More recommendations on county judges

There are nearly 100 men and women running for judge this year in Cook County.

Voters in the Cook County Democratic Primary will be asked to choose judges in nine countywide races on February 5. There are also contested vacancies in the 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 12th and 15th Subcircuits. Two vacancies are up in the 5th and 13th Subcircuits and there are three contested races in the 10th Judicial Subcircuit.How can a voter figure out which candidates are worthy of a vote?

Chicago lawyer Jack Leyhane has been collecting information on the judicial primary and posting it on his blog, For What It’s Worth. There you will find links to candidate websites, statements offered by some of the candidates themselves, and posts that ‘organize the data’ for each contest, providing information about all available bar association ratings and endorsements by newspapers and other groups.

Primary elections are particular important in judicial races. No Republican filed for any countywide Circuit Court vacancy. Only in the 4th, 12th, 13th and 15th Subcircuits are there any Republican candidates at all. Except in these four races, the winners of Tuesday’s primaries are virtually guaranteed to take office in December.

In addition to For What It’s Worth, information about Cook County Circuit Court candidates may be found at http://www.illinoisjudges.net/ and http://www.illinoisvotersguide.org/2008/candidates.php.

Both these sites, sponsored by the Illinois Civil Justice League and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, respectively, provide information about judicial contests elsewhere in the State as well.