuit

• Andrew Berman, 73%A

Cook County 10th Subcircuit

• Diana L. Kenworthy, 75%A
• Donald J. Suriano, 72.6%A
• Eileen O'Neill Burke, 74.9%A
• Gregory J. Wojkowski, 72.9%A
• Ursula Walowski, 74.3%A
• William Timothy O'Brien, 74.2%A

Cook County 11th Subcircuit

• Dennis M. McGuire, 73.8%A
• Kathleen G. Kennedy, 76.6%A
• Pamela E. Loza, 73.3%A
• Sandra Tristano, 74.3%A
• Veronica B. Mathein, 74.2%A

Cook County 13th Subcircuit

• Ann O'Donnell, 68.5%A
• Clayton J. Crane, 71.8%A
• Margarita Kulys Hoffman, 74.3%A

Cook County 14th Subcircuit

• Edward A. Arce, 71.8%A
• James N. O'Hara, 73.4%A
• James R. Brown, 73.4%A
• Rodolfo Garcia, 71.2%A
• William G. Lacy, 73.3%A

Cook County 15th Subcircuit

• Anna Helen Demacopoulos, 74.1%A
• Frank G. Zelezinski, 72.8%A

First Circuit Court

• James R. Moore, 69.4%A
• James R. Williamson, 69.8%A
• Joseph Jay Jackson, 68.0%A
• Joseph M. Leberman, 68.2%A
• Phillip G. Palmer, Sr., 69.9%A
• Walden E. Morris, 68.8%A
• William J. Thurston, 68.5%A

Second Circuit Court

• Barry L. Vaughan, 69.7%A
• David K. Overstreet, 69.1%A
• Thomas J. Foster, 67.6%A
• Thomas Joseph Tedeschi, 65.5%A

Third Circuit Court

• Dennis R. Ruth, 65.9%A
• Richard L. Tognarelli, 66.9%A

Fifth Circuit Court

• Mitchell K. Shick, 78.6%A
• Steven L. Garst, 79.8%A
• Tracy W. Resch, 78.8%A

Sixth Circuit Court

• Albert G. Webber, 80.8%A
• Arnold F. Blockman, 77%A
• Harry E. Clem, 80.1%A
• Thomas J. Difanis, 81.1%A

Seventh Circuit Court

• James W. Day, 78.5%A

Eighth Circuit Court

• Bobby G. Hardwick, 81.5%A
• Diane M. Lagoski, 78.6%A
• Scott H. Walden, 81.6%A

Ninth Circuit Court

• David L. Vancil, Jr., 81.8%A
• James B. Stewart, 82.5%A
• Paul L. Mangieri, 79.4%A

Tenth Judicial Circuit Court

• Stephen A. Kouri, 84.2%A

Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court

• Charles G. Reynard, 80.8%A
• Jennifer Hartmann-Bauknecht, 83.1%A
• Robert L. Freitag, 83.9%A
• Thomas M. Harris Jr., 84.7%A

Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court

• Amy Bertani-Tomczak, 76.3%A
• Carla J. Alessio-Policandriotes, 70.1%A
• J. Jeffrey Allen, 75.3%A
• Paula Gomora, 74.3%A
• Richard C. Schoenstedt, 74%A
• Sarah Jones, 71.2%A
• Susan T. O'Leary, 76.5%A

Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court

• Eugene P. Daugherity, 80.5%A
• Joseph P. Hettel, 77.7%A
• Robert C. Marsaglia, 80.0%A

Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Court

• Walter D. Braud, 77.7%A

Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court

• Daniel A. Fish, 83.3%A
• Ronald M. Jacobson, 83.7%A
• Val Gunnarsson, 83.1%A
• William A. Kelly, 83.7%A

Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Court

• James R. Murphy, 77.1%A
• John A. Noverini, 75.8%A
• Joseph M. Grady, 76.7%A
• Judith M. Brawka, 76.7%A

Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court

• Eugene G. Doherty
• Gwyn Gulley, 76.1%A
• Joseph G. McGraw, 83.9%A
• Lisa Fabiano, 82.6%A
• Ronald J. White, 82.5%A
• Rosemary Collins, 84.3%A

Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court

• Blanche Hill-Fawell, 79%A
• George J. Bakalis, 80.1%A
• John Kinsella, 80.9%A
• John T. Elsner, 79.4%A
• Kathryn E. Creswell, 81%A
• Robert J. Anderson, 80.7%A

Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court

• Christopher C. Starck, 79.7%A
• James K. Booras, 78.7%A
• Jay W. Ukena, 77.9%A
• Valerie Boettle-Ceckowski, 80.6%A

Twentieth Judicial Circuit Court

• Dennis B. Doyle, 70.7%A
• James W. Campanella, 69.6%A

Twenty-First Judicial Circuit Court

• Adrienne W. Albrecht, 80.6%A
• Clark Erickson, 84.9%A
• Gordon L. Lustfeldt, 79.6%A
• Michael J. Kick, 82.3%A
• Susan Sumner Tungate, 81.4%A

Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit Court

• Michael J. Sullivan (Illinois), 78.6%A
• Michael T. Caldwell, 77.9%A
• Sharon Prather, 78.2%A

General election: Uncontested

The following candidates were elected or re-elected after running unopposed in the general election.

Illinois First District Appellate Court

• David Ellis
• Sheldon Harris
• John B. Simon

Illinois Second District Appellate Court

• Michael J. Burke

Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court

• Lisa Holder White

Cook Judicial Circuit Court

• Andrea M. Buford
• Bridget Anne Mitchell
• Caroline K. Moreland
• Cynthia Y. Cobbs
• Daniel J. Kubasiak
• Diana Rosario
• Kristal Rivers
• William B. Raines

Cook County 2nd Subcircuit

• Steven G. Watkins

Cook County 3rd Subcircuit

• Terrence J. McGuire

Cook County 4th Subcircuit

• John Michael Allegretti

Cook County 7th Subcircuit

• Judy Rice
• Robert D. Kuzas

Cook County 9th Subcircuit

• Abbey Fishman Romanek
• Anjana Hansen
• Megan Elizabeth Goldish

Cook County 10th Subcircuit

• Anthony C. Kyriakopoulos

Cook County 11th Subcircuit

• Pamela McLean Meyerson

Cook County 13th Subcircuit

• John Curry

Cook County 15th Subcircuit

• Chris Lawler
• Patrick Kevin Coughlin

Second Judicial Circuit Court

• Michael J. Molt

Fourth Judicial Circuit Court

• James L. Roberts (Illinois)

Sixth Judicial Circuit Court

• Richard L. Broch, Jr.
• Robert C. Bollinger
• Wm. Hugh Finson

Seventh Judicial Circuit Court

• Chris E. Reif
• John M. Madonia

Eighth Judicial Circuit Court

• Charles H.W. Burch
• Mike Atterberry

Ninth Judicial Circuit Court

• Thomas B. Ewing

Tenth Judicial Circuit Court

• Thomas Keith

Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court

• Matthew J. Fitton

Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court

• John B. Roe

Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Court Third Subcircuit

• Donald Tegeler
• James C. Hallock

Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court

• Robert G. Kleeman

Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court First Subcircuit

• George Bridges

Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit Court Second Subcircuit

• Michael W. Feetterer

Primary

For candidate lists and results from the judicial primary on March 18, 2014, please see: Illinois judicial primary elections, 2014.

Process

Judicial elections in Illinois occur during even-numbered years. Supreme, appellate, and circuit court judges in Illinois participate in partisan elections. At the end of their term, judges have the option to run in a retention election.

Partisan elections

The general primary occurs on the third Tuesday in March. Unlike many states with contested judicial elections, races in Illinois are regularly contested, often with several candidates running for a seat. The Illinois primary is closed, meaning voters must declare which major political party's ballot they wish to vote on.

