Balanoff, who presides over the courts child protection division, has proposed an amendment to the Illinois Supreme Court rules that would require circuit court judges to select associate judges from all the countys 15 geographic subcircuits. Bar evaluations were issued for all of the associate judge applicants by The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, at the request of Chief Judge Evans. Law School: Illinois Institute of Technologys Chicago-Kent College of Law Chief Judge Evans said the Nominating Committee interviewed 176 applicants over a 6-month period, and the selection of the 44 candidates was unanimous. PORTER, Brian Randall -Founder and CEO of the Amiwala Foundation. CORBIN, Torrie Luciana Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and the courts Nominating Committee today announced the names of the 44 candidates who will be on the ballot for circuit judges to vote to fill 22 associate judge vacancies. deCASTRO, Pablo F. Chambers, Arthur F. Hill, Jr., Mark Joseph Lopez, and Thomas R. Mulroy, Jr., the appointment of Associate Judge Thomas More Donnelly to the office of circuit judge, and the authorized increase of two (2) associate judgeships for the Circuit Court of Cook County as a result of the 2020 Federal census-based associate judgeships pursuant to 705 ILCS 45/2. COLEMAN, Jennifer Frances Remote Access to Reviewing Court Documents. Twelve of the 22 new associate judges announced Thursday are people of color, according to Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans' office, and the group is evenly split between women and men. Here is the list of the finalists: AHMAD, Mohammad Abedelal; BAE, Jennifer Eun; BAHENA, Hilda MORRIS, Tisa Lynne Each bar association issued its own ratings for individual associate judge applicants. Associate judges are selected by the court's elected circuit judges in a process that is supposed to be merit-based and provide a counterbalance to a judiciary largely selected through partisan elections. Bar evaluations for associate judge applicants were conducted by The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, at the request of Chief Judge Evans. FRENTZAS-BUBARIS, Athena Shalabi was one of 30 attorneys and individuals who were nominated . The bar groups should be commended for their diligent work, Chief Judge Evans said. The Chief Judge must then notify the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts of the names of the candidates selected by the Committee and request the Director to begin the balloting process. Chief Judge Evans thanked The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance for their work in evaluating the associate judge applicants. The group includes both government attorneys and attorneys in multiple areas of private practice. GLENNON, Caroline Gale The judges may vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies to be filled, and must return the ballots to the Director within 14 days of the date the ballots were distributed. Additional Content. Bar evaluations were issued for all of the associate judge applicants by The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, at the request of Chief Judge Evans. Associate Judge finalists announced. The form and instructions for electronically submitting an application are available on the Supreme Courts website here. -Keynote Speaker . CASTILLO, Nicole If you have any questions, please contact the Administrative Office at 217-557-8552 or 217-558-4490 during regular business hours. Note that the application for appointment to the office of associate judge was revised on September 17, 2019, and only applications on the revised form will be accepted. Follow the court on Twitter@CookCntyCourt The Illinois Supreme Court has not yet made a decision on his proposal. Many of those full circuit judges . P. Scott Neville, Jr. Running for: Illinois Supreme Court. Honorable Shelley Sutker-Dermer, Presiding Judge, Second Municipal District BARRIDO, Jerome Celis Circuit Judge Grace Dickler, who presides over the courts domestic relations division and sat on the committee that screened the applicants for associate judge, said the circuit judges try to make sure that the associate judges they pick are going to be fair no matter what their background.. SMUDA, Joan Ellen ###. The Chief Judge must then notify the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts of the names of the candidates selected by the Committee and request the Director to begin the balloting process. The Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County decided today to reconvene the Associate Judge selection process in April. Her prior roles include serving as a Cook County assistant state attorney, and a Commissioner of the Illinois Court of Claims. Resident: Chicago Chief Judge Jay W. Ukena . A total of 272 licensed attorneys originally submitted applications for consideration for the 17 Associate Judge vacancies and underwent evaluations by several bar associations. Update on Associate Judge selection processReleased On 01/25/2018 The Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County decided today to reconvene the Associate Judge selection process in April. PATTAROZZI, Michael Nando Because a nominating committee winnows the candidate pool, Andersen advises aspirants to "focus on the judges likely to be on that committee. The judges must return the ballots to the Director within 14 days of the date the ballots were distributed. