Voting for judges?

[Xenus Sister]

I hate to admit this, but even though I've always voted, I always skip the judges part because they're not identified as Democrat or Republican and I'm ignorant about who they are.

This time I want to make every vote count. Where's a good place to find info on the judges?

Thanks in advance.

[madrchsod]

1. only if i know who they are

more money has been spent in my county on who is going to be states attorney than anyone else. unfortunately,for personal reasons, i will vote for the republican canidate. i really don`t know where you can get information on judges..hmmm..i will have to look into that.
isn`t it nice to have obama and durbin as our senators? although blago has some problems, he`s stuck up for the people here in illinois time and time again.it`s great to be in a real democratic state where the majority of republicans will work with the democrats to do what is best for all the people of illinois...

[tritsofme]

2. More like

The majority of Republicans will work with the majority of Democrats to screw as many people as possible.

Blago hasn't been so bad, Obama is a breath of fresh air.

[mopinko]

3. ugh

it is always tough. i try to compare the ratings of at least a couple of bar associations.
usually the aba ratings are the most conservative. the chicago bar is a little more nitty gritty. the women's and minority bar associations give a different perspective. unfortunately a lot of the candidates don't like to submit to too many evaluations. i admit i hold that against them. if had to pick one group to rely on, it would be the women's bar.

http://www.wbaillinois.org/jud%20rec1.htm

http://www.isba.org/

http://www.chicagobar.org/public/judicial/2004generaljudicial_findings.htm

[dogman]

4. I usually vote no on all of them.

Of course i live in the land of Repubs out here and can afford to do that. Recently a judge was voted out and they reappointed him to fill the vacancy so it's basically a brotherhood anyway.

[Norquist Nemesis]

5. Having the same problem for DuPage 13th district

We've printed out some pages and I'll be doing more research this weekend. It's a lot tougher to gather info on them.

I'm thinking about contacting our DuPage Township Democratic Party and asking for some help on this one.

[Amigust]

6. Now that I've seen the damage Republican judges do

when their party's power can be affected by their judgment, I won't vote for a Republican judge at all, under any circumstances this election.

I googled each judicial name on the ballot to try to find out party affiliation.

Does your local Democratic office have information on the judges? So far I have not found any good one-stop source of information on judges, that I want to go with. I think it's important to vote on the judges and not leave the decision up to other voters.

[RaRa]

7. Since Clinton's impeachment

I've vowed to NEVER vote for a Republican. On the local level that can be tough, since there can be a decent one. BUT, I remind myself of the SCUM that is the Republican party and I simply can't forgive a candidate, no matter how "nice" they are, for affiliating themselves with this trash. It is the ultimate in guilt by association.

[LSK]

8. i vote them out all the time so we dont have stale old judges

[davsand]

9. The only time they don't show party on judges is a retention vote.

If you don't know who is the Dem in a race, call your local Dem party HQ. Trust me--they WILL know.


Laura

[chicagojoe]

10. That's how I got info once.

Local Dems always know who they have in office.

[Logansquare]

11. I use the IVI-IPO voters' guide

It's not perfect, but they won't recommend a judge who is incompetent or a nutjob.
http://www.iviipo.org/

[Hailtothechimp]

12. voteforjudges.org

I'm not kidding. They take maybe 6 different bar groups' ratings into account. I think there are only 2 judges they suggest not voting for, but their names escape me right now.

[Xenus Sister]

14. Good site, but I hadn't seen it when I posted my list

I was working on my post and only saw yours after posting, which is why it's not listed. Thanks though! I'll check it out.

[Xenus Sister]

13. THANK YOU ALL! I've made a list if it helps anyone else.

I went to the URLs you suggested.

Independent Voters of Illinois–Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO)
http://www.iviipo.org/

Chicago Bar Association (CBA):
http://www.chicagobar.org/public/judicial/2004generaljudicial_findings.htm

Women's Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI):
http://www.wbaillinois.org/jud%20rec1.htm

Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA):
http://www.isba.org/judges/cook/6.html

The IVI-IPO provided a sample ballot, but several spots were not finished, so I printed it out and started doing a comparison.

These are my results.


