2 Bar Associations Rank Cook County Circuit Court Judge Candidates

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In addition to casting a ballot for candidates in heated primary races, voters this month will be tasked with electing Cook County Circuit Court judges.

Why is this important? Judges make a lot of decisions on education, health care, housing, employment, discrimination, civil rights and other topics.

To help voters navigate the dozens of options, the Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Council of Lawyers have screened and ranked each candidate.

The Chicago Bar Association evaluated judges based on integrity, legal knowledge, legal ability, professional experience, judicial temperament, diligence, punctuality and health factors. Candidates were ranked as “highly qualified,” “qualified,” or “not recommended.”

The Chicago Council of Lawyers evaluated a candidate’s ability to serve on the relevant court in the following categories: fairness (including sensitivity to diversity and bias), legal knowledge and skills (competence), integrity, experience, diligence, impartiality, judicial temperament, respect for the rule of law, independence from political and institutional influences, professional conduct, character and community service.   

Based on CCL evaluations, candidates were rated as “qualified,” “well qualified,” “highly qualified” and “not qualified.” Candidates that did not participate in the evaluation process were rated as “not recommended.”

Listed below are the “highly qualified,” “well qualified,” and “qualified” candidates, as well as the “not qualified” or “not recommended” candidates, as determined by the two local bar associations.

(Get a printer-friendly version of the list here.)

Note: Some judges received mixed ratings. Not all judges who are running are listed.

Ranked ‘Qualified’ or higher by both bar associations  

  • Oran F. Whiting – Cook County Circuit Court, Brewer vacancy
  • Kathryn Maloney Vahey – Cook County Circuit Court, Brewer vacancy
  • John Maher – Cook County Circuit Court, Brewer vacancy
  • Kathleen Theresa Lanahan – Cook County Circuit Court, Clay vacancy
  • Jonathan Clark Green – Cook County Circuit Court, Clay vacancy
  • Tom Sam Siannis – Cook County Circuit Court, Dooling vacancy
  • Timothy John Leeming – Cook County Circuit Court, Dooling vacancy
  • Thomas F. McGuire – Cook County Circuit Court, Dunford vacancy
  • Rosa Maria Silva – Cook County Circuit Court, Evans vacancy
  • Preston Jones Jr. – Cook County Circuit Court, Flanagan vacancy
  • Keely Patricia Hillison – Cook County Circuit Court, Flanagan vacancy
  • Cecilia Anne Horan – Cook County Circuit Court, Hartigan vacancy
  • Clare Quish – Cook County Circuit Court, Jordan vacancy
  • Jerry Barrido – Cook County Circuit Court, Jordan vacancy
  • Bradley R. Trowbridge – Cook County Circuit Court, McGinnis vacancy 
  • Jack Hagerty – Cook County Circuit Court, Rooney vacancy
  • Litricia Payne – 1st Subcircuit, Hambright, Jr. vacancy
  • Erika Orr – 1st Subcircuit, Hambright, Jr. vacancy
  • Tiana Ellis Blakely – 2nd Subcircuit, Lampkin vacancy
  • Frederick H. Bates – 2nd Subcircuit, Lampkin vacancy
  • William H. Laws – 2nd Subcircuit, Laws vacancy
  • Adrienne Elaine Davis – 2nd Subcircuit, Laws vacancy
  • Toya T. Harvey – 2nd Subcircuit, Rhodes vacancy
  • Travis Richardson – 2nd Subcircuit, Turner Jr. vacancy
  • Ieshia Gray – 2nd Subcircuit, Turner Jr. vacancy
  • Debra A. Seaton – 2nd Subcircuit, Willis vacancy
  • Sheree D. Henry – 2nd Subcircuit, Willis vacancy
  • Devlin Schoop – 2nd Subcircuit, Turner vacancy
  • Patrick Thomas Stanton – 3rd Subcircuit, Delehanty vacancy
  • Kevin Patrick Cunningham – 3rd Subcircuit, Delehanty vacancy
  • David R. Navarro – 4th Subcircuit, Davy vacancy
  • Caroline Jamieson Golden – 4th Subcircuit, Davy vacancy
  • John Andrew O'Meara – 4th Subcircuit, Riley vacancy
  • Elizabeth Ciaccia-Lezza – 4th Subcircuit, Riley vacancy
  • Danny Collins – 4th Subcircuit, Riley vacancy
  • H. Yvonne Coleman – 5th Subcircuit, Banks vacancy
  • David L. Kelly – 5th Subcircuit, Jones vacancy
  • Robert Harris – 5th Subcircuit, Washington, II vacancy
  • Kent Delgado – 6th Subcircuit, Chevere vacancy
  • Edward J. Underhill – 6th Subcircuit, Cooke vacancy
  • Charles "Charlie" Beach – 6th Subcircuit, Cooke vacancy
  • Andrea Michelle Webber – 6th Subcircuit, Cooke vacancy
  • Linda Perez – 6th Subcircuit, Cepero vacancy
  • Stephanie K. Miller – 6th Subcircuit, Cepero vacancy
  • James "Jamie" Shapiro – 8th Subcircuit, Fabri vacancy
  • Robin Denise Shoffner – 8th Subcircuit, Fabri vacancy
  • John Christopher Benson – 8th Subcircuit, Fabri vacancy
  • Lindsay Huge – 8th Subcircuit, Liu vacancy
  • Michael A. Forti – 8th Subcircuit, Liu vacancy
  • Athena A. Farmakis – 8th Subcircuit, Liu vacancy
  • Jeanne Marie Wrenn – 8th Subcircuit, Peters vacancy
  • Myron "Mike" Mackoff – 8th Subcircuit, Peters vacancy
  • Rishi Agrawal – 8th Subcircuit, Peters vacancy
  • Stephanie Saltouros – 10th Subcircuit, O'Neill Burke vacancy
  • Gwyn E. Ward Brown – 10th Subcircuit, O'Neill Burke vacancy
  • Colleen Reardon Daly – 10th Subcircuit, Suriano vacancy
  • Gerald Cleary – 10th Subcircuit, Suriano vacancy
  • Joanne F. Rosado – 11th Subcircuit, Kennedy vacancy
  • Scott J. Frankel – 11th Subcircuit, Kennedy vacancy
  • David Studenroth – 12th Subcircuit, Maki vacancy
  • Joel Chupack – 12th Subcircuit, Maki vacancy
  • Gary W. Seyring – 13th Subcircuit, Crane vacancy
  • Susanne Groebner – 13th Subcircuit, Crane vacancy
  • Ketki "Kay" Steffen – 13th Subcircuit, Crane vacancy
  • Michael Perry Gerber – 13th Subcircuit, Lawrence vacancy
  • Samuel J. Betar III – 13th Subcircuit, O'Donnell vacancy
  • Marina E. Ammendola – 14th Subcircuit, Garcia vacancy
  • Michael B. Barrett – 15th Subcircuit, Scully Jr. vacancy
  • Karla Marie Fiaoni – 15th Subcircuit, Zelezinski vacancy
  • Anthony Swanagan – 15th Subcircuit, Zelezinski vacancy
  • Scott McKenna – 15th Subcircuit, Zelezinski vacancy

