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Parts of Douglass Park ‘destroyed’ by muddy Riot Fest

Torrential rains made grounds muddy for the festival, cleanup underway, neighbors unhappy DEANGELO HANDLEYT

Drea Slaughter (center), executive director of Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative, congratulates the raffle winners at the celebration.

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

A new quality of life plan has launched in Garfield Park, aiming to coalesce residents of East Garfield Park and West Garfield Park around shared goals for future investment. The Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative, a resident-led group working to improve the health, safety and economic opportunity of its neighborhood,

Block Club Chicago

unveiled a quality of life plan on Sept. 17 at the Sankofa Village Wellness Center at 4305 W. Madison St. Over 1,500 people helped shape the plan through a process supported by Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), which helps align public and private investments in neigh-

Catherine Sollmon normally walks through Douglass Park twice a day, but she hasn’t been able to do so for a couple weeks since organizers began setting up for Riot Fest. And after a rainy Riot Fest weekend Sept. 18 to 20 left Douglass Park caked in mud and standing water, Sollmon isn’t sure when she’ll be able to walk the full length of the park again. “All the mud? Do I like it? No,” said Sollmon, who lives in the 1800 block of South California Avenue, directly across from Riot Fest’s main stage. “It’s much worse. It’s the worst it’s ever been by far.” Riot Fest concluded its three-day run at Douglass Park, with both Saturday and Sunday being cut short due to rain storms and soggy con-

See GARFIELD PARK on page 8

See RIOT FEST on page 6

Plan to increase quality of life for all of Garfield Park launches in Garfield Park

Collaborative unveils effort to foster investment and growth opportunities

By MICHAEL LIPTROT and KADE HEATHER

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2 Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2026

TODD BANNOR

West Suburban Medical Center

NEWSLETTER E E FR R U O R FO P SIGN U T TO YOUR INBOX. H IG A R T S T N E S S LOCAL NEW

New West Sub owners, Insight Health Systems, struggles to reopen hospitals in Ohio Financial concerns for Insight Chicago are also raised By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter

Insight Health Systems, originally founded in Flint, Michigan, recently took over ownership and operation of West Suburban Medical Center, sharing its intentions to rehabilitate and reopen the struggling hospital. However, this is not its first time taking over a failing medical provider, and those are yet to successfully reopen.

In November 2024, Insight was officially announced as the new owner for Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Rehabilitation Hospital Hillside in Warren, Ohio, after the former parent company Steward Health Care filed bankruptcy and planned to close. Just a few months into their ownership in March 2025, the doors for both facilities closed, and all 143 employees from Insight Rehabilitation Hospital Hillside

Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2026

Harmon, Lilly to host West Sub meeting Oct. 5 in Austin State Senator Don Harmon and State Rep. Camille Lilly have scheduled a public meeting Oct. 5 to present the latest updates on the hospital’s status and to gather input from the public. The event will take place at Rising Sun Missionary Baptist Church, 820 N. Central Ave., in Chicago starting at 6 p.m. and run to 7:30. Also attending will be Deputy Governor Grace Hou. It comes in the wake of the settlement of the lawsuit between former West Suburban Medical DON HARMON Center owner Manoj Prasad and his partner and landlord Rathknaker Reddy Patlola, which saw Prasad replaced by Insight Healthcare of Chicago. West Sub remains closed while the new owners assess the situation. Wednesday Journal/Austin Weekly will have a full report on the meeting in its aftermath. According to Harmon and Lilly, the meeting is intended to focus on “gathering community input, sharing experiences, and

were furloughed. The rehabilitation hospital’s website displays the closure announcement saying it was “Due to additional abrupt developments in Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy proceedings and the mounting lack of transferred dollars owed for healthcare services” The closure was only supposed to last for about six months. An inspection from the Ohio Department of Health for both facilities in September 2025 stopped the plans to reopen after it found conditions to be insufficient citing several improvements that were needed, according to reporting from multiple local news outlets in the area. Just a month later, the 24/7 emergency room was allowed to reopen at Insight Hospital and Medical Center Trumbull. That same month, the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services terminated their agreement with the hospital for not complying with Medicare Conditions for Participation and not following requirement for the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. About a year after Insight gained owner-

CAMILLE LILLY

discussing healthcare access solutions for the area.” “Come hear information, share your experiences, and participate in the community conversation about healthcare access,” Lilly said in a Facebook post. Harmon and Lilly had previously declined to attend a public meeting held at Malcolm X College earlier this month, saying in a joint statement on Aug. 31 that the meeting was inappropriately sited outside the area West Suburban Medical Center serves, which is Chicago’s far West Side neighborhoods and near-west subur-

ban communities. The two legislators said they were “united in our commitment to this community and to ensuring residents have a meaningful voice in what comes next. The community deserves more than a seat in the audience. The community deserves a seat at the table.”

