Coleman, Steele win judge seats

In the primary race for 1st District seats on the Illinois Appellate Court, Sharon Johnson Coleman and John O. Steele appeared to be victorious Tuesday.

With 90 percent of the precincts reported, Coleman bested two other Democrats, receiving more than 319,000 votes, in the race for the seat left open by the promotion of Anne Burke to the state Supreme Court.

Coleman, a 12-year circuit court judge from Chicago, had about 43 percent of the vote, while William O'Neal, a circuit court judge who has run unsuccessfully for the appellate court before, collected 30 percent and Alan Greiman, an appointed appellate court judge from Evanston, had 26 percent.

Meanwhile, Steele came out on top of two other Democrats, with more than 365,000 votes with 77 percent of the precincts counted, in the race to replace Calvin Campbell.

Steele, 61, a circuit court judge from Chicago, appeared to easily win his race with 51 percent of the vote. His nearest competitor was Richard F. Walsh of Skokie, a circuit court judge, with 28 percent. Frank Edward Gardner, an attorney from River Forest, had 21 percent.

Hoffman to face Barnes

The race to fill a judge's vacancy in the Cook County 13th subcircuit appears to have come down to Margarita Kulys Hoffman, a sitting judge from Inverness, versus Carol Barnes of Palatine.

With 284 of 301 precincts reporting, unofficial results showed Hoffman edged out two Republican opponents with 41 percent of the vote. Barnes beat Gary Stanton on the Democratic side with 66 percent of votes.

The winner in the fall will fill the Karen Tobin vacancy and will serve a 6-year term.

Barnes did not respond to requests for information from the Daily Herald. All 10 member groups of the Alliance of Bar Associations found her not qualified or did not recommend her.

Hoffman, 47, of Inverness was the only candidate with bench experience. She's a judge in Rolling Meadows handling misdemeanors and traffic cases.

O'Donnell, Brady matchup

Republican Annie O'Donnell will face Democrat Ann Catherine Brady in November to fill the James T. Ryan vacancy on the Cook County 13th judicial subcircuit.

Unofficial tallies with 279 of 301 precincts reporting showed O'Donnell as the victor among four candidates in the Republican primary, while Brady beat out Joe Gump to nab the Democratic nomination.

O'Donnell, 50, of Palatine is a former public defender. She won 41 percent of the vote, according to unofficial totals.

Her challengers were Paul S. Pavlus, 43, of Barrington; James E. Babcock Jr., 47, of Palatine; and Guy M. Karm, 60, of Palatine.

Brady, 46, of Schaumburg has a private practice. She got 63 percent of the vote, according to unofficial totals. Gump, 48, of Palatine has been practicing criminal law for 18 years.