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 39, the nominating committee must select twice as many qualified candidates as there are vacancies to be filled; in this case, the nominating committee will select 20 candidates from which the circuit judges will fill the 10 vacancies. However, the new class is much less diverse when it comes to professional backgrounds. I am grateful for the hard work of the Nominating Committee in putting together this list of capable and talented candidates. Over the same period, less than 2% of new associate judges hailed from the 1st judicial subcircuit, which includes the predominantly Black and working-class communities of Chatham and South Chicago. Within 14 days after the Chief Judges notification, the Director mails a secret ballot with the names of each candidate to each circuit judge. serving as a circuit court judge, Susan F. Hutchinson was an associate judge from 1981 to 1992. The bar groups should be commended for their diligent work, Chief Judge Evans said. While Circuit Judges are . If unable to electronically submit an application, an applicant must submit two (2) signed originals of the prescribed application to Marcia M. Meis, Director, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, 222 North LaSalle Street, 13th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60601. They are vying for 10 associate judge . The Nominating Committee took this action to avoid overlap with the March primary in which several applicants for Associate Judge are also running for Circuit Judge, and to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts mandatory Education Conferences that judges will attend in February and April. Below is the list of the 44 candidates that was forwarded to the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts: The candidates constitute a diverse group, racially and ethnically, and include 21 men and 23 women. Congratulations to ALL Short-List finalists, for Associate Judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County! During the next few weeks, the candidates will present circuit judges with their credentials, including a short video, resume, and one-page biography. The group includes both government attorneys and attorneys in private practice. Applicants should be aware that their names will be released to the media to allow public comment on their candidacy and that a bar evaluation may also be requested. Attached with this press release are the evaluations of the 44 candidates. The form and instructions for electronically submitting an application are available on the Supreme Courts website here. Please note that if you need additional pages that is still an option. Admitted to the Bar: 1998 Honorable James P. Flannery, Jr., Presiding Judge, Law Division Chief Judge Evans thanked The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance for their work in evaluating the associate judge applicants, saying, The bar ratings are helpful throughout the entire process, both to the Nominating Committee during its final deliberations and to the circuit judges when casting their ballots., Evans added, I appreciate the considerable resources that the bar association members and staff devoted to performing this task. Age: 50 Saranya Raghavan, president of the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago, said its often an uphill battle to get enough circuit judges to support an associate judge candidate of color. Any attorney licensed to practice in Illinois who is a U.S. citizen and a resident of Cook County can apply for the positions with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts through March 3. Under Supreme Court Rule 39, the Nominating Committee must select twice as many qualified candidates as there are vacancies to be filled; in this case, the Nominating Committee will select 34 candidates from which the Circuit Judges will fill the 17 vacancies. Bar evaluations were issued for all Associate Judge applicants by The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, at the request of Chief Judge Evans. The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts on Thursday named 22 new associate judges who will take the bench in Cook County. If you have any questions, please contact the Administrative Office at 217-557-8552 or 217-558-4490 during regular business hours. Six other current assistant states attorneys were selected as associate judges, including Martha-Victoria Jimenez, a supervisor for the offices civil actions bureau, and Barbara Lynette Dawkins. In 2018, only one of the 17 candidates selected to serve as an associate judge was Black. About two-thirds of sitting judges are white, 20% are Black, 9% are Latinx, and 3% are Asian, according to data provided by Evans office. Law School: University of Illinois College of Law This could . JIMENEZ, Martha-Victoria At the end of 6 hours, the session will disconnect and information entered will not be saved. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get our public service journalism emailed directly to you. This month, the Nominating Committee interviewed 248 applicants, as 20 withdrew from the process and four did not appear for their interviews. Applicants should be aware that their names will be released to the media to allow public comment on their candidacy and that a bar evaluation may also be requested. A total of 212 attorneys originally submitted applications for consideration, and 36 applicants withdrew from the process. And one of them, Maryam Ahmad, joins the bench from her current post as the chief of the states attorneys offices juvenile justice bureau. The Cook County Circuit Court elected 9 new associate judges, all of whom were found qualified or well qualified by our affiliate, Chicago Council of Lawyers. Both applications are PDF fillable documents which can be completed using a computer or mobile device. Licensed attorneys submit applications for consideration and undergo evaluations by bar associations. Honorable Grace G. Dickler, Presiding Judge, Domestic Relations Division As you type, you may see the text scroll out of view to the left or up and down. Admitted to the Bar: 1985 We also examined the applicants bar ratings, career achievements, and whether they could be fair and impartial adjudicators.. Subscriptions. But research shows that a judges professional background may influence their judicial decisions. The Illinois Supreme Court hears few cases. About a fifth of the judges in both groups were African American. , Jr. Running for: Illinois Supreme Court has not yet made a decision on his proposal to serve an. 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