Ranked ‘Not Qualified’ or ‘Not Recommended’ by both bar associations  

  • Corri Diane Fetman – Cook County Circuit Court, Dooling vacancy
  • Keith L. Spence – Cook County Circuit Court, Hartigan vacancy
  • Patrick Dankwa John – Cook County Circuit Court, Jordan vacancy
  • Mable Taylor – Cook County Circuit Court, Rooney vacancy
  • Tiesha L. Smith – 2nd Subcircuit, Rhodes vacancy
  • Ubi O'Neal – 2nd Subcircuit, Willis vacancy
  • Michael Hayes – 3rd Subcircuit, Delehanty vacancy
  • Rhonda Sallee – 5th Subcircuit, Banks vacancy
  • Gino Betts – 5th Subcircuit, Banks vacancy
  • Gwendolyn D. Anderson – 5th Subcircuit, Banks vacancy
  • Jenetia Marshall – 5th Subcircuit, Jones vacancy
  • Shay Tyrone Allen – 5th Subcircuit, Washington, II vacancy
  • Mary Alice Melchor – 5th Subcircuit, Washington, II vacancy
  • David C. Herrera – 6th Subcircuit, Chevere vacancy
  • Sean Patrick Kelly – 6th Subcircuit, Chevere vacancy
  • Bonnie McGrath – 8th Subcircuit, Fabri vacancy
  • Cyrus Hosseini – 8th Subcircuit, Liu vacancy
  • Noreen Patricia Connolly – 10th Subcircuit, Suriano vacancy
  • Alan M. Jacob – 12th Subcircuit, Maki vacancy
  • Shannon P. O'Malley – 13th Subcircuit, Lawrence vacancy
  • Beatriz A. Frausto-Sandoval – 14th Subcircuit, Garcia vacancy
  • Ashonta Rice-Akiwowo – 15th Subcircuit, Scully Jr. vacancy

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