ship of the hospitals, in November 2025, Insight Trumbull had to close the emergency room once again after the Ohio Department of Health moved to revoke its state license. The hospital eventually agreed to surrender its license in January of this year. The hospitals have remained closed and local officials continue to advocate for their reopening. “The decision by Insight Hospital & Medical Center Trumbull to relinquish its license back to the State of Ohio is deeply concerning for the people of Warren, Trumbull County, and the surrounding communities,” wrote Ohio Rep. Nick Santucci in a statement. Rev. Dr. Henry Barlow, a board member for Insight Hospital and Medical Center Chicago, formerly Mercy Hospital on the Near South Side, declined to comment on the Ohio hospital closures and what it could mean for West Suburban Medical Center and Weiss Memorial Hospital. Insight media and public relations also did not respond to an inquiry about the closures.

— Bill Dwyer

In a press conference on Sept. 17, Barlow was asked about media transparency. “It’s the policy of Insight, we shoot straight from the hip. We’ll always do that, or I won’t be a part of it,” said Barlow. Concerns over the finances of Insight’s Chicago hospital have also been raised. Chicago Public Media reported that Insight lost almost $30 million and received about $50 million in advances from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services in order to remain open. The American Hospital Directory report shows a net loss of about $9.2 million for Insight Chicago from the hospital’s most recent Medicare Cost Report ending in 2025. A group of doctors from West Suburban Medical Center conducted a vote in August to say they have no confidence in Insight Health Systems ability to run the hospital. Barlow was asked about the vote of no confidence at the press conference. “Those individuals were led astray by some individuals who didn’t know what they’re talking about,” said Barlow.

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4 Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2026

Glow Up Studio brings free hair salon to West Side foster kids

New space offers on-site services and space for residents of the youth home to hang out, leaders praise the affirmation of cultural identities By MICHAEL LIPTROT Block Club Chicago

A West Side nonprofit that does violence prevention and youth outreach work is now offering free on-site hair care and beauty services for the young people it works with. UCAN Chicago debuted The Glow Up! Studio recently at its Diermeier Therapeutic Youth Home at 3640 W. Fillmore St. The residence houses 70 young people ages 6-18 who have been placed at the facility by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. For leaders with the group, the new services also represent an extension of its culturally affirming care for youths. “This salon is much more than about hair,” said UCAN CEO Christa Hamilton. “Hair is deeply connected to our identity, culture, confidence and sense of belonging. … Feeling good about yourself helps you show up in a different way.” The new salon space includes two beauty

stations outfitted with a sink, mirror, chair and supplies, as well as two overhead hairdryers. The $70,000 renovation to UCAN’s campus was funded by the Marc and Jeanne Malnati Family Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2019 by the family behind Chicago’s Lou Malnati’s pizzeria chain. Before opening the dedicated salon space, UCAN officials said the organization would previously rent a space for a haircare space for a day to occasionally take its kids. UCAN said it will manage and pay licensed barbers and beauticians, including some who have already been serving youth in the organization. The nonprofit said it hasn’t yet established set operating hours but that it would be done in coordination with the technicians’ availability and youths’ needs. At the recent opening, , 17-year-old boy from Elgin — whom Block Club is identifying as L because of the Department of Children and Family Service’s confidentiality process — sat as a technician twisted

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UCAN debuts “The Glow Up! Studio” Wednesday at Diermeier Therapeutic Youth Home, 3640 W. Fillmore St. his long hair into the dreadlock style he preferred before being placed in UCAN’s youth home six months ago. “I feel more like myself and this has raised my self-esteem,” L said. “I have to go to my brother’s wedding and I’d rather have my hair done and be there with my normal hair.” L said the new salon is as another way he can connect with other youth at the home and make friends. “I’m more happy that this is open because I can come down here and just get my hair done whenever, but like being around the community I get to talk to more people and have more conversations, friendships, stuff like that,” L said. UCAN’s new haircare studio is opening two years after the Haircare Plan for Youth in Foster Care Act became law. On the heels of the 2023 CROWN Act, which bans racerelated hair discrimination, the law requires plans for haircare as part of the case management for youth in foster care. The Depart-

ment of Child and Family Services must also provide training and resources for caregivers, according to the bill and the Sun Times. Children and Family Services leaders on Wednesday praised UCAN’s new space as affirming the state’s commitment to cultural representation. “Kids in care might be placed cross-culturally and they need to be supported in their identities and who they are,” DCFS Director Heidi Mueller told Block Club, adding that the CROWN Act “paved the way for our young people to have a sense of pride in their identity.” “To me, this is us being able to actually invest in something that our kids wanted and said they wanted, … something that helps them develop a sense of self and identity, which is a critical thing that many of us forget is so important in adolescence,” Mueller said. To learn more about UCAN, visit its website.

