Experience, attitude at fore in judge race

Two Republican candidates are seeking the nomination Feb. 5 for the judgeship left open by Judge Donald Devlin in the 12th Cook County subcircuit.

Laura Morask, 51, of Park Ridge, is an attorney with the Cook County state's attorney office and a Maine Township trustee.

Michaela Nolan Ryan, 45, of Winnetka, is an attorney with Kerns, Frost and Pearlman in Bannockburn.

Both have years of experience as attorneys, and each feels she has the best demeanor to be a judge.

"I realized what I do well is bring people together and sit down and resolve differences amongst competing groups to resolve a problem," Morask said.

Ryan said her main motivation in running is that she wants to get back into public service.

"At the beginning of my career, I was an assistant attorney general, and I really enjoyed public service," she said. "It's nice to be more involved with the cases you're working on."

Ryan said she has an even temperament, which is important for a judge.

"I don't fly off the handle easily," she said. "I'm firm, and I can make decisions and be decisive."

Morask said she, too, has an even temperament but also points to respect for everyone in the courtroom as a major part of a judge's job.

"You have to understand that every single person from the custodian to the courtroom personnel need to be treated with respect," she said. "There's a time and a place for venting; a courtroom is not that time and place."

Morask said she also has experience with managing caseloads with the state's attorney's office, which she thinks will translate to running a courtroom.

"We sometimes handle up to 40 preliminary hearings a day, and we do it tremendously," she said.

Ryan said she has had experience in various facets of the law and has handled both criminal and civil cases.

"I've been a lawyer for 16 years, so I'm not a newbie by any stretch," she said. "I've practiced in a variety of areas, and that will help me to see both sides."

Four Democrats are also trying to get their party's nomination for this judgeship: Thomas Flannigan of Winnetka; Michael John Halloran of Glenview; Pamela Elizabeth Loza of Mount Prospect and Thomas R. Mulroy of Kenilworth.