Elections News
Elections
O'Neill Burke reverses Foxx prosecution policies in first actions as new Cook County top prosecutor
New Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke announced prosecutors are required to ask judges to keep people charged with a host of violent and heinous crimes in jail while they await trial. Reports also indicated O'Neill Burke would more aggressively prosecute shoplifting
Elections
Controversial Cook County judge loses retention bid, unofficial vote totals show
According to unofficial vote totals, Cook County Judge Shannon O'Malley - formerly known as Phillip Spiwak - appears to have fallen short of retaining his seat on the county court. O'Malley famously changed his name to sound Irish in an apparent bid to win election, and has been accused of living outside the county
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Elections
77 of 78 Cook County judges poised to retain seats on bench; O'Malley falling short
Of three Cook County judges touched by scandal in recent weeks, voters appeared poised to grant two - Kathy Flanagan and E. Kenneth Wright - new six-year terms on the bench. Judge Shannon O'Malley, however, appeared to be falling short of the required 60% "Yes" vote threshold, according to incomplete results
Elections
'Being safe is not a privilege:' O'Neill Burke wins State's Attorney's race, vows to 'set new standard'
Eileen O'Neill Burke won the race for Cook County State's Attorney. During her campaign, the former judge pledged to undo many of the policies put in place by outgoing State's Attorney Kim Foxx, who has been heavily criticized for being soft on crime and helping to fuel Chicago's and Cook County's crime problems
Elections
Glaub becomes first GOPer to run for countywide Cook judge since 2010, challenges DeCastro
Forty judgeships are on the ballot in Cook County this fall, but only five of those races are contested. Four of those contests are centered in judicial subcircuits based in Cook County's northwest suburbs. All other races feature Democrats running unopposed.
Elections
Scandal-struck prominent Cook County judges draw negative election recommendations from legal groups
The Illinois State Bar Association particularly recommended voters not support the retention bids this fall for Cook County Judges E. Kenneth Wright, Kathy Flanagan and Shannon O'Malley, aka Philip Spiwak. Other judges drawing negative reviews included Lisa Ann Marino and Ieshia E. Gray.
Elections
Rev. Jesse Jackson endorses Republican Fioretti for Cook County State's Attorney
Jackson particularly said he believes Fioretti has been more committed to the cause of civil rights than Democratic nominee, retired IL Appeals Court Justice Eileen O'Neill Burke. Jackson's attack mirrors that used against Burke in the Democratic primary by allies of outgoing Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx
Elections
Niles voters can't decide if village ethics board members should be elected: Appeals panel
Members of ethics board aren't 'officers' along lines of trustees or mayor
Elections
Third District Appellate race shines light on Democrat Will County judge's past run-ins with law
Will Co. Judge John Anderson is running against DuPage Co. Judge Kenton Skarin for a seat on Illinois' Third District Appellate Court. Skarin has launched a website listing Anderson's 33 traffic citations, arrests and convictions dating back to the late 1980s, mostly for excessive speeding. Anderson admits to a 'challenging' past, but says it is part of a redemption story.
Elections
Cook County judge seeking retention said woman who stabbed lover to death should have avoided jail pre-trial
Judge Ramon Ocasio, who is currently serving by assignment on a state appeals court, said the man was already dead, so the woman no longer posed a threat to public safety and should be set free under the SAFE-T Act. Ocasio is asking Cook County voters to send him back to the bench this fall
Elections
Democrats can't persuade Cook County elections board to ignore Springfield judge, kick Republican from ballot
Republican candidate Ron Andermann can advance to face Democrat Nicolle Grasse in the race for 53rd House District seat. Democrats had argued the Cook County Electoral Board could ignore a Springfield judge's ruling that a new state ballot access law could not be constitutionally enforced in 2024
Elections
IL Dems can't overturn court order stopping them from using ballot access law to block GOPers from running in Nov.
The Illinois Supreme Court could not come up with a four-member majority to overturn a Springfield judge's ruling that a new "anti-slating" law supported by Gov. Pritzker and his fellow Democrats was unconstitutional. The decision means Dems can't block Keeven, other GOP legislative candidates from the fall ballot
Elections
Appeals court: GOP congressman, voters can't sue IL for counting mail-in votes 2 weeks after Election Day
A divided federal appeals panel sided with the state and Democrats in tossing out a lawsuit challenging Illinois law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to 14 days after Election Day. A dissenting judge said the U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, who led the lawsuit, was wrongly denied the chance to have his case heard
Elections
Elections hearing officer: New IL ballot access law shouldn't apply to GOP candidate who filed before law was signed
Illinois candidates and voters still await an Illinois Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of a ballot access law, which GOPers say was designed to block them from the Nov. ballot. That decision shouldn't matter for at least one GOP candidate who filed the day before Pritzker signed the law, a hearing officer said
Elections
'True colors?' IL Dems say GOPers can't run in Nov because didn't face primary voters, but back Harris for Prez
Gov. Pritzker and Speaker Welch are defending an Illinois law that would block Republican candidates from 2024 ballot because they didn't run in the primary. At the same time, they also back VP Harris for President, even though she was selected by party bosses and has never run in a presidential primary
Elections
IL Dem Speaker: Courts can't hear GOP challenge to law that would kick Republicans off ballot
Lawyers for Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch asked the Illinois Supreme Court to allow Democrats' new law to take effect to strip parties of the power to select candidates after the primary election. They argued state lawmakers can change ballot access rules whenever they like, even amid an election cycle
Elections
Filings: Lawyers Who Sue Police, Defend Accused Criminals Lead Financial Backing of State's Attorney Hopeful Harris
Lawyers who specializing in suing police, and defending accused criminals, make up the largest segment of donors to the campaign of Clayton Harris, III, who is vying for the Democratic nomination for states attorney in the March 19 primary.
Elections
Prominent election lawyer, Madigan ally Kasper wades into Proviso school board election fight
Attorney Michael Kasper, who has for the decades represented Michael Madigan and other prominent Illinois Democrats, is now representing longtime controversial Proviso school board member Theresa Kelly in her effort to use a recount to find enough votes to keep the seat she has held for 23 years
Elections
Foxx to step aside in 2024, ending tenure marked by controversial social justice-minded changes, escalating crime
Backed by George Soros and progressive Illinois Dems, Foxx's prosecutorial philosophy gained international notoriety over her handling of the Jussie Smollett case. She has also repeatedly clashed with Chicago mayor, cops over handling of criminal cases
Elections
Lawsuit: Village of Hillside illegally boosting political operations of longtime mayor, as well as IL House Speaker Welch
The lawsuit accuses the village of Hillside, at the direction of Mayor Joseph Tamburino, of violating Illinois election law by using taxpayer-funded resources, including village staff, to aid the campaigns of Tamburino and Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, and the judicial campaign of Welch's wife