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Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2026

Taylor’s Tacos offers pride and LGBTQ+ representation on the West Side Owner wants to be a role model for future generations as a queer entrepreneur

this community space with my people is incredible. It’s great to connect with others who are working toward the same kind of growth, and that’s really special.” But also special to Taylor’s Tacos is Mason’s dream of showing the strength of the LGBTQ+ commuBy HECTOR CERVANTES nity and how queer people are conBlock Club Chicago tributing to Chicago’s community. “I’m honored to be in this space Taylor Mason’s journey to opening and to be a business owner who can her own taqueria on the West Side besupport people and show that qualgan with a simple need: She wanted to ity service comes from the LGBTQ+ create a place where she could fully be community just as much as it comes herself and make sure others could too. from anywhere else,” Mason said. Mason, born and raised in North Growing up on the West Side, MaLawndale, in 2016 founded Taylor’s son didn’t know of any LGBTQ+ Tacos, which operates out of the Hatchbusiness owners or role models — ery, 135 N. Kedzie Ave. The business has and she can’t recall queer represendelivery and pickup options, but its spetation, she said. cialty is catering. Customers can have “I really wasn’t around gay peoits food truck swing by, get a taco bufple that I knew about until I went fet or order up a live experience where to college, and I don’t think I even a cook makes tacos to order in front of knew I was gay until I was in colcustomers and guests. lege,” Mason said. But key to Mason’s business and her Now, Mason is building somecommunity-building is being visible as thing that can inspire future LGa queer entrepreneur and helping put BTQ+ entrepreneurs, she said. together safe spaces for members of the “I feel like Taylor’s Tacos has LGBTQ+ community. made a mark, certainly,” Mason “It was super important for me to cresaid. “People know when you PROVIDED ate spaces where I could just be myself,” search Taylor’s Tacos, you see Mason said. “That’s how Taylor’s Tacos Taylor Mason (left) with her wife, Maya Mason, launched Taylor’s Tacos in 2016. Black-owned, woman-owned, LGwas born.” BTQ-owned, and that’s super imMason went to college in California, portant to me, to be known as an tering operations grew and became their primary focus, graduating from Pepperdine University. LGBTQ+ owner and just representing the community That exposed her to Los Angeles’ famous street taco scene/ they only had the restaurant open to the public one day with a place that is affordable, super convenient and suWhen she returned to Chicago, she wanted to bring that to a week, Taylor Mason said. They determined that main- per memorable. taining the storefront was no longer practical, and they her home city with a Chicago-style flair. “Adding to 2026 gives it a different meaning because “I wanted to bring that in and make something delicious, closed the location and moved into the Hatchery — where now everything is so out and proud, and it feels like it’s something easy, something humble, so we could keep the they’d previously worked 2019-2022 — last year. really celebrated to be who you are.” Taylor’s Tacos will return to retail one day, but the party going,” Mason said. Mason is grateful she followed her instincts in openMason eventually launched the business with her wife, owners recognized “what wasn’t working” and pivoted ing Taylor’s Tacos and is proud of where the business’s so they “can come back even better,” Mason said. Maya Mason. journey has led. The Hatchery, a nonprofit food-business incubator, proThey offer up signature options like extra juicy chick“We’re all about building community, one taco at a en tacos, savory steak, “really sexy” shrimp and sweet vides kitchen space and resources to help entrepreneurs time,” Mason said. “Community can be wherever you poppin’ potato tacos. They’ve developed a “secret salsa” grow their businesses. It also provides Mason a chance feel you belong, and that’s something that’s really importo participate with others working toward the same tant to us. We also want to show that someone from the and also offer up more seafood and vegetarian options. lesbian community can build something meaningful and The two opened a more traditional retail spot on Tay- dreams. “I’m all about community,” Mason said. “Being here in successful.” lor Street in Little Italy in 2023. But as the taqueria’s ca-

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6 Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2026

