Three circuit judge positions contested in elections

Lake County voters in three judicial subcircuits will have to decide contested races for the position of circuit court judge in the Nov. 2 election.

Circuit judges are elected to one six-year term, then must run for retention every six years after the completion of their first term.

Here is a breakdown of the subcircuit races in the 19th Judicial Circuit and the candidates in each.

4th Subcircuit

The 4th judicial subcircuit covers Banockburn, Deerfield, Green Oaks, Highland Park, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest and parts of Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Mettawa and Riverwoods.

Republican Wallace Dunn of Deerfield, an associate judge for 24 years who had 20 years of practice as an attorney before being appointed to the bench, says he wants to increase electronic filing of court documents and expand the use of mediation and binding arbitration in civil cases.

Mark Levitt, a Deerfield Democrat who has been a board member in Deerfield Elementary District 109 since 2009, says his goals are to increase the efficiency of the courts and that he will bring a fresh perspective to the bench.

5th Subcircuit

Democrat Timothy Howe of Wauconda is looking to unseat Republican Diane Winter in the subcircuit that covers the Barrington area communities, Fox River Grove, Island Lake, Round Lake communities, Wauconda and Volo.

Howe, a practicing attorney for 15 years making his first run at elective office, says he wants to maintain the public's faith in the judicial system and keep costs down for the taxpayers and participants in the system.

Winter, who served as an associate judge for eight years before her appointment as a circuit judge in 2008, was a key player in the development of the help desk for people seeking guardianship of minors and wants to expand public education about the court system.

6th Subcircuit

The 6th Subcircuit covers Antioch, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Hainesville, Oak Mill Creek, Third Lake, Winthrop Harbor and parts of Fox Lake, Grayslake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Heights, Wadsworth and Zion.

Republican Jorge Ortiz of Antioch, who was appointed a circuit judge in 2008 and currently is presiding judge of the family law division, was instrumental in creating the supervised family visitation center recently opened in Mundelein.

Michael Perillo, a Grayslake Democrat who has refused to accept campaign contributions from anyone in his run against Ortiz, said he wants to expand the pool of candidates for appointment as associate judge.

Bar association ratings

Both the Lake County Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association issued ratings for the candidates in all the circuit court judge races.

The associations asked their memberships to rate the candidates according to their integrity, impartiality, legal ability, court management and other criteria.

Both groups said they could not recommend Howe because they did not get enough responses to their surveys from their members.

In the Lake County poll: Dunn, Levitt, Perillo and Winter were rated “Highly recommended,” while Ortiz was rated “Recommended.”

In the state bar poll, all candidates except Howe were rated “Recommended,” the highest rating the association issues.