====================================


IVI-IPO (Independent Voters of Illinois–Independent Precinct Organization)
vs.
CBA (CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION)
vs.
WBAI (WOMEN’S BAR ASSOCIATION OF ILLINOIS)
vs.
ISBA (Illinois State Bar Association)

IVI-IPO sample ballot lists Judges as either YES, NO, NR (No Recommendation/Neutral) or * (Did not submit to review)

CBA lists Judges as QUALIFIED or NOT RECOMMENDED

WBAI gives percentage ratings

ISBA gives Yes or No


These are in alphabetical order, unlike the IVI-IPO sample ballot. More on that later.


POSITIVE AGREEMENT between IVI-IPO, CBA, WBAI, ISBA
(Judges listed as YES/QUALIFIED/Recommend %/YES)

-- WBAI rating in parens


Appellate
- Thomas E. Hoffman (100%)
- Sheila O’Brien (100%)
- Mary Jane Wendt Theis (100%)

Circuit
- Nancy Arnold (100%)
- Richard B. Berland (100%)
- Paul Phillip Biebel (100%)
- Jennifer Duncan Brice (100%)
- Charles Patrick Burns (100%)
- Bernetta D. Bush (100%)
- David Delgado (100%)
- Deborah Mary Dooling (100%)
- Timothy C. Evans (100%)
- Thomas P. Fecarotta, Jr. (100%)
- Allen S. Goldberg (100%)
- Susan Ruscitti Grussel (100%)
- Sophia H. Hall (100%)
- LaQuietta J. Hardy-Campbell (100%)
- Nathaniel R. Howse, Jr. (100%)
- Arnette R. Hubbard (88%)
- Cheyrl D. Ingram (100%)
- Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird (100%)
- Bertina E. Lampkin (100%)
- Diane Joan Larsen (100%)
- Daniel Michael Locallo (100%)
- Daniel Joseph Lynch (100%)
- William D. Maddux (88%)
- James Patrick McCarthy (100%)
- Patrick E. McGann (100%)
- John J. Moran (100%)
- Michael James Murphy (100%)
- Julia Margaret Nowicki (100%)
- William Patrick O’Malley (100%)
- Kathleen Mary Pantle (100%)
- Irwin J. Solganick (100%)
- Paul Stralka (100%)
- Daniel J. Sullivan (100%)
- Sharon Marie Sullivan (100%)
- Edna M. Turkington (88%)
- Dan Weber (100%)
- Alexander Patrick White (100%)


Major Disagreement:

- Richard J. Billik (IVI-IPO: NO, CBA: QUALIFIED, WBAI: 100%, ISBA: Yes)
- Dennis James Morrissey (IVI-IPO: YES, CBA: NOT RECOMMENDED, WBAI: 88%, ISBA: Yes)


NEGATIVE AGREE (NO/NOT RECOMMENDED)

- Susan Jeanine McDunn (100% NOT RECOMMENDED at WBAI, ISBA: No)



OTHER - Positive

- Robert W. Bertucci (IVI-IPO had NR-no recommendation/neutral, CBA listed as Qualified) (100%)
- Thomas F. Carmody (IVI-IPO had *-did not submit for review, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Melvin J. Cole (IVI-IPO: NR, CBA: Qualified) (88%)
- Thomas Michael Davy (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Denise Kathleen Filan (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Nicholas R. Ford (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Vincent Michael Gaughan (IVI-IPO: NR, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Thomas L. Hogan (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Raymond L. Jagielski (IVI-IPO: NR, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Daniel E. Jordan (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Michael R. Keehan (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Carol A. Kelly (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- James W. Kennedy (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- John Patrick Kirby (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Jeffrey Lawrence (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Daniel Michael Locallo (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- William Maki (IVI-IPO: NR, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Paddy McNamara (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%) (Y)
- Julia Margaret Nowicki (IVI-IPO: NR, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Donald J. O’Brien, Jr (IVI-IPO: NR, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
-- William Michael Phelan (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (63% at WBAI)
- Robert J. Quinn (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Thomas P. Quinn (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Maureen Durkin Roy (IVI-IPO: NR, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Leida J. Gonzalez Santiago (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (88%)
- Kevin Michael Sheehan (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Richard A. Siebel (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- John D. Turner, Jr. (IVI-IPO: NR, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- John A. Ward (IVI-IPO: NR, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Anthony L. Young (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)
- Susan Frances Zwick (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (100%)


OTHER - Negative

- Dorothy F. Jones (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: NOT RECOMMENDED, WBAI: NOT RECOMMENDED, ISBA: No)
- William D. O'Neal (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: NOT RECOMMENDED, 88% rating at WBAI)




==============

WBAI (http://www.wbaillinois.org/jud%20rec1.htm) listed these, but they're not on the sample ballots or the other web pages, so I have no idea if I should have their names handy. Any advice?

