Pat Logue with Barack Obama at a community fundraiser. Photo by Tracy Baim___________
Two of the 31 new associate judges appointed on March 5 for the Cook County Circuit Court are openly gay or lesbian.
Pat Logue and Stuart Katz were two of 31 new judges selected by Cook County circuit judges. Judges chose from a list of 62 finalists. There were a total of 242 individuals in the pool of candidates.
'I'm very happy,' Logue told Windy City Times. 'I feel like, for me, it'll be a big change. It was a personal decision to make a change, and it was something I always wanted to do.'
Logue is the director of constitutional litigation at Lambda Legal. She has been on staff at the organization for 14 years. She told Windy City Times that although she will miss working there, she is sure that being an associate judge will also be a terrific experience.
Logue opened Lambda's Midwestern Regional Office, located in Chicago, in 1993. Logue was also one of the lead attorneys in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Lawrence v. Texas case, which eradicated the country's remaining sodomy laws.
Katz currently works for the office of the Cook County Public Defender.
'It's very impressive that they make such an effort to maintain diversity on the bench,' Katz told Windy City Times, noting that all of the 31 newly appointed judges are highly qualified.
Most impressive to Katz is that judges chose to appoint two openly gay individuals. 'It's great the judiciary is so open about this,' he said.
The judges serve four-year terms. However, all associate judges ( including the most recent group named ) will be up for reappointment on July 1.