Illinois Appellate Court, First District

The Illinois Appellate Court consists of 54 judges who are divided among five judicial districts. Judges hear appeals from the circuits within that district. Cook County comprises the entire first judicial district. The rest of the state is divided into the other four judicial districts. Three judges hear an appellate case, and two are required to decide the case. After the appellate court decides an appeal, a person may ask the Illinois Supreme Court to review the appellate court’s decision. Appellate Court judges serve 10-year terms. Once elected, all Illinois judges will run for “retention” in the general election, which means they don’t face challengers after six years. Voters choose yes or no, and the judge has to get 60% yes votes to remain on the bench.

Candidates

Navigating judicial ratings can be daunting. To help voters elect and retain qualified judges, 13 local and state bar associations have comprehensively reviewed and assessed judicial candidates in a nonpartisan manner. WTTW News simplified those evaluations to help you make informed decisions at the polls.

In the below tables, we condensed the ratings to note whether candidates were unanimously determined to be qualified, unanimously determined to be unqualified or received mixed ratings. The associations take a variety of approaches to rating descriptions. Hover/tap an icon to see the exact ratings from each bar association with their own rating designations noted.