Voting for Judges in Chicago - a list

I’ve never voted for judges before, since my apathetic ass didn’t know who was good or bad or what. I at least did some research this time, thanks to some URLS I got on another site. If anyone’s in the least bit interested, these are the URLS I went to:

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
(WBAI’s web site gives more in-depth information on each judge)

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

The IVI-IPO (who, disclosure, endorse Kerry and Obama) 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%)

  • 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)

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

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

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. (well, obviously, if your politics lean this way, that is. My research was trying to make sure I wouldn’t be voting for any hard-right judges.)

  • Yes
    ++ Either NO or Unsure/need more info

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)

==

Since I’ve never voted for judges before, I’m not sure how they appear on the ballot. I hate admitting I am so ignorant, but I am.

This list was at WBAI. I have, unfortunately, absolutely no idea what any of this is about. I am more than willing to learn.

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

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?)