About Elizabeth Monkus

Elizabeth Monkus (she/her) is the Senior Attorney & Project Director for Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts. Elizabeth came to Chicago Appleseed in 2010 to manage the Judicial Performance Commission Demonstration project. She currently focuses on domestic relations and judicial elections in her program work.

Did you vote in the judicial retention election last year?

Did you vote in the judicial retention election last year? Chances are that you did not. There were 59 judges on the retention ballot and their names were listed in a seemingly random order—not alphabetical, not grouped by court division, just 59 names and the questioned “should this judge be retai...
February 19, 2013

Ballot Order for Judicial Retention Candidates

Ballot order for judicial retention candidates is essentially nonsensical to the voter. They’re not alphabetical. The ballot order of retention candidates is not based on filing date, either. They are in an order set by statute, 10 ILCS 5/16-6.1 The judicial retention candidates are identified on t...
February 15, 2013

Letter to the Editor: Campaign contributions and recusal

The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin (account required for access) has run a letter to the editor from our Executive Director and our partners at the Chicago Council of Lawyers and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, discussing the need for improved recusal standards in Illinois. We're pleased to...
February 12, 2013

Thoughts on Judicial Evaluation, Following Judge Brim’s Acquittal

Judge Liam Brennan, who normally sits in Will county, presided over the misdemeanor battery trial of Judge Cynthia Brim. Judge Brim offered the defense that she was legally insane at the time of the incident at the Daley Center courthouse which lead to her arrest, suspension from the bench and trial...
February 4, 2013

Reconsidering Judicial Retention in Illinois

On Friday, Illinois State Representative Kelly Cassidy introduced a bill to amend the Illinois Constitution with regard to the retention of sitting judges. Rep. Cassidy’s bill would create a “Judicial Retention Commission in each Judicial District to evaluate the qualifications of Supreme and Appe...
February 4, 2013
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