RIOT FEST

A muddy mess from page 1 ditions. By Sunday, the festival grounds had significantly deteriorated. High-traffic areas became giant mud pits that were difficult for attendees to traverse, as multiple people slipped and fell in the thick mud, Block Club reported. Riot Fest and Chicago Park District officials said they are still assessing the environmental impact and remediations needed at Douglass Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Drive. Some neighbors, meanwhile, are not happy with the extent of this year’s damage and want Riot Fest to find a new home. Riot Fest on hook for cleanup Teardown of the festival grounds was underway the day after festival ended, with much of the grounds covered in mud and large pools of standing water, with little vis-

ible grass. Several pairs of muddy shoes were left on parkways, with empty cans, bottles and other garbage visible along the street. Workers moved throughout the park and hauled equipment, while large trucks operated around the grounds. Riot Fest officials said in a statement they are working to remove festival infrastructure “while minimizing further impact to the saturated grounds.” The load-out work was expected to be completed by Sept. 29, they said. Once the load-out is finished, Riot Fest organizers will work with the Park District to assess the grounds and identify needed restoration work. An initial assessment indicates three acres of festival grounds will require new sod, organizers said. Other renovation work is likely to include soil preparation, aeration, seeding and grading. Organizers have also met with Ald. Monique Scott (24th) to discuss “existing drainage, plumbing, and other underlying conditions within Douglass Park,” and will

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Puddles of water and mud are visible after Riot Fest at Douglass Park in North Lawndale on Sept. 21. meet with Park District officials to discuss more long-term solutions. “Douglass Park means a great deal to Riot Fest and, more importantly, to the community that uses it every day,” Mike Petryshyn, the founder of the event, said in a statement. “Our responsibility does not end when the festival does. We are committed to restoring the park, working alongside the Park District and the community, and seeing that work through.” Scott did not respond to a request for comment. In advance of the event, festival landscapers took preventative measures in known high-traffic areas of the Douglass Park festival grounds, which included using approximately 36,000 square feet of landscape fabric, mulch, temporary ground coverings, and additional protection beneath stages and flooring, organizers said. The festival grounds were hit during the event with torrential rains, with Midway Airport recording over 4.3 inches of rain beginning on the Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. The rain caused Saturday’s events to end early, while Sunday saw a delayed opening as crews pumped standing rainwater and performed other work to ready the festival grounds. A Park District spokesperson confirmed it will conduct a post-event assessment of the impact once festival teardown is complete. The district confirmed Riot Fest is “financially responsible for all reasonable costs related to repairing and restoring the

festival area.” Neighbors not happy On Monday, graffiti on festival fencing along California Avenue read, “Get out of Douglass Park!!!” Another nearby message read, “Get out of our park!!!” Sollman has lived in the area for almost 30 years and said the park is “a center of our lives and activities for a lot of people in the neighborhood.” She lamented that portions of the park could be closed for some time, recalling one rainy year when large sections of Douglass Park fields were fenced off until the spring. “It’s a long process,” Sollman said. “It’s not like it’s just boom, over.” Carolyn Higgins, 59, agreed with Sollman’s assessment and said she has never seen Douglass Park this muddy. “They got the worst year because it rained all three days,” said Higgins, who’s lived in the 1600 block of South Fairfield Avenue for nearly a decade. Noting the park’s importance to the neighborhood, Sollman said she’s is grateful the festival doesn’t also incorporate the playgrounds or other park features. “It’s actually like a source of health. It’s like a source of entertainment,” she said of the park. “The soccer games are fun, there’s vendors out there normally until the fest comes and shuts it down for the rest of fall. But I used to go in the fall and it was really nice, because we’ve been here a long time.” Both women said they would prefer Riot Fest to move elsewhere. “It totally sucks. It would be great if they

Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2026 found a new space for this,” Sollman said. “They’re gonna do what they want to do anyway, but I prefer that they move it,” Higgins added. Riot Fest was founded in Chicago in 2005 and moved from Humboldt Park to Douglass Park in 2015 after pushback from neighbors. The festival’s final event in Humboldt Park was also a muddy affair, with organizers estimating $182,000 in needed renovation work. In 2024, Riot Fest organizers announced plans to move the festival to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. The move initially pleased some nearby residents who had long complained about the festival’s impact on the park, but organizers later announced they would remain in Douglass Park. Last year, Riot Fest and Chicago Park District leaders announced a multi-year agreement to keep the festival in Douglass Park through at least 2027, with an option to extend the deal through 2029. The deal includes several community benefits including sending roughly $1 million over five years to Douglass Park, tripling the festival’s investment into the park. The festival’s Beyond The Fest initiative offers paid internships, provides scholarships and trains vendors from Little Village and North Lawndale. Riot Fest also provides

COLIN BOYLE/BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO

Festival-goers trudge through the rain and mud during the third day of Riot Fest at Douglass Park in North Lawndale on Sept. 20. performance and employment opportunities for local artists and residents at the festival. This year, a community stage with a backdrop of North Lawndale vendors featured North Lawndale group Boxing