The candidate that wins the most votes in the primary advances to the general election to compete against the candidate from the other party. If only one party has candidates in a primary race, that winner will continue on to run unopposed in the general election. Uncontested candidates in the primary are not included on the ballot and automatically advanced to the general election.

Retention

At the expiration of their term, judges may run for retention. Judges seeking retention are required to file a declaration of candidacy to succeed themselves with the Secretary of State at least six months prior to the general election. The names of judges seeking retention are then given to voters on a special judicial ballot without party designation and without an opposing candidate, on the sole question of whether he or she shall be retained in office for another term. Retention elections are held along with the general elections in the specific district or circuit where the judge is seeking retention. To be retained, judges must receive at least 60 percent of the vote.

Noteworthy events

The following articles were current as of the dates listed.

High campaign costs in Illinois counties September 11, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Party switches and the soaring cost of campaigning According to the Madison-St. Clair Record, the price of a judicial campaign in Madison and Bond County, Illinois, can range from five to 20 times more than in comparable judicial circuits in the state. An analysis provided by the Madison-St. Clair Record of the campaign contributions of ten judges from the years 2004 through 2012 within the Fifth Circuit reveals that at least $1,032,039 was collectively raised in contributions. For comparison, an analysis of the campaign contributions raised by thirteen judges from the Sixth Circuit amounted to $44,665. The newspaper cited the figures as records obtained from the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Illinois reform group sends out candidate survey August 7, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Pricey retention campaigns in Tennessee and Florida candidates in the news In the first week of August 2014, the Illinois Civil Justice League (ICJL) began distributing a survey to candidates for judicial offices across the state of Illinois. In total, 69 surveys were sent out so far, with another 158 scheduled to be mailed this week to judges up for retention. The survey was reviewed and approved by judges currently in office. The group said they sent out out the surveys for the purpose of voter education. Ed Murnane, president of ICJL, said that “[i]t’s very important people pay attention to judicial elections. . . .Illinois is one of the few states that elects judges on a purely partisan basis.” The group posted the results of the survey on its website, IllinoisJudges.net. Judges and candidates who did not respond to the survey were named by the group. ICJL also endorsed “merited” candidates and judges. ICJL expressed concern that voters were ignoring the Illinois justice system, particularly the elected judges who rarely get voted out of office. Murnane said that “[v]ery few people pay attention [to the judicial elections] and there is little to no competition. People don’t know who these judges are and what they stand for.” Murnane was also concerned about the ramifications of uneducated voters making selections at the polls. “Judges have a tremendous impact on the daily lives of the citizens of Illinois. They have the right to take children away from families and sentence people to years in prison. People ought to know who these judges are.” The Illinois Civil Justice League posted survey responses as they came in to its its website. Check www.illinoisjudges.net for those results. To find out more on how Illinois selects its judiciary, visit Judicial selection in Illinois.

A judicial primary March 20, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Controversy around judicial election laws On March 18, Illinois voters headed to the polls for the 2014 primaries. By 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 8 percent of eligible voters in Chicago had cast their ballots according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. With polls in the city open from 6:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m., the unofficial election results counted 220,649 voters, approximately 16 percent of those registered. The last two elections saw statewide turnouts between 23 to 24 percent according to assistant executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections, Jim Tenuto. Tenuto said that there seemed to have been a lack of interest and excitement for the primary elections in the state. Election officials suggested that the absence of big Democratic contests may have been a cause of this lack of enthusiasm. Winners of the Cook County Democratic primary election (unopposed candidates not included): Circuit Court: Bridget Anne Mitchell Kristal Rivers Cynthia Y. Cobbs William B. Raines Diana Rosario Andrea M. Buford Subcircuits: 2nd: Steven G. Watkins 3rd: Terrence J. McGuire 4th: John J. Mahoney and John Michael Allegretti 7th: Judy Rice 9th: Jerry A. Esrig, Anjana Hansen and Abbey Fishman Romanek 10th: Anthony C. Kyriakopoulos 11th: Pamela McLean Meyerson 12th: James L. Kaplan 13th: John Curry 15th: Patrick Kevin Coughlin and Chris Lawler

