Get to Know Your Judicial Candidates for the Midterms
The judicial portion of your ballot often seems easy to overlook. We’ve all felt overwhelmed — or underwhelmed — by the endless ledger of seemingly random names. Chicago residents, for example, will see an overwhelming 61 judges on their ballot this November. Though tempting, don’t vote at random! And don’t skip the section altogether. If you can memorize every Pokemon in the National Pokedex, you can give ten minutes to choosing the right judicial candidate.
Don’t forget, you can quickly do your homework ahead of time and take your sample ballot with you, making it easy and breezy to cast your votes.
But Why Should I Care?
Judges play a critical role in our lives in ways that aren’t always easy to see.
They make major decisions for your community, like whether a kid caught shoplifting goes to jail or gets probation, how to treat police misconduct, who gets custody of a child, or whether someone can be evicted from their home.
Their decisions set precedents that shape how we apply and enforce the law. This means that when voting for a judge, you’re not just electing a person, you’re choosing what fairness and justice means in your community.
Most judges are competent public servants who need your vote to continue to serve. However, despite being deemed unqualified by multiple bar associates, several sitting judges remain on the bench because so many people just skip the judicial section of the ballot.
Okay, I’m in. So what do I need to know?
If you’ve sneaked a peek at your ballot, you may have seen that the judicial section looks a little bit different than the other offices. That’s because in Illinois, judges are either running for election (like any other candidate) or for retention, which means they are already a judge and are running to keep their job. Without any opponents, judges running for retention must collect 60% yes votes out of the total number of judicial votes cast in order to stay a judge.
Head to BallotReady and find the list of judicial candidates that will be on your ballot. From there, we’ve got some great tools to help you learn a bit more about the judges and their experience:
· Chicago Bar Association (for those living in Cook County)
· WTTW round up of judicial candidate rankings
Be sure to fill out your BallotReady ballot along the way. Remember, voting is an open book test. Take your notes in with you and make casting your judicial votes easier than ever!
QUICK TIP! If there are a lot of judges on your ballot, focus on the judges you’re voting AGAINST. It’s easier to remember 2 or 3 bad judges, versus 57 good ones!
Is there more?
Well… yes. That’s everything you need to make an informed decision on your judges, but if you’re the kind of person who likes getting lost in Wikipedia, we’ve got more info for you!
For starters, there are three types of elected judiciary in Illinois that you might see on your ballot this November:
● Circuit and Subcircuit Court Judges (the first court a case will go to),
● Appellate Court Justices (they handle appeals from lower courts), and
● Supreme Court Justices (they have the final say).
Circuit and subcircuit court judges can also appoint Associate Judges who handle many of the the same cases but often get assigned less desirable circuit court work, like weekend and overnight hearings and other less exciting cases.
How does the Illinois Supreme Court work?
We’ll start with the bad news. There are no Illinois Supreme Court vacancies on the ballot this election, and just one supreme court justice running for retention (in the 1st district — Cook County). But, even if you don’t get to vote for a supreme court candidate this time around, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know a bit more about the highest court in the state system!
The Illinois Supreme Court reviews and issues rulings about cases that are appealed from a lower state court, just like the U.S. Supreme Court does in the federal system. The State Supreme Court also has “original jurisdiction” about some sorts of cases, meaning that they go directly to the Illinois Supreme Court and not first to a lower court. The ones that go straight to the supreme court are revenue, mandamus (generally where the court orders a lower court or public entity to do something or stop doing something in order to comply with the law), writs of prohibition (telling a lower court that they are not legally authorized to hear a case), and habeas corpus (requiring that someone charged with a crime gets their day in court and access to the evidence against them).
How do Justices get on the Supreme Court?
There are seven Supreme Court Justices elected from five districts, three from the first district which includes Chicago, and one each from the other four districts. Supreme court justices serve for 10 year terms. The sitting supreme court justices elect a Chief Justice who serves for a three year term. The Illinois Supreme Court is in session periodically throughout the year, meeting on the second Monday in January, March, May, September, and November. In between those times, the justices and their staff work on reviewing material submitted for cases, as well as preparing and reviewing their decisions. At least four justices need to be present to hear cases and four justices need to agree in order to deliver a decision or opinion on a case.
For more info: http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/SupremeCourt/default.asp
What does an Appellate Court Justice do?
Not everyone gets to weigh in on Appellate Court Justice candidates for election or retention this time around, either, but some of you will see one or more appellate court candidates on your ballot. Illinois has 52 appellate court justices divided into five districts (the same districts as for the Illinois Supreme Court) who serve 10-year terms. Appellate court justices reexamine trial cases and determine whether or not the law was followed or interpreted correctly. If they find that the law has been misunderstood, their decision in an appeal changes how the law is interpreted by courts and public officials. A further appeal of a state appellate court decision goes to the Illinois Supreme Court. There are vacancies in 2018 in the 4th and 5th appellate court districts.
For more info: http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/AppellateCourt/default.asp
What are Circuit and Subcircuit Court Judges?
All voters will be choosing candidates to serve six-year terms as countywide Circuit Court Judges. Residents of Cook, Will, Lake, and some other large counties will also vote for subcircuit judges — those who serve in a smaller defined space than an entire county. Circuit court and subcircuit judges function identically, hearing trial cases in their county’s judicial system. Subcircuit Court positions were devised in 1992 to help make access to the bench more equitable for those in minority communities.
Regardless of how they are elected, Circuit court judges hear cases about everything from criminal charges, to custody disputes, to property and probate issues.
For more info: http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/CircuitCourt/default.asp
