Press Release |
For Immediate Release
The eleven-member Associate Judge Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County today announced the names of the 40 candidates who will appear on the ballot from which the circuit judges will select 20 new associate judges. The Committee is comprised of the following judges:
| Honorable Timothy C. Evans | Chief Judge of the Circuit Court |
| Honorable Paul P. Biebel, Jr. | Presiding Judge, Criminal Division |
| Honorable Henry A. Budzinski | Presiding Judge, Probate Division |
| Honorable Moshe Jacobius | Presiding Judge, Domestic Relations Division |
| Honorable Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird | Presiding Judge, Chancery Division |
| Honorable William D. Maddux | Presiding Judge, Law Division |
| Honorable Patricia Martin Bishop | Presiding Judge, Child Protection Division |
| Honorable Edmund Ponce de Leon | Presiding Judge, Fourth Municipal District |
| Honorable Shelley Sutker-Dermer | Presiding Judge, Second Municipal District |
| Honorable Joseph J. Urso | Presiding Judge, Third Municipal District |
| Honorable E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. | Presiding Judge, First Municipal District |
The 40 finalists were chosen from a total of 193 applicants. The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, comprising nine bar associations, conducted separate screenings for this current associate judge process. Each bar association issued its own ratings for individual associate judge candidates. However, The Chicago Bar Association did not evaluate applicants who were screened within the past four years, and the Alliance did not evaluate associate judge applicants who were screened within the past three years. The evaluation process included background examinations and interviews of candidates. Bar associations included in the Alliance are the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area, the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, the Cook County Bar Association, the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, the Puerto Rican Bar Association of Chicago, and the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.
Under Supreme Court Rule 39, the nominating committee must select twice as many names of qualified candidates as there are vacancies to be filled. The Chief Judge has notified the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts of the names of the 40 candidates. Within 14 days after Chief Judge Evans’s notification, each circuit judge should expect to receive from the Director a secret ballot comprising the names of each candidate. The judges will vote for one candidate for each vacancy to be filled. The judges must return the ballot along with a signed signature card to the Director within 14 days of the date the ballots were distributed. The Director then counts the ballots, tabulates the results, and certifies them to the Chief Judge.
Noting that the selection of the 40 candidates by the Nominating Committee was unanimous, Chief Judge Evans said, "These finalists represent our collective efforts to name distinguished candidates, rich in diversity and with a history of excellence in the law. I am grateful to the members of the committee for their dedication to the interview process and for their superior work."
Chief Judge Evans also thanked The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening for their valuable contribution to the selection process.
The following is the list of the 40 candidates chosen by the Circuit Court of Cook County Nominating Committee that was forwarded to Cynthia Y. Cobbs, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts:
| Ashenden, John R. | Levinson, Alfred Lee |
| Axelrood, Larry G. | Logue, Patricia Marian |
| Barron, Edward J. | Masters, Allan W. |
| Bertucci Smith, Laura | Mendoza, Patricia |
| Cesario, Cheryl Donna | Mills, Martha A. |
| Chiampas, Peggy | Minella, Mary Regina |
| Clifford, Robert Jeffery | Mone, Peter J. |
| Curran, Christine P. | Panozzo, Kathleen Ann |
| Demacopoulos, Anna Helen | Quinn, Carolyn Gerard |
| Desierto, Israel Abaya | Reynolds, Jeanne Marie |
| Feerick, Maureen Patricia | Sconza, Joseph M. |
| Goldbarb, Renee G. | Senechalle, Robert E., Jr. |
| Grazian, Lawrence Leonard | Shelley, Diane M. |
| Haracz, David E. | Simko, Darryl B. |
| Harris, Sheldon A. | Simpson, Douglas J. |
| Havis, Donald R. | Tolmaire, Elmer James, III |
| Hennelly, Thomas Joseph | Valderrama, Franklin Ulyses |
| Jones, Leslie Ann | Walsh, Neera Lall |
| Karahalios, James N. | Wilson-Freelon, Sheila Mae |
| LaBarbera, Salvatore Joseph | Zafiratos, James Albert |
To facilitate the selection process, the Circuit Court Nominating Committee has established receptions for the candidates to meet the circuit judges. The receptions will be held at the following times and locations:
Wednesday, April 6, 2005, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Chicago Bar Association
Philip H. Corboy Hall, Second Floor
321 South Plymouth Court
Chicago, Illinois
Tuesday, April 12, 2005, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Criminal Court Administration Building
Jury Assembly Room, Third Floor
2650 South California Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
Thursday, April 14, 2005, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Cook County Juvenile Center
Ground level reception area (adjacent to Children’s Advocacy Room)
1100 South Hamilton Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
Follow the court on X @CookCntyCourt