State Judicial Evaluations

JUDICIAL EVALUATIONS

Judges make all kinds of decisions, from the very personal, such as child custody decisions, to those with much broader impact. The decisions that judges make affect our lives, both directly and indirectly, often for many years to come. We never know when a judge we vote for today will make a decision that will affect your life and the lives of your family and friends.

It is our responsibility to vote for judges we can trust to make impartial decisions based on fair consideration of the facts and law. In some cases, this means that judges may make unpopular or controversial decisions. We need to trust that our judges can make those right decisions without regard to political or economic pressure. That is why it is so important to vote for qualified people to be judges.

Among the Chicago Council of Lawyers’ most vital projects is our annual state judicial evaluations. This crucial public service to help the citizens of Illinois vote for qualified judges. The quality of our judiciary is a critical part of our democracy, and informed voting for judges is necessary if we are to have good judges who are independent.

Are you a member of the Council of Lawyers? Apply to join our judicial evaluations committee today!

Evaluations for the March 19, 2024 primary Election:

• March 2024 Primary Judicial Evaluation Report
• March 2024 Primary Judicial Ballot Summary

Evaluations for the November 8, 2022 Election:

• November 2022 Judicial Evaluation Report
• November 2022 Judicial Ballot Summary

Evaluations for the June 28, 2022 Primary Election:

• June 2022 Judicial Evaluation Report
• June 2022 Judicial Ballot Summary

Evaluations for the November 3, 2020 General Election:

• November 2020 Judicial Evaluation Report
• November 2020 Judicial Bellow Summary

Evaluations for the March 17, 2020 Primary Election:

• March 2020 Judicial Evaluation Report
• March 2020 Judicial Ballot Summary

2020 DIRECTORY OF STATE JUDGES

The Council began evaluating state court judges in 1970. We evaluate state court candidates seeking to fill judicial vacancies in the Circuit Court of Cook County. We also evaluate sitting Cook County Circuit Court judges seeking retention. In addition, the Council evaluates First District candidates for the Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Appellate Court.

In the Tenth Edition of the Directory of State Judges, we have utilized Council judicial evaluations from 1986 through December 2020. We have included information about the Circuit Judges in Cook County, the Associate Judges in Cook County, as well as Supreme Court and Appellate Court Justices from the First District.

The Directory – including the biographies and judicial evaluations of judges and associate judges on the bench in the Circuit Court of Cook County, as well as the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court and the Illinois Supreme Court – can be found here.

For more information about our judicial evaluations, please visit VoteForJudges.org. You may also contact our Executive Director Malcolm Rich, at malcolmrich@chicagoappleseed.org or (312) 988-6552.