John Ehrlich is running for the judge in the 8th Subcircuit, just as he did eight years ago. The openly gay candidate, a top attorney in Chicago, has already received some high-profile endorsements among a field of six.
The Chicago Tribune and the 43rd Ward Democrats, among others, have thrown their support behind Ehrlich.
NOTE: View downloadable election guide charts at the following link. This election chart was updated online on Tuesday March 13 with corrections and updates. www.windycitymediagroup.com/pdf/WCT_2012_primarychartsforweb.pdf .
"I've been a public servant for the last 17 years," Ehrlich said. "I'm not running to become a public servant; I already am one. I think that automatically brings a different mind set to the job. Second, I think I have the trial experience and the appellate experience, thus, it would be easy for me to step into a courtroom and already have a good foundation for doing what has to be done as a judge. Plus, I really care about doing the right thing; that's what I've been doing as a public servant for 17 years, regardless of the case or the client."
Ehrlich is deputy corporation counsel for the City of Chicago. He heads the torts division, composed of 33 attorneys and a staff of 15 who defend all personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits filed against the City and its employees.
He is a member of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and has served as an investigator for the Alliance of Bar Associations Judicial Screening Committee.
Ehrlich and his partner, Ulf Henricsson, have been together for 21 years.
"The biggest challenge [ on the campaign trail ] is to get people to recognize that voting for judges is really important, to take as much time to investigate the candidates as they would for [ traditional ] political candidates," Ehrlich said. " [ Judicial candidates ] are not permitted to ask for money, requests for financing. All the judicial rules permit us to talk about is, our qualifications, our experience, our training—that sort of thing. So, it's just harder for the public to learn about judicial candidates and, in a sense, to care about [ that race. ] "
Ehrlich and Linda Powell wrote the petition in October 1996 that was then circulated among lawyers, and then to the mayor's office, calling for domestic partner benefits. Mayor Daley enacted domestic partner benefits for all city employees the following May.
"When people look at gay candidates and see that we have long-term relationships, just like anyone else, that helps," Ehrlich said. "I think that translates into people looking into at me and realizing that I am qualified to be a judge, and just happen to be gay. It reflects well.
"When I ran eight years ago, it wasn't a very pleasant experience. I wasn't really comfortable, mostly because I just didn't know what I was doing. This time, I feel much more comfortable. This [ campaign ] is been much more fun, easier to meet people, understanding what I need to do, and I just having a more coordinated campaign with a terrific campaign staff.
"It's been a very good learning experience and I've met a lot of new people, established a lot of good personal, not just professional, contacts. That's nice."
For more about John Ehrlich, visit www.ehrlichforjudge.com .
