Judge Tristano Addresses September NARFE Gathering

The Honorable Sandra Tristano was the guest speaker at the September meeting of the Northwest Suburban Marion Payne Chapter of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE). Judge Tristano is a Municipal Department judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County. She gave an overview of the Cook County Circuit Court system and focused on the operations of the justice system at the Rolling Meadows courthouse where she is assigned. She also spoke about the retention of judges and said that judges were up for retention this year. Judge Tristano stressed the importance of voting this part of the ballot in the upcoming November elections. She noted that several Bar Associations provide evaluations on whether to vote "yes" or "no" on each judge. These assessments are usually printed in newspapers, and voters may take them along to the polls. Judge Tristano said that this year there are about 75 judges on the retention ballot and they require a majority of votes cast in order to be retained. Historically many voters have skipped this part of the ballot because they feel it is too time consuming or they do not know enough about the judges to make an informed decision. Following Judge Tristano's remarks there was a spirited question and answer session about a variety of topics including challenges to red light camera tickets.

NARFE holds a luncheon meeting on the second Wednesday of each month at European Crystal Banquets and Conference Center, 519 W. Algonquin Rd., Arlington Heights, IL. Active and retired Federal employees and their guests are invited to attend. Meetings feature speakers on a variety of topics and updates on information relevant to the Federal community. For more information and to reserve your place at an upcoming meeting, please contact Chapter President Jim Glover at 847-895-2881 or jglover0797