Alliance of Bar Associations shares Cook County judicial recommendations
The Alliance of Bar Associations released its evaluations of Cook County judicial candidates running in the Nov. 3 election.
The alliance is composed of 12 groups: the Arab American Bar Association, the Asian American Bar Association, the Black Women Lawyer's Association, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, the Cook County Bar Association, the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, the Hellenic Bar Association, the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, the Puerto Rican Bar Association and the Women's Bar Association of Illinois.
For the Illinois Supreme Court, 100% of alliance members recommended P. Scott Neville Jr. For the appellate court, 100% of the groups recommended Michael B. Hyman and Sharon O. Johnson.
Most countywide circuit court candidates received 90% to 100% approval ratings, except for Tiesha L. Smith, who was not recommended by any alliance member.
In the 12th subcircuit, which includes parts of Wheeling, Northfield, New Trier, Elk Grove and Maine townships, 100% of alliance member associations recommended both Patricia M. Fallon and Frank R. DiFranco.
In the 13th subcircuit, which includes parts of Schaumburg, Palatine, Barrington and Hanover townships, 100% of the groups recommended Gary William Seyring while 92% of the groups recommended Susanne Michelle Groebner, the exception being the Cook County Bar Association.
For appellate court retention, Aurelia Maria Pucinski and Mary Katherine Rochford received approval from 100% of the bar groups.
For countywide retention to the circuit court, most candidates received 90% to 100% approval ratings from the bar groups.
One exception is Jackie Marie Portman-Brown, who received approval from 40% of the groups. The Arab American Bar Association, the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, the Hellenic Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago and the Women's Bar Association of Illinois recommended against retaining her.
Another exception is John J. Mahoney, who received retention approval from 70% of the groups but received "no" recommendations from the Cook County Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago.
For more information on alliance recommendations, see voteforjudges.org.
For information on Illinois State Bar Association ratings, see isba.org.
For information on the Chicago Bar Association ratings, see chicagobar.org.