Pictured Kathy Hayes and Mike McHale. Photo by Andrew Davis
Mike McHale, citing years of work as a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney, formally announced his candidacy for the Circuit Court of Cook County at the bar Sidetrack Oct. 19.
The announcement took place before many LGBTA community and political leaders, including State Sen. Carol Ronen, D-Chicago; Democratic Committeeman Tom Sharpe; Kathy Hayes of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office; State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago; entrepreneur Chuck Renslow; and Ald. Tom Tunney.
Tunney talked about McHale's LGBT community involvement as well as the candidate's 'sense of community.' The alderman added that ' [ w ] e just hope that the more sensitivity we have on the bench, the better [ it will be ] for our community.'
Ronen echoed Tunney's latter statement, saying, 'I don't have to tell this audience what it means to have judges on the bench who understand issues [ such as ] adoption, HIV confidentiality issues [ and ] a woman's right to choose.'
McHale said that 'to be a qualified judge requires a balance of respect of individual rights and a duty to uphold the law. A judge also has an obligation to always be aware of the impact that decisions have on the lives of real people and real communities.' Turning to LGBT-specific issues, he also mentioned his efforts in helping to get the civil-rights bill passed in January and his involvement in several organizations. McHale added that he was proud to run as an openly gay candidate and that only eight out of the 400 Cook County judges are from the LGBT community.