Out Negativity, the Bucket Boys and local bands such as Clocking Out. Still, some local groups, including Concerned Citizens of Riot Fest in Douglass Park and Unete La Vilita have opposed Riot

Fest being held at the park since it moved there in 2015. Those groups are also not happy with the park’s current condition. “Our park is completely destroyed,” Unete La Vilita wrote in a social media post Monday. Ana Solano, a volunteer with Unete La Vilita, said that she is feeling a flurry of emotions seeing the state of Douglass Park. “I’m heartbroken, angry, sad, frustrated and disappointed,” Solano said. “The community hasn’t had a voice in the matter.” Moving forward, she said that she hopes city leaders can create a permanent citywide festival grounds for Riot Fest and other festivals including Lollapalooza, which also took place this year amid rainy conditions that left Grant Park muddy and in need of significant renovation. “I think that we’re at a point where we have outgrown the use of public parks for private music festivals,” Solano said. “When you privatize a public park, and the people that live there don’t have access to it, it has a lot of negative consequences. And so I would like for public parks to remain accessible and if there are events, for these to be free.”

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8 Austin Weekly News, September 30, 2026

GARFIELD PARK A plan with 9 pillars from page 1 borhoods. The quality of life plan is built around nine pillars: Arts, media and technology; business and economic development; education and workforce development; health and wellness; housing, real estate and green space; parent and family support; public safety; recreation and entertainment; and youth development. “Releasing the plan part was a big, audacious goal that we have completed. Implementation seems very doable against that, which I’m very proud of, because it speaks to the role of the collaborative as a convener,” said Drea Slaughter, executive director of Garfield Park organization. DEANGELO HANDLEY Working groups have already outlined Participants gather for a celebratory selfie during the Garfield Park quality of life plan strategies to achieve the plan’s goals in release. those nine areas and identified local organizations that are already working towards challenges and successes, so they can learn that lives on beyond us,” Slaughter added. those goals. “We’ve already had some early wins as from each other. Because hearing from “I do feel like this is a legacy thing, and it relates to cityscaping and green spaces,” us is one thing, but hearing from their that we want to create a really strong founSlaughter said, like repaving roads outside colleagues who are engaged in the same dation that anyone behind us can build on work is something differ- top of, instead of something that’s ripped Sankofa Village Wellness ent,” Arteaga said. “We try up, broken down and needs to constantly Center. She added that many to support where possible, be replaced.” of the plan’s goals will be imand sometimes that means plemented simultaneously. Unifying Garfield Park, crafting the plan getting out of the way,” he Jaime Arteaga, senior proadded of LISC’s role moving Slaughter said the last quality of life gram officer at LISC, said forward with the quality of plan in the area was for East Garfield Park that implementing the plan life plan. “They call the play in 2005. depends a lot on outside and we run it.” “West [Garfield Park] wasn’t necessarfactors beyond the Garfield Additionally, the Garfield ily completely left out, but it was very East Park Rite to Wellness CollabPark Rite to Wellness Collab- Garfield Park centered,” Slaughter said of orative’s control. orative will host quarterly the plan. “I just remember thinking, ‘When “Opportunities prescheck-ins with captains of did it split?’ As someone who grew up here, ent themselves at different working groups and annual I don’t remember. It was always Garfield times, so you just have to be convenings to discuss the Park. It was never East and West.” ready, either to create the opJAIME ARTEAGA status of their strategies and In 2014, East Garfield Park saw the portunity yourself or take Senior program officer the overall plan. Large Lot Program, where homeowners advantage of opportunities Slaughter said that what and nonprofits could buy vacant lots on presented,” Arteaga said. she’s most looking forward their block for $1. And the neighborhood’s “We’re talking short-term, to about the quality of life proximity to the West Loop allowed it to medium-term, and longplan is the point when the develop a unique housing stock, Slaughter term when we’re talking community can move be- said. The nonprofit Breakthrough is also about implementation.” yond implementing basics based in East Garfield Park, where it proLISC is launching an imlike grocery stores and safe vides affordable housing, a women’s shelplementation cohort, where ter, and the FamilyPlex community center. organizations that have launched quality gathering spaces. “I’m looking forward to this neighbor“All these things were positioned to of life plans can compare experiences. The Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collabora- hood being able to dream,” Slaughter drive that area in a similar way that we’re tive will host the inaugural implementa- said, “as opposed to a plan that is centered doing for all of Garfield Park, but West around so many necessities.” tion cohort meeting. specifically,” Slaughter said. “Right now, “I just want to see where we’re able to there’s a greater need in West Garfield “We wanted to bring some of our core partners together to share implementation drive this and what we’re able to create Park, which is why we’re positioned here.

