We heard you, readers. Here’s our advice on judges.
The Tribune Editorial Board usually releases its judicial endorsements toward the end of the endorsement publishing cycle. But we heard you, readers, in emails and phone calls and through nudges from our colleagues. With early and mail-in voting underway, you want some advice on down-ballot races, especially for judges. So we moved our endorsements up on our calendar.
Most of the races for Cook County judicial seats were decided in the March primary in contested Democratic races. Not many Republicans run for judge in Cook County. So most of the judges’ names you’ll see on the ballot are uncontested, depending on where you live.
The next long lists of judges’ names you’ll see on your ballot are requests for retention — keep them nor not. You’ll be asked to vote Yes or No.
One judge we strongly urge voters to retain is Michael Toomin, who is listed at the top of the retention list. The Cook County Democratic Party, led by county board President Toni Preckwinkle, recommended that voters not retain Toomin. Why? Depends whom you ask. Toomin was the Cook County judge who made the call to appoint an outside prosecutor to examine State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case. In seeking an independent review, Toomin angered the machine and they’re coming after him.
Toomin, however, is a highly qualified, veteran judge currently overseeing juvenile court in Cook County. Give him a “yes” on retention. Say “no” to the political machine.
Illinois Supreme Court
In the Illinois Supreme Court’s Third District, which picks up Will and Kankakee counties, Democrat Justice Thomas Kilbride is on the ballot for retention to a 10-year term. An active and mostly-GOP push is underway to unseat him by asking voters to say “No” to his retention. It’s a tall mountain to climb. Kilbride only needs 60% of the vote plus-one to stay. Most voters don’t pay close attention to these ballot questions, and most judges get retained. But if Republican efforts are successful, this Supreme Court seat would be up in 2022.
Kilbride’s detractors say he is too aligned with House Speaker Michael Madigan, creating conflicts of interest in his rulings. They point to Madigan-allied money that flows to Kilbride’s campaigns and the Supreme Court’s decision against remap reform in 2016, for which Kilbride wrote the majority opinion. It was a blow to democracy. In a dissenting opinion, Republican Justice Robert Thomas wrote: “The Illinois constitution is meant to prevent tyranny, not to enshrine it.”
At the time, plaintiffs in the case who were recruited by allies of Madigan included two ComEd executives. The July ComEd admission of bribery in a federal investigation that also has touched Madigan serves as new gruel, Kilbride’s detractors say, to kick Kilbride off the bench.
We empathize with Kilbride’s opponents. The massive citizen-led initiative to take map-drawing out the hands of politicians crashed and burned in dramatic and frustrating fashion when the Court ruled the effort did not meet constitutional muster to go on the ballot. But Kilbride is only part of this machinery. Lawmakers in the House and Senate could put remap reform on the ballot just about any time. They have not, and yet voters continue to send a Democratic majority to Springfield.
We can’t support efforts to fire Kilbride for writing opinions with which we disagree. Third District voters are welcome to decide for themselves.
Cook County judicial retention
For the list of sitting judges asking to be retained, nearly every one of them is recommended for retention by the three major judicial rating groups.
Here are the judges at least one rating group, and our research, lead us to recommend NO on retention:
Judge Mauricio Araujo (Punch 252) is on administrative leave after allegations of sexual harassment from several court employees were lodged against him. Vote
NO to retain Araujo.
Judge Patricia Manila Martin (Punch 214) is on the ballot but says she is retiring. Vote NO to retain Manila Martin.
Judge Jackie Marie Portman-Brown (Punch 265) is on administrative leave after she was seen on video putting a small child, whom she later said was a relative, in a lockup behind the bench. She also has a history of using abusive language in her interactions with defendants. Two bar groups still consider her qualified and one said she was remorseful about the child. But Cook County can and should do better. We recommend a NO vote on PortmanBrown.
Illinois Appellate Court, First District
Both incumbent judges, Aurelia Marie Pucinski and Mary Katherine Rochford, are recommended YES for retention.
Cook County subcircuits
Depending where you live, there are two contested vacancies: one in the 12th subcircuit and one in the 13th subcircuit.
For the 12th, Hanlon vacancy: Judge Patricia Fallon was appointed to the bench in 2019 from a human resources position in the Cook County Recorder of Deeds Office. Lawyer rating groups consider her qualified for the bench. She faces Republican Frank DiFranco, also rated “qualified,” who has more courtroom experience than Fallon. DiFranco is described as well-versed in a variety of legal issues, both criminal and civil, and as having a reputation as a “zealous and knowledgeable advocate” for his clients. DiFranco is endorsed.
For the 13th, Kulys Hoffman vacancy: Assistant Cook County state’s attorney Susanne Michele Groebner faces GOP attorney Gary William Seyring. Both get high ratings from bar groups but in this matchup, Groebner gets our endorsement due to her experience litigating complex cases. She is described as having “a fine demeanor” and a reputation as a fair and honest prosecutor, according to rating groups.