WBAI takes recommendations from several sources, then gives their own. On the web page, each recommendation is listed, and WBAI's is listed last. I chose not to list each one (as in R,R,NR,R,R,NR,R) because they can be found on the web page, except in a few unclear cases near the bottom of the list.


Vacancies

RECOMMENDED (Rec) or HIGHLY RECOMENDED (HR)

Appellate Court (to fill vacancy of Hon. Robert Chapman Buckley)
- Neil F. Hartigan (Rec)
Appellate Court – 1st District (to fill vacancy of Hon. William Cousins)
- Denise Margaret O'Malley (HR)
Appellate Court – 1st District (to fill vacancy of Hon.Thomas R. Rakowski)
- Aurelia Marie Pucinski (Rec) (WBAI favors Pucinski over Smith)
Circuit Court (to fill vacancy of Hon. Michael B. Bolan)
- Noreen Valeria Love (Rec)
Circuit Court (to fill vacancy of Hon. Thomas P. Durkin)
- Kerry M. Kennedy (HR)
Circuit Court (to fill vacancy of Hon. Thomas R. Fitzgerald)
- Eileen Mary Brewer (HR)
Circuit Court (to fill vacancy of Hon. Thomas A. Hett)
- Laura Marie Sullivan (Rec)
Circuit Court (to fill vacancy of Hon. Aubrey F. Kaplan)
- Sheila M. McGinnis (Rec)
Circuit Court (to fill vacancy of Hon. Leonard L. Levin)
- Margaret Ann Brennan (HR)
Circuit Court (to fill vacancy of Hon. Donald P. O’Connell)
- Mary Ann Mason (HR)
Circuit Court (to fill vacancy Hon. Willie Whiting)
- Lewis Nixon (HR)
Third Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Janet Adams Brosnahan (Rec)
Fourth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Mary Ann Jennings (Rec) (WBAI has no preference)
- Peter A. Felice (Rec) (WBAI has no preference)
Eighth Subcircuit (to fill vacancy of Hon. Morton Zwick)
- Thomas J. Lipscomb (Rec)
Eighth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Robert E. Gordon (Rec)
Ninth Subcircuit (to fill vacancy of Hon. Judith Cohen)
- Barbara M. Meyer (HR)
Ninth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Sandra Otaka (Rec)
Tenth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- William Timothy O’Brien (HR) (over Berman)
Eleventh Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Sam LaBarbera (Rec) (over McGuire)
Twelfth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Sandra Tristano (Rec) (WBAI has no preference)
- James D. Wascher (Rec) (WBAI has no preference)
Fourteenth Subcircuit (to fill vacancy of Hon. Adrienne M. Geary)
- Lawrence D. O’Gara (Rec)
Fourteenth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- James R. Brown (Rec)
Fifteenth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- John Thomas Doody, Jr. (Rec) (over Ryan)



NOT RECOMMENDED (NR)

Appellate Court – 1st District (to fill vacancy of Hon.Thomas R. Rakowski)
- James Fitzgerald Smith (NR) (WBAI favors Pucinski)
Second Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Valarie E. Turner (NR)
Fifth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Cadandra Lewis (NR)
Sixth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Raul Vega (NR)
Seventh Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Anthony Lynn Burrell (NR)
Tenth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Janice L. Berman (NR) (WBAI favors William Timothy O'Brien)
Eleventh Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Dennis Michael McGuire (NR) (WBAI favors Sam LaBarbera)
Fifteenth Subcircuit (to fill additional judgeship A)
- Jim Ryan (NR) (WBAI favors John Thomas Doody, Jr.)