“We’re talking shortterm, medium-term, and long-term when we’re talking about implementation.”

Some community members felt [the quality of life plan] needed to be inclusive as a form of unification. The whole Garfield Park needs to heal. The whole Garfield Park needs to experience this amazing renaissance that’s happening.” The process to create the Garfield Park quality of life plan started in 2022, when the Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative won the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s Chicago Prize. The $10 million funded the Sankofa Wellness Village, “which was inclusive of several different projects, which all uniquely were centered to affect the death gap and improve the quality of life of Garfield Park residents,” Slaughter said. In West Garfield Park, life expectancy is about 66 years, and Chicago’s average is closer to 78 years, according to the collaborative. To address the life expectancy gap, the Sankofa Wellness Center opened in April to offer primary healthcare. But the Sankofa Wellness Village also includes The K entrepreneurial business hub, the MAAFA Center for Arts & Activism, and the Community Grocer Initiative, an effort to bring healthy food to West Garfield Park. Also in 2022, the Garfield Park collaborative began hosting community vision meetings, interviewing residents and commissioning a corridor analysis for the Madison-Pulaski business district. The following year, the collaborative brought in LISC, which has developed 31 quality of life plans in Chicago. “The engagement and the intentionalness of the way that Drea [Slaughter] and the team engaged the community was really thoughtful and something that happens in a lot of communities, but the engagement was deeper than what we’ve experienced in the past,” Arteaga said. “When you don’t center residents and you don’t take the time to engage them and be thoughtful on what types of projects and amenities they would like to see in communities, you have development happen to residents as opposed to development happening with residents.” Including community members in discussion and organizing, Slaughter said, makes it so people go from being residents to being neighbors, creating connectivity that adds to quality of life. “Inclusion of community is the crux of any successful plan,” Slaughter said. “If they’re along for the ride, they identify themselves through it and then they’re reflected in it. That’s the greatest investment, and they’re a part of it as opposed to it happening to them.”

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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE OF GREENE STREET FUNDING TRUST II Plaintiff, -v.LLGL PROPERTIES INVESTMENTS, LLC, MARIA MEDINA, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 2026CH02897 4902 W GLADYS AVE CHICAGO, IL 60644 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on July 13, 2026, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on November 4, 2026, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 4902 W GLADYS AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60644 Property Index No. 16-16-215054-0000 The real estate is improved with a commercial property. Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in ''AS IS'' condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g) (1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS

AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver's license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales. For information, examine the court file, CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Plaintiff's Attorneys, 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100, BURR RIDGE, IL, 60527 (630) 794-9876 THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc. com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. CODILIS & ASSOCIATES, P.C. 15W030 NORTH FRONTAGE ROAD, SUITE 100 BURR RIDGE IL, 60527 630-794-5300 E-Mail: pleadings@il.cslegal.com Attorney File No. 14-25-02855 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2026CH02897 TJSC#: 46-1652 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff's attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Case # 2026CH02897 I3294912

The real estate is: single family residence. If the subject mortgaged real estate is a unit of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by subsection(g-1) of Section 189.5 of the Condominium Property Act. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% (or 25% if so ordered in the Judgment of Foreclosure) down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property is sold AS IS subject to all liens or encumbrances. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the circuit court case record, property tax record and the title record to verify all information before bidding. IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER THE ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(c) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff's Attorney, Marinosci Law Group, PC, 2215 Enterprise Drive, Suite 1512, Westchester, Illinois 60154. (312) 940-8580. 25-00465 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3293921