Illinois primary preview March 13, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Close races, scandal and removal from the ballot On March 18, Linda L. Mastandrea, an attorney and gold medal paralympian, ran for the McDonald vacancy on the Cook County Circuit Court . Mastandrea received an endorsement from the Chicago Tribune, which highlighted her advocacy work on behalf of disabled clients. The Council of Lawyers expressed concern that Mastandrea lacked experience in complex litigation. She was unopposed in the primary. In the race for the Jordan vacancy in the Cook County 12th Subcircuit, the Tribune endorsed James Edward Hanlon, Jr., citing his experience with commercial litigation. Hanlon's opponents in the race, James L. Kaplan and Ralph Eugene Meczyk, were disqualified from running. There were two openly gay candidates running for positions in Cook County. Judy Rice and James Patrick Crawley ran for the Cook County 7th Subcircuit's Taylor vacancy and the Veal vacancy of the Cook County Circuit Court, respectively. According to the Windy City Media Group, Rice is a Chicago native with a background in city government and Crawley is a personal injury attorney with over 25 years legal experience.

Voter participation in Illinois primaries March 6, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Texas primary recap, election funding and participation With the Texas primary complete, the next state scheduled to hold a primary election was Illinois. On Monday, March 3, voters began early voting for the primary that occurred on March 18. 2014's primary was unique due to the fact that it marked the first time 17-year-old Illinois residents could vote, providing they would turn 18 by the time of the November election. According to elections officials quoted in the Northwest Herald, around 12 percent of Chicago voters chose to cast early ballots in the 2010 and 2012 primaries. Carrie Downey, clerk and recorder for Clark County, said she anticipated a 14 percent voter turnout for her county’s primary elections, even with a month of early grace period voting. On February 18, only 11 Clark County voters casted ballots in Downey’s office.

Illinois is next in line for primary February 27, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: The importance of primaries On March 18, Illinois voters decided which of the 144 judicial candidates would advance to the general election on November 4. The Madison-St. Clair Record published an article arguing that the partisan election process that Illinois uses limits voters' choice in the general election. According to the Madison-St. Clair Record, "only 17 percent of Illinois general election voters will get a chance to choose between two candidates in an open race for judge in November 2014. There will be no choice on the judicial ballot for five of every six general election voters in Illinois." This number was based on 2010 turnout estimates. There were more Democratic candidates running in the urban Cook County Circuit Court (Chicago) and more Republican candidates running in rural, downstate counties. Each state has different methods of judicial selection. Some, like Illinois, use a partisan election approach, while others, such as Wisconsin, go with nonpartisan elections. Other states appoint judges through the governor, commissions or other governing bodies. To read more about different judicial election methods by state, click here: Judicial election methods by state.

Bollinger set to win circuit court seat February 13, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: The Election Brief is back! The race to fill the vacant seat of retired Illinois Judge Katherine “Kitty” McCarthy reached an early finish. Attorney Paul G. Chiligiris withdrew his Democratic candidacy for the Sixth Circuit seat in Macon County. Chiligiris, 47, said in his announcement, “ At this time, I feel it is best to continue to focus on my law practice and continued professional development as an attorney. ” Chiligiris’ Republican opponent R.C. Bollinger, previously an associate judge for the Sixth Circuit, then ran unopposed in the general election. Both were unopposed in the primary, which took place March 18. Bollinger said he was "excited about having the opportunity to serve our country as the next resident circuit judge." Chiligiris’ name still appeared on the ballot because absentee voting was already underway at the time of his withdrawal, according to Macon County Clerk Steve Bean. However, the votes for Chiligiris were not counted.

See also

• Illinois judicial elections
• Judicial selection in Illinois

External links

• Illinois State Board of Elections

Footnotes

Illinois courts

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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