The Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago Judicial Evaluation Committee has completed its evaluation of sitting judges running for retention in the Nov. 5 election.
"Since the Illinois Constitution provides for the election of judges rather than the selection of them by other means, the ballot is pretty much the only opportunity we have to indicate approval or disapproval of sitting judges' performance," said Susana Darwin, Chair of LAGBAC's Judicial Evaluation Committee. The LAGBAC Judicial Evaluation Committee takes pains to remind candidates and the electorate that it makes its evaluations based on a wide range of factors, not just on lesbian and gay issues.
Specifically, the Committee evaluates judicial candidates based on information gained from their Chicago Bar Association applications, a supplemental questionnaire, the Alliance's investigation, and in-person interviews. The Committee looks for each of the following in all candidates: excellence in legal, analytical, and writing skills; demonstrated impartiality; a thorough understanding of the entire legal process; a patient and respectful temperament; and sensitivity to issues of concern to lesbians and gay men, women, and people of color. The Committee also considers each candidate's personal and professional integrity, character, and extent of community participation and service.
For the November election, LAGBAC recommends 52 of the 62 judges running to keep their positions. The 10 judges not recommended for retention are Loretta Carol Douglas, Vanessa A. Hopkins, Rickey Jones, James J. Jorzak, Gay-Lloyd Lott, Judy I. Mitchell-Davis, James T. Ryan, Nancy Drew Sheehan, Cheryl A. Starks, and Charles P. Travis.
Thirty-three candidates are running for election as judges, and LAGBAC found 16 candidates not recommend for election. "What's disturbing is that three out of four candidates for the Appellate Court are not recommended," Darwin notes, "and two Appellate Court candidates are running unopposed. More dismaying still is that only 33 candidates are on the ballot for election, which means that LAGBAC found nearly half of the candidates up for election in November not recommended when we conducted our evaluations of them before the 2002 primary."
LAGBAC is one of 10 Chicago-area bar associations that make up the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, which coordinates the investigation and interview processes among the associations. LAGBAC has played a strong role in ensuring that the Alliance's process is fair to the candidates as well as to others who participate in the justice system.
The LAGBAC Judicial Evaluation Committee encourages voters to visit www.isba.org/2002polls/2002alliance.html between Oct. 25 and Nov. 5 to see the complete ratings from Alliance bar associations so that they may enter the voting booth with as much information as possible.
Windy City Times will also print the judicial ratings in our Oct. 30 Election Guide.