PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Associate Judge finalists announced
Released On 02/10/2023
Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and the court’s Nominating Committee today announced the names of the 44 candidates who will be on the ballot for circuit judges to vote to fill 22 associate judge vacancies.
“I am pleased to submit the names of these candidates for consideration to join the bench of the Circuit Court of Cook County,” Chief Judge Evans said. “I am grateful for the hard work of the Nominating Committee in putting together this list of capable and talented candidates. The candidates received positive ratings from all bar associations which have completed evaluations.”
“My colleagues and I considered the candidates’ variety of legal experience as well as diversity of race, ethnicity and gender,” Judge Evans said. “We also examined the applicants’ bar ratings, career achievements, and whether they could be fair and impartial adjudicators.”
The Nominating Committee is made up of the following circuit judges:
Honorable Timothy C. Evans, Chief Judge
Honorable Erica L. Reddick, Presiding Judge, Criminal Division
Honorable James P. Flannery, Jr., Presiding Judge, Law Division
Honorable Sophia H. Hall, Administrative Presiding Judge, Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Resource Section and Interim Acting Presiding Judge, Chancery Division
Honorable Sanjay T. Tailor, Justice, Illinois 1st District Appellate Court
Honorable Jill C. Marisie, Presiding Judge, Third Municipal District
Honorable Shelley Sutker-Dermer, Presiding Judge, Second Municipal District
Honorable E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., Presiding Judge, First Municipal District
Chief Judge Evans said the Nominating Committee interviewed 176 applicants over a 6-month period, and the selection of the 44 candidates was unanimous. A total of 212 attorneys originally submitted applications for consideration, and 36 applicants withdrew from the process.
Below is the list of the 44 candidates that was forwarded to the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts:
AHMAD, Mohammad Abedelal
BAE, Jennifer Eun
BAHENA, Hilda
BARRIDO, Jerome Celis
BHAVE, Sunil Shashikant
BISCEGLIA, Joell Claire
CALLAHAN, Jennifer Patricia
CARROLL, John P.
CASTILLO, Nicole
COLEMAN, Jennifer Frances
CORBIN, Torrie Luciana
COSGROVE, Audrey Victoria
deCASTRO, Pablo F.
DE MATTEO, Gabriel Joseph
DESAI, Debjani Dasgupta
DUFFY, Cristin
FINKLE, Lester Wolfe
FRENTZAS, Athena James
GEMSKIE, Michele Ann
HEGGIE, Corinne Cantwell
JHA, Lakshmi Elkhanialy
JOHNSON, Sarah Rodak
KANTER, Sharon Arnold
KNIBBS, James John
MALONEY, Edward James
MORRIS, Tisa Lynne
NORRIS, Scott
PATTAROZZI, Michael Nando
PATTERSON, Monique Leneé
PETERSON, Krista Susan
PLANEY, Mary Anna
PORTER, Brian Randall
REYNA, Mariano Ricardo
RODRIGUEZ, Federico Martin
ROE-TAYLOR, Parle M.
RUFFIN, Anthony
SAINDON, Pamela
STUDENROTH, David Lawrence
TOLLER, Natosha Cuyler
TULLY, John J.
TZINBERG, Scott William
VINES, Michael James
WARD, Torrick Alan
WILSON, John Wellington
The candidates constitute a diverse group, racially and ethnically, and include 21 men and 23 women. The group includes both government attorneys and attorneys in multiple areas of private practice.
The 239 circuit judges have the constitutional authority to fill associate judge vacancies, using the procedures outlined in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 39. Under Rule 39, the Nominating Committee must select twice as many qualified candidates as there are vacancies to be filled; in this case, 44 candidates were selected for 22 vacancies.
The Chief Judge must then notify the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts of the names of the candidates selected by the Committee and request the Director to begin the balloting process. Within 14 days after the Chief Judge’s notification, the Director mails a secret ballot with the names of all candidates to each circuit judge. The judges may vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies to be filled, and must return the ballots to the Director within 14 days of the date the ballots were distributed. The Director then counts the ballots, which are accompanied by a signed card, tabulates the results, and certifies them to the Chief Judge – at all times maintaining the secrecy of the ballots.
Bar evaluations for associate judge applicants were conducted by The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, at the request of Chief Judge Evans. The Alliance is made up of the Illinois State Bar Association and the following 11 minority and ethnic bar organizations: Arab American Bar Association of Illinois, Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area, Black Women Lawyers Association of Greater Chicago, Chicago Council of Lawyers, Cook County Bar Association, Decalogue Society of Lawyers, Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association, Puerto Rican Bar Association, and Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.
Each bar association issues its own ratings for all individual associate judge applicants. Chief Judge Evans thanked The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance for their work in evaluating the associate judge applicants.
During the next few weeks, the candidates will present circuit judges with their credentials, including a short video, resume, and one-page biography. Presiding Judges will set up video or in-person meetings to enable circuit judges to meet with all the candidates.
Note: Evaluations are included in the attached PDF.
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