Voting for Judges
For this election ballot voters are faced with a list of nearly 60 judges seeking retention. Only 60% of the votes cast on any judge need be in favor of retention for a judge to keep her seat —no judge has lost office since 1990. Voters must think critically about the retention election and should look at the endorsements critically. Voting yes on all judges or no on all judges is not sufficient to maintain a good judiciary. Likewise, judicial endorsements not based on meaningful evaluation are insufficient.
While Chicago Appleseed does not endorse judges, we do sponsor
VoteforJudges.org where voters can view and download sample ballots from individual bar associations like the Chicago Council of Lawyers, look at Chicago Tribune endorsements, or look at which judges are found Not Recommended for retention by half or more of the bar groups. Judges matter and informed voters matter. Our focus with the judicial elections is a meaningful evaluation process and voters making rational decisions about their retention votes. Vote for qualified judges— it makes a difference.
In a recent column, the Chicago Tribune’s John Zorn has taken voters—and the political parties—to task for failure to take the retention elections seriously. Zorn focuses particularly on one judge, Judge Cynthia Brim, who was found not recommended for retention by at least half of the bar groups that issue recommendations and who received a poor evaluation from the Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County.
Zorn’s column references those evaluations, which have “rated [Judge Brim] as unqualified — inconsistent and tardy in her rulings, hostile to those who appear before her and deficient in her knowledge of the law” and asks “Do citizens who rely on the court system to dispense justice with wisdom and serenity deserve better judges than this?” He urges voters to take the duty to retain only qualified judges seriously.
At Chicago Appleseed, we agree.