PLEASE NOTE THE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON JUDGES PIERCE, COLLINS AND FERNANDEZ IN ADDENDUM 1
PLEASE ALSO NOTE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON JUDGE WILLIAM H. HOOKS IN ADDENDUM 2
Voting in the General Election is now officially open in Illinois. Your ballot includes candidates for Illinois State Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court. It also includes a list of Cook County Circuit Court judges running for retention. To be retained, a sitting judge must receive “yes” votes of 60% of the votes cast. Any judge receiving less than 60% is removed from the bench.
Vote for Judges AND Injustice Watch have made the process of evaluating judges easier on their websites. Vote for Judges bases their information on the Alliance of Bar Associations table. Injustice Watch has easily clickable links to extensive additional information on each judge. Here are the relevant links:
https://www.voteforjudges.org/#2022-cook-county-circuit-court-countywide-candidates
https://www.injusticewatch.org/interactives/judicial-election-guide/2022-general/en/
All candidates for the Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court receive overall high ratings.
Three candidates for Cook County Circuit Court retention were rated NOT QUALIFIED. They are:
Daniel James Pierce
Ann Finley Collins
Rossana Patricia Fernandez
PLEASE SEE THE NEW INFORMATION ON THESE JUDGES IN ADDENDUM 1
The rest are rated “Qualified” or higher.
Edmund J. McDevitt
© October 2022
ADDENDUM 1
Further information on Cook County judge candidates for retention.
In my posting about Cook County judges running for retention, I noted three who, according to my sources, were not sufficiently qualified. suggesting not voting for them for retention.
One of my correspondents received this from a practicing Cook County trial attorney, who is more in the know than I might be. Please consider these points in your voting.
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I am glad that you forward this and spread awareness of judicial elections, which are so very important. I write to provide a little more context to the specific “not recommended” ratings for the three sitting Judges referenced below who seek retention to keep their positions.
Please know that I was a former member of the Alliance of Bar Association group that conducts the investigation and interviews on which the Vote for Judges website bases its info. I know how important these evaluations are, and how much people rely upon them.
Judge Daniel James Pierce has actually retired already. He just happened to retire after the deadline for removing his name from the retention ballot. Because he planned to retire, he did not submit for an evaluation with the Bar Alliance. They have a strict rule of automatically issuing a “not recommended” rating for anyone who does not submit for an evaluation.
Judge Ann Finley Collins is in a similar situation. She too had planned to retire, and did not submit to the Alliance for an evaluation. She too received an automatic “not recommended“ rating for not submitting. However, she decided at the last minute, to delay her retirement. Judge Collins is a resident of Oak Park and she works out of the Maywood Courthouse, hearing criminal cases. While I have personally never practiced in front of her, I understand that she is a good judge who deserves to be retained.
Judge Rosanna Fernandez received “not recommended” ratings from 4 out of the 11 bar associations that conduct evaluations. In other words,7 bar associations did find her “recommended“. It is not uncommon to have different opinions regarding a judge, and court room management style. I have never practiced in front of Judge Fernandez, but I do know her personally. She has a great heart and a great temperament for this job. I know that she has already taken the constructive criticism from the 4 groups who did express concerns. She will continue to be a great judge and she deserves a “yes“ vote.
I hope this helps provide more context.
ADDENDUM 2
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: WILLIAM H. HOOKS, RENTENTION CANDIDATE FOR CIRCUIT COURT
I’ve been advised that the Illinois State Bar Association’s rating of “Not Recommended” derives from Judge Hooks’ anger management issues. The ISBA also said Hooks “could be disrespectful and arrogant at times, especially towards women attorneys.”