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION DATA MORTGAGE, INC. DBA ESSEX MORTGAGE Plaintiff vs. KAWANA JONES; THE SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. ("MERS"), AS MORTGAGEE, AS NOMINEE FOR THE FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS Defendant 25 CH 2969 CALENDAR 60 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on October 20, 2026, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty's office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell, in person, to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-15-216-028-0000. Commonly known as 4340 W. Gladys Ave., Chicago, IL 60624.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. Bank National Association Plaintiff, -v.Lottie B. Dean; Michael Dean; Defendants. 2025CH09560 1124 N Massasoit, Chicago, IL 60651 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on 7/23/2026, an agent of Auction. com, LLC will conduct the Online Only auction at www.auction.com, with the bidding window opening on 10/26/2026 at 10:00 AM CDT and closing on October 28, 2026 at 10:00 AM subject to extension, and will sell at public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate. Commonly known as 1124 N Massasoit, Chicago, IL 60651 Property Index No. 16-05-404-0230000 The real estate is improved with a Residential Property. The judgment amount was $141,186.98 Sale Terms: Full Sale Terms are available on the property page at www. auction.com by entering 1124 N Massasoit into the search bar. If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, the winning bidder must pay the full bid amount within twenty-four (24) hours of the auction's end. All payments must be certified funds. No third-party checks will be accepted. All bidders will need to register at www.auction.com prior to placing a bid. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to plaintiff and in "AS IS" condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a certificate of sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property, prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by the Condominium property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9 (g)(l) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by the Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701 (C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information, contact Plaintiffs attorney: CODILIS & ASSOCIATES PC (630) 794-5300 please refer to file number 14-25-04179. Auction.com, LLC 100 N LaSalle St., Suite 1400, Chicago, IL 60602 - 872-225-4985 You can also visit www.auction.com. Attorney File No. 14-25-04179 Case Number: 2025CH09560 NOTE: PURSUANT TO THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT, YOU ARE ADVISED THAT PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY IS DEEMED TO BE A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. I3294149

CRYSTAL ST, CHICAGO, IL 60651 Property Index No. 16-04-222-0070000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence. The judgment amount was $94,415.23. Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in ''AS IS'' condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver's license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales. For information, contact CHAD LEWIS, ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Plaintiff's Attorneys, 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325, ROSEMONT, IL, 60018 (561) 2416901. Please refer to file number 24-203745. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236-SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. CHAD LEWIS ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325 ROSEMONT IL, 60018 561-241-6901 E-Mail: ILMAIL@RASLG.COM Attorney File No. 24-203745 Attorney ARDC No. 6306439 Attorney Code. 65582 Case Number: 2024 CH 04956 TJSC#: 46-1066 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff's attorney

is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Case # 2024 CH 04956 I3294421

representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information. If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4). If this property is a condominium unit which is part of a common interest community, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments required by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/18.5(g-1). IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver's license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales. For information, contact CHAD LEWIS, ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Plaintiff's Attorneys, 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325, ROSEMONT, IL, 60018 (561) 241-6901. Please refer to file number 25-365638. THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales. CHAD LEWIS ROBERTSON ANSCHUTZ SCHNEID CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC 6400 SHAFER CT, STE 325 ROSEMONT IL, 60018 561-241-6901 E-Mail: ILMAIL@RASLG.COM Attorney File No. 25-365638 Attorney ARDC No. 6306439 Attorney Code. 65582 Case Number: 2025CH11559 TJSC#: 46-1748 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff's attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Case # 2025CH11559 I3294462

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE OF CSMC 2021-RPL9 TRUST Plaintiff, -v.ERNEST SIVELS III, THOMAS P. QUINN AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR ERNEST SIVELS, JR. DECEASED, ALVESA THOMAS, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF ERNEST SIVELS, JR, DECEASED, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NON-RECORD CLAIMANTS Defendants 2024 CH 04956 5139 W CRYSTAL ST CHICAGO, IL 60651 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on April 24, 2026, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on October 26, 2026, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 5139 W

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC Plaintiff, -v.JUANA M. VASQUEZ DE DIAZ, WHILDY DE JESUS DIAZ NAUT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS AGENCY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT Defendants 2025CH11559 1521 N MONITOR AVE CHICAGO, IL 60651 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on July 24, 2026, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on October 27, 2026, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at public in-person sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: Commonly known as 1521 N MONITOR AVE, CHICAGO, IL 60651 Property Index No. 16-05-203-0140000 The real estate is improved with a single family residence. The judgment amount was $358,729.82. Sale terms: If sold to anyone other than the Plaintiff, 25% down of the highest bid by certified funds at the close of the sale payable to The Judicial Sales Corporation. No third party checks will be accepted. The balance, in certified funds/or wire transfer, is due within twenty-four (24) hours. The subject property is subject to general real estate taxes, special assessments, or special taxes levied against said real estate and is offered for sale without any representation as to quality or quantity of title and without recourse to Plaintiff and in ''AS IS'' condition. The sale is further subject to confirmation by the court. Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real estate after confirmation of the sale. Where a sale of real estate is made to satisfy a lien prior to that of the United States, the United States shall have one year from the date of sale within which to redeem, except that with respect to a lien arising under the internal revenue laws the period shall be 120 days or the period allowable for redemption under State law, whichever is longer, and in any case in which, under the provisions of section 505 of the Housing Act of 1950, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1701k), and subsection (d) of section 3720 of title 38 of the United States Code, the right to redeem does not arise, there shall be no right of redemption. The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION Towd Point Mortgage Trust 2020-4, U.S. Bank National Association, as Indenture Trustee Plaintiff vs. Krzysztof Zalewski; 1231 North Artesian Condominium Association; Towd Point Master Funding Trust 2020-PM1 Defendant 25 CH 10969 CALENDAR 59 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the above entitled cause Intercounty Judicial Sales Corporation will on November 2, 2026, at the hour 11:00 a.m., Intercounty's office, 120 West Madison Street, Suite 718A, Chicago, IL 60602, sell, in person,

