Issues of qualifications: Subcircuit judges often less touted

When four candidates vied for the vacant seventh subcircuit Cook County Court seat last year, one seemed to stand out.

Arthur Wheatley already had been filling the seat for two years, after a temporary appointment from the Illinois Supreme Court. The former CTA lawyer won favorable ratings from all 12 bar groups that evaluated judicial Cook County candidates last year. A Chicago Tribune endorsement even called him a “star” candidate.

And all three of his opponents in the race were given largely unfavorable evaluations by the various bar groups. One of them, Kimberly D. Lewis, did not even submit materials to be considered by the evaluation committees.

Never mind the fact that lawyers’ groups agreed she should not be recommended for a seat. A record low number of voters bothered to turn out on an unseasonably warm March primary day last year. And when the smoke cleared, Lewis had won a seat with just 7,984 votes.

So it goes in the murky world of subcircuit judicial elections, where voters with little information and little interest choose judges who often end up serving for years on countywide seats.

“It’s a ridiculous way to be electing judges,” said Anton Valukas, former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Valukas, who oversaw prosecution of the judicial scandal Operation Greylord, and other members of the legal community long have worried that the subcircuit races open the door to less qualified candidates joining the bench because of the influence of some local politicians.

Even as the quality of the bench in Cook County has been greatly enhanced in recent years, as more exceptional judges win seats, Valukas said, the subcircuit system increases the risk of less qualified people winning judgeships.

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Issues of qualifications: Subcircuit judges often less touted

See Also:
Judging the Judges: Cook County’s Troubled Judiciary Elections System  (Part 1)