A former top assistant to Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, publicly credited with cutting the infamous plea deal that allowed actor Jussie Smollett to walk, has fallen short in her bid to secure a spot as a Cook County judge.
According to unofficial election results posted Tuesday night and Wednesday, Risa Lanier finished last in a three-way race to win the Democratic nomination for judge from Cook County's 19th Judicial Subcircuit, and fill the vacancy left by retired Judge Robert E. Senechalle Jr.
According to vote tallies posted by the Cook County Clerk and the Chicago Board of Elections, Bridget Colleen Duignan appears to have won that contest, securing 14,259 votes. Duignan at one time served as assistant counsel to now-indicted former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. She currently is the owner and managing partner at personal injury and malpractice litigation firm Lathertwo and Duignan.
Risa Lanier
| Risalanier.com
Attorney Dave Heilmann, a partner at Clausen Miller PC and a former Oak Lawn village president, is in second place, with 6,380 votes.
Lanier has amassed 4,386 votes, according to the election returns.
Lanier has served as First Assistant to Foxx since 2021. Before that, Lanier served as Chief Deputy and Chief of the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau under Foxx.
Foxx has called Lanier "one of the finest attorneys that this office has ever produced."
Lanier gained notoriety in 2019, when she handled the prosecution of Smollett, a gay black actor who is accused of faking a hate crime which he blamed on white supporters of former President Donald Trump in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood.
While much of the attention in the matter has focused on Foxx's handling of the situation, it was Lanier and then-First Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Magats who officially dropped the charges, saying it would be enough for Smollett to forfeit a $10,000 bond and perform community service. The decision sparked outrage from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Police and many others, resulting in the appointment of a special prosecutor who reopened the case and persuaded a jury to convict Smollett.
The election contest was one of 40 Cook County Circuit Court judicial races decided by voters in the March primary election. Voters nominated candidates for 11 countywide circuit judge posts, and candidates in the contests for 29 judicial openings in the county's smaller regional subcircuits.
The elections were to fill vacancies left in the county's judicial ranks following the retirement or departure of a number of judges.
For nearly all of the Democratic judicial nominees, they will need to only wait until early next year to begin serving in the county's courtrooms, as Republicans fielded no candidates for countywide judgeships and have only four judicial candidates nominated in races for judgeships in subcircuits in Cook County's suburban areas.
All Republicans ran unopposed in those primary contests in the 12th and 18th judicial subcircuits.
All results posted as of Wednesday morning were unofficial, and will change as votes - and particularly votes cast by mail - continue to be counted.
COUNTYWIDE JUDGES
In contested balloting, in the Democratic Party primary:
In the race to fill the vacancy of deceased Judge James Flannery Jr.: Attorney Pablo DeCastro appeared to defeat attorney and activist Chelsea Robinson. According to unofficial tallies, DeCastro had 246,096 votes, versus 170,881 for Robinson.
DeCastro was endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party.
In the vacancy of Judge Raymond Mitchell, who now serves on the Illinois First District Appellate Court: Judge Neil Cohen has defeated attorney Wendi Williams, who campaigned to "bring diversity to the bench." Unofficial tallies show Cohen secured 276,924 votes, versus 138,647 for Williams.
Cohen was endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party.
In the vacancy of Judge Timothy P. Murphy: Judge Edward Underhill, an attorney who was appointed to the post in 2023, appears to have defeated Cook County Assistant Public Defender Lori Ann Roper. Underhill had 226,813 votes versus 182,807 votes for Roper.
Underhill was endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party.
In the vacancy of Judge Lorna E. Propes: Judge Debra Desai, who previously served as general counsel in the Illinois state Comptroller's office and was appointed to the seat upon Propes' retirement in 2023, has defeated former judge Russell Hartigan. According to unofficial tallies, Desai had 265,606 votes. Hartigan had 146,353.
Desai was endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party.
In all other countywide judicial contests, the Democratic candidates ran unopposed.
JUDICIAL SUBCIRCUITS
In the contests for positions on the county's subcircuits bench, unofficial winners in contested Democratic Party primary balloting, as of Wednesday, March 20, appear to include:
In the 3rd Subcircuit, Lucy Vazquez-Gonzalez over Martin D. Reggi, 10,245 to 3,412.
In the 7th Subcircuit, Owens J. Shelby held a lead over Deidre Baumann, 10,655 to 7,546.
In the 10th Subcircuit, James V. Murphy over Liam Kelly, 12,672 to 9,777. Murphy is a former assistant Cook County State's Attorney, who was famously wrongly blamed by Foxx and her leadership team for the mishandling of a bond court hearing in connection with the death of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old who was killed by Chicago Police after he fled when confronted by officers who spotted him with another man shooting at passing cars.
Murphy blamed the controversy on Lanier and others in Foxx's leadership team, and was ultimately cleared. He later resigned, submitting a scathing resignation letter blasting Foxx for her lack of leadership in the office.
In the 11th Subcircuit, Audrey V. Cosgrove and Kim Przekota were locked in a tight contest, which could yet be swayed by votes yet to be counted. According to unofficial tallies on Wednesday, March 20, Przekota had 12,241 votes to 12,037 for Cosgrove.
In the 14th Subcircuit, Griselda Vega Samuel defeated Steve Demitro, with tallies showing a margin of 13,108 to 3,188.
In the 15th Subcircuit, Luciano "Lou" Panici Jr. appears to have prevailed over two opponents, Allen P. Walker and Paul A. O'Grady. Panici held 10,117 votes, compared to 7,652 for Walker and 7,448 for O'Grady.
In the 18th Subcircuit, the contest between Jeffrey G. Chones and Sunil Bhave was still relatively close, as Chones had 6,764 votes to 6,032 for Bhave, according to unofficial returns.
In the 19th Subcircuit, Duignan defeated Heilmann and Lanier.
And in the 20th Subcircuit, Nadine Jean Wichern appears to have posted a relatively easy win over three opponents, Michael J. Zink, Nickolas Pappas and John Poulos. According to unofficial returns, Wichern had received 17,258 votes, compared to 8,326 for Zink, 7,933 for Pappas and 1,586 for Poulos.