=====================

Retention

RECOMMENDED (Rec) by WBAI

Supreme Court
- McMorrow, Mary Ann Grohwin

Appellate Court (Rec)
- Cahill, Robert (Rec)

Circuit Court – Cook County
- Bender, Gerald C. (Rec)
- Berman, Andrew (Rec)
- Bishop, Patricia Martin (Rec)
- Bronstein, Philip L. (Rec)
- Cannon, Diane Gordon (Rec)
- Clay, Evelyn B. (Rec)
- Coghlan, Mary Ellen (Rec)
- Coleman, Sharon Johnson (Rec)
- Crane, Clayton J. (Rec)
- Crooks, Wilbur E. (Rec)
- Darcy, Daniel P. (Rec)
- Devlin, Donald M. (Rec)
- Donnersberger, David Riley (Rec)
- Egan, Lynn Marie (Rec)
- Elrod, Richard J. (Rec)
- Fabri, Candace Jean (Rec)
- Flanagan, Thomas E. (Rec)
- Flannery, James Patrick (Rec)
- Fleming, John J. (Rec)
- Garcia, Rodolfo (Rudy) (Rec)
- Gavin, James J. (Rec)
- Glowacki, Francis W. (Rec)
- Jones, Rickey (Rec)
- Karnezis, Themis N. (Rec)
- Kelley, Daniel J. (Rec)
- Kennedy, Kathleen G. (Rec)
- Lacy, William G. (Rec)
- Laws, Marjorie C. (Rec)
- Lowrance, Michele Francene (Rec)
- Lynch, Daniel J. (Rec)
- Mathein, Veronica B. (Rec)
- McCarthy, Carol Pearce (Rec)
- McDonald, Barbara A. (Rec)
- McGury, Kathleen Marie (Rec)
- Montelione, Anthony S. (Rec)
- Mulhern, Mary A. (Rec)
- O’Malley, James P. (Rec)
- Patti, Sebastian Thomas (Rec)
- Pietrucha, Edward N. (Rec)
- Ponce de Leon, Edmund (Rec)
- Riley, Barbara Ann (Rec)
- Riley, James G. (Rec)
- Starks, Cheryl A. (Rec)
- Sterba, David P. (Rec)
- Stuart, Jane Louise (Rec)
- Suriano, Donald Joseph (Rec)
- Sutker-Dermer, Shelley Lynn (Rec)
- Toomin, Michael P. (Rec)
- Wadas, Kenneth J. (Rec)
- Williams-Hayes, Shelli (Rec)
- Wojkowski, Gregory Joseph (Rec)
- Zelezinski, Frank G. (Rec)



NOT RECOMMENDED for Circuit Court - Cook County
- Hopkins, Vanessa A. (NR-10, means does not have enough experience)
- Jorzak, James J. (NR)
- Lott, Gay-Lloyd (NR)
- Mitchell-Davis, Judy I. (NR)
- Ryan, James T. (NR)
- Travis, Charles M. (NR)

UNCLEAR
- Douglas, Loretta Carol (variously rated)
Ratings of NR,R,NR,NR,NR,R,R,NR,R (last one is WBAI Recommended)
(with more NRs than Rs, why recommend?)

- Rhodes, James L. (variously rated)
Ratings of R,R,R,R,R,R,R,R,NR (WBAI Not Recommended)
(with all Recommedations except WBAI, why not recommend?)

- Sheehan, Nancy Drew
Ratings of R,R,NR,R,NR,R,NR,NR,R (WBAI recommdation)
(with 4 NRs, why recommend?)


IVI-IPO: http://www.iviipo.org/
CBA: http://www.chicagobar.org/public/judicial/2004generaljudicial_findings.htm
WBAI: http://www.wbaillinois.org/jud%20rec1.htm
ISBA: http://www.isba.org/judges/cook/6.html



=================================================
=================================================
=================================================

Listings in the order they appear on the IVI-IPO Sample Ballot. I recommend going to http://www.iviipo.org/ and printing out their sample ballot, then filling it out according to this list.

