Judicial Retention Election Results
Tuesday was the last day provisional ballots can be counted and it appears one Cook County Circuit Court judge will be losing their seat. Shannon O’Malley gained only 58% Yes for Retention votes. All members of the Alliance of Bar Associations rated Judge O’Malley not recommended for retention. In addition to questions about his meeting residency requirements, the Council had concerns about his courtroom management, where avoidable delays can mean that a child remains in a group home, psychiatric hospital, or other out-of-home placement longer than necessary.
Most judges hovered around 73% yes votes on their retention and no judge gained more than 78%. Five additional judges did not break 65% approval ratings: Kathy M. Flanagan, E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., Maura Slattery Boyle, Lisa Ann Marino, and Ieshia Gray. An additional seven judges did not break 70%. In 2020, eight judges achieved less than 70% approval, with five below 65% and two not retaining their seats.
It’s important to note that turnout generally was down. With a voter participation rate of: 65.17%, Cook County saw the second-lowest participation rate in a presidential general election since 1944.
Thank you to everyone who voted in the judicial races. Voting is only part of the individual’s responsibility for creating and maintaining a healthy democracy. We’re thrilled that over 100,000 individual voters visited VoteForJudges.org in preparation for casting a ballot. We’d like to thank our Judicial Evaluations Program Committee, staff and the Jill Dupont Memorial Fellow for their work in getting our evaluations done.