Elizabeth M. Rochford

Elizabeth M. Rochford

Democratic Party

Illinois Supreme Court 2nd District

Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2032

Years in position

2

Predecessor

Michael J. Burke

Prior offices

Illinois 19th Circuit Court

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Report an officeholder change

Compensation

Base salary

$284,948

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Loyola University, 1983

Law

Loyola University, 1986

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Elizabeth M. Rochford (Democratic Party) is a judge for the 2nd District of the Illinois Supreme Court. She assumed office on December 5, 2022. Her current term ends on December 6, 2032.

Rochford (Democratic Party) ran for election for the 2nd District judge of the Illinois Supreme Court. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Rochford completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Rochford was first appointed to the 19th Circuit on December 20, 2012. She was reappointed in 2015. She left office in 2022.

Biography

Elizabeth M. Rochford earned a bachelor's degree and law degree from Loyola University in 1983 and 1986, respectively. Rochford's career experience includes working as an attorney.

Elections

2022

See also: Illinois Supreme Court elections, 2022

General election

General election for Illinois Supreme Court 2nd District

Elizabeth M. Rochford defeated Mark Curran in the general election for Illinois Supreme Court 2nd District on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Elizabeth M. Rochford (D)	55.2	318,281
		Mark Curran (R)	44.8	258,014

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 576,295
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois Supreme Court 2nd District

Elizabeth M. Rochford defeated Nancy Rotering and René Cruz in the Democratic primary for Illinois Supreme Court 2nd District on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Elizabeth M. Rochford	44.4	42,955
		Nancy Rotering	28.7	27,763
	Submit photo	René Cruz	26.9	25,977

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 96,695
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Illinois Supreme Court 2nd District

Mark Curran defeated Daniel Shanes, John A. Noverini, and Susan Hutchinson in the Republican primary for Illinois Supreme Court 2nd District on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Curran	29.5	31,628
	Submit photo	Daniel Shanes	28.2	30,204
		John A. Noverini	21.7	23,234
		Susan Hutchinson	20.6	22,049

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 107,115
= 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 themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Elizabeth M. Rochford completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Rochford's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Judge Rochford is the Democratic nominee for the 2nd District of the Illinois Supreme Court. Her legal and judicial career has spanned more than 35 years and in 2022 she was rated “highly recommended” by the Illinois State Bar Association and “highly qualified” by the Lake County Bar Association in her campaign, the only candidate in the race to be rated qualified. Judge Rochford has been a Judge on the 19th Circuit Court in Lake County for a decade. Through her 35 year career, she has served in private practice, as a former Assistant State’s Attorney, and as a Commissioner of the Illinois Court of Claims. Rochford has served on the Board of Directors, and is the current Third Vice President of the Illinois Judges Association (IJA), which works to combat bias in the courts. She is a current member of the Illinois Supreme Court and Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts’ Access to Justice Advisory Committee, and a current member of the Illinois Judicial Conference Public Relations Task Force. She has served as President of the Illinois Judges Foundation, on the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) Board of Governors and as its Secretary, and was the President of the Lake County Bar Association (LCBA).

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Judge Rochford has spent 35 years in and around the court system, including serving as a Lake County judge for the past decade. She is the ONLY judge in this race.
• Judge Rochford is rated highly recommended by the Illinois State Bar Association and the DuPage County Bar Association, and highly qualified by the Lake County Bar Association. She is the only candidate in this race to be rated as such.
• Judge Elizabeth Rochford will use her experience as an attorney and judge to be a leader on the Illinois Supreme Court and a champion for women and groups often neglected by our legal system.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

In her 35-year career as an attorney and judge, Judge Rochford has seen people struggle to navigate a complicated legal system. That’s why she has devoted herself to helping everyone access justice. Rochford started several programs to make the legal system easier to handle, especially for working families or people representing themselves who may not be able to afford a lawyer.

Judge Rochford is committed to serving the court system and ensuring it works for all Illinoisans. Rochford has served on the Board of Directors, and is the current Third Vice President of the Illinois Judges Association (IJA), which works to combat bias in the courts. She is a current member of the Illinois Supreme Court and Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts’ Access to Justice Advisory Committee, and a current member of the Illinois Judicial Conference Public Relations Task Force. She has served as President of the Illinois Judges Foundation, on the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) Board of Governors and as its Secretary, and was the President of the Lake County Bar Association (LCBA).

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.

State supreme court judicial selection in Illinois

See also: Judicial selection in Illinois

The seven justices of the Illinois Supreme Court are chosen by popular vote in partisan elections and serve 10-year terms, after which they must compete in uncontested, nonpartisan retention elections to remain on the court.

Supreme court justices in Illinois are elected to represent specific districts. The seven justices are divided among five districts (three allocated to Cook County and the others divided evenly among the other four districts) and are voted into office by the residents of their respective regions.

Qualifications

To serve on the supreme court, a judge must be:

• a U.S. citizen;
• a district resident; and
• licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Chief justice

The chief justice of the supreme court is chosen by peer vote to serve a three-year term.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

In the event of a midterm vacancy, the Illinois Supreme Court is responsible for appointing an interim justice. If a justice is appointed more than 60 days before the next primary election, the justice must run in a partisan election in the next general or judicial election to remain on the court. The appointed justice's term will end on the first Monday in December after their election. If a justice is appointed less than 60 days before the next primary election, the justice will have to run in a partisan election to remain on the court in the second general election. The appointed justice's term will end on the first Monday in December after their election

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

See also

Illinois	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Illinois Illinois Appellate Court Illinois Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Illinois	Federal courts State courts Local courts

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State resources:

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