- Yes
++ Either NO or Unsure



Appellate
- Thomas E. Hoffman (YES)
- Sheila O’Brien (YES)
- Mary Jane Wendt Theis (YES)

Circuit
- Sophia H. Hall (Yes)
- Richard B. Berland (Yes)
- Paddy McNamara (Yes)
- Thomas P. Quinn (Yes)
- Irwin J. Solganick (Yes)
- Dan Weber (Yes)
- Alexander Patrick White (Yes)
- Donald J. O’Brien, Jr (Yes)
- Vincent Michael Gaughan (Yes)
- Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird (Yes)
- William D. Maddux (Yes)
- John J. Moran (Yes)
- William Patrick O’Malley (Yes)
- James W. Kennedy (Yes)
- Robert W. Bertucci (Yes)
++ Richard J. Billik (IVI-IPO: NO, CBA: QUALIFIED, WBAI: 100%, ISBA: Yes)
- Jennifer Duncan Brice (Yes)
- Bernetta D. Bush (Yes)
- Thomas F. Carmody (Yes)
- Thomas Michael Davy (Yes)
- David Delgado (Yes)
- Deborah Mary Dooling (Yes)
- Timothy C. Evans (Yes)
- Allen S. Goldberg (Yes)
- Susan Ruscitti Grussel (Yes)
- Cheryl D. Ingram (Yes)
- Raymond L. Jagielski (Yes)
++ Dorothy F. Jones (NO)
- Daniel E. Jordan (Yes)
- Carol A. Kelly (Yes)
- Bertina E. Lampkin (Yes)
- Jeffrey Lawrence (Yes)
- Daniel Michael Locallo (Yes)
- William Maki (Yes)
- Patrick E. McGann (Yes)
- Michael James Murphy (Yes)
- Julia Margaret Nowicki (Yes)
++ William D. O'Neal (NO)
++ William Michael Phelan (IVI-IPO: *, CBA: Qualified) (63% at WBAI)
- Robert J. Quinn (Yes)
- Maureen Durkin Roy (Yes)
- Leida J. Gonzalez Santiago (Yes)
- Daniel J. Sullivan (Yes)
- Sharon Marie Sullivan (Yes)
- Edna M. Turkington (Yes)
- John A. Ward (Yes)
- Anthony L. Young (Yes)
- Susan Frances Zwick (Yes)
++ Susan Jeanine McDunn (NO)
- James Patrick McCarthy (Yes)
- Paul Phillip Biebel (Yes)
- Nancy J. Arnold (Yes)
- Arnette R. Hubbard (Yes)
- Thomas L. Hogan (Yes)
- Melvin J. Cole (Yes)
- Nicholas R. Ford (Yes)
- Charles Patrick Burns (Yes)
- Thomas P. Fecarotta, Jr. (Yes)
- Denise Kathleen Filan (Yes)
- LaQuietta J. Hardy-Campbell (Yes)
- Nathaniel R. Howse, Jr. (Yes)
- Michael R. Keehan (Yes)
- John Patrick Kirby (Yes)
- Diane Joan Larsen (Yes)
- Daniel Joseph Lynch (100%)
++ Dennis James Morrissey (IVI-IPO: YES, CBA: NOT RECOMMENDED, WBAI: 88%, ISBA: Yes)
- Kathleen Mary Pantle (Yes)
- Kevin Michael Sheehan (Yes)
- Richard A. Siebel (Yes)
- Paul Stralka (Yes)
- John D. Turner, Jr. (Yes)

==

[Logansquare]

15. Thanks!!! n/t

[lil-petunia]

16. good lists.

These groups, (ChiBar, CCL, IVI, and others really do work hard at this, and they seldom fail to recommend good ones.

The ones they want out REALLY NEED TO BE OUT.

[darkism]

17. I admit

I failed to research the judges before I voted.

And it was the first time I've voted so I didn't want to skip anything for fear of not being counted...

...so instead of no i voted yes to all the judges.

Now I feel bad about it, thinking that I may have unwittingly voted yes to a nutjob of a judge. Then again, I suppose that might be better than voting no to a good one. I'm just trying to rationalise it.

That was the only part of my first voting experience that I regret. I WILL be more informed next time.

[Kitka]

18. I really don't like the idea of "voting no for all of them"

Some are not 'stale old judges', they're excellent judges who should be retained. We lose a lot of good judges because people vote without knowing what kind of judges they are.