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE to the highest bidder for cash, the following described mortgaged real estate: P.I.N. 16-01-229-051-1001. Commonly known as 1231 North Artesian Avenue, Apartment 1, Chicago, IL 60622. The real estate is: condominium residence. The purchaser of the unit other than a mortgagee shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required by subdivisions (g) (1) and (g)(4) of Section 9 of the Condominium Property Act.. Sale terms: At sale, the bidder must have 10% (or 25% if so ordered in the Judgment of Foreclosure) down by certified funds, balance within 24 hours, by certified funds. No refunds. The property is sold AS IS subject to all liens or encumbrances. The property will NOT be open for inspection. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the circuit court case record, property tax record and the title record to verify all information before bidding. IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER THE ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(c) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. For information call Sales Department at Plaintiff's Attorney, Manley Deas Kochalski LLC, One East Wacker Drive, Suite 1250, Chicago, Illinois 60601. (614) 2205611. 25-001765 INTERCOUNTY JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION intercountyjudicialsales.com I3294636

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination. The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals. To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-6699777. GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

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injusticewatch.org/judges

Your nonpartisan guide to Cook County’s November 2026 judicial elections

W H AT TO K N OW

Early voting This year’s general election is Nov. 3, but early voting in Chicago’s 50 wards and sites around suburban Cook County starts Oct. 19 (and earlier in downtown Chicago and at suburban courthouses). To find your polling place and check your voter status: • Chicago residents, visit chicagoelections.gov • Suburban Cook County residents, visit cookcountyclerkil.gov/ elections

About the court system

Court and legal terms

COURT LEVELS

Administrative law judge: Lawyers hired by city or state agencies to conduct hearings on administrative issues, such as municipal code violations or decisions made by agency representatives. May also be called “hearing officers.” These are not judicial positions but are often a stepping stone for attorneys who want to gain quasi-judicial experience before running for judge.

Illinois has three levels of courts: • Circuit courts are the front line of the legal system. Circuit court judges hear a variety of cases, from traffic tickets to personal injury to child welfare to criminal cases. They serve six-year terms. • Appellate courts hear appeals of cases initially decided by the circuit courts, usually in panels of three judges. Appellate judges serve 10-year terms. Circuit court judges also can be temporarily assigned to the appellate court by the Illinois Supreme Court. • The Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. Its seven justices serve 10-year terms, with three of the justices chosen by Cook County voters. In addition to ruling on cases appealed from the lower courts, the Supreme Court appoints judges to fill vacancies, creates rules that courts must follow, and oversees attorney licensing and discipline and judicial discipline. DIVISIONS OF THE CIRCUIT COURT The Cook County Circuit Court is made up of three departments, which oversee a total of 16 divisions and districts, based on case type and geography.

Who can vote? Voters must be at least 18 years old, be a U.S. citizen, and reside in their voting precinct for at least 30 days prior to Election Day. People with felony convictions can vote in Illinois as long as they are not currently incarcerated. People in jail pre-trial and people on mandatory supervised release are eligible to vote.

About Injustice Watch Injustice Watch is a nonprofit journalism organization that examines issues of equity and justice in the Cook County court system. Our team of investigative journalists produce humancentered, data-driven investigations with a real impact in our community. Our journalism has led to policy changes, people in power resigning or being fired, innocent people being freed from prison, increased participation in judicial elections, and more. We also create resources, such as this guide, and host events to help our community better understand how the court system works. To learn more about our work, visit injusticewatch.org. 2

COUNTY DEPARTMENT Chancery division: Handles lawsuits in which one party sues another to force them to stop or engage in a specific action. Cases involving mortgage foreclosures, mechanics liens, contracts, and other matters are also heard here. County division: Hears cases involving elections, adoptions, mental health proceedings, and real estate taxes. Criminal division: Presides over felony cases, which are those that could result in a prison term of at least a year. This division also handles issues related to felony trials, including record expungement and petitions to review prior criminal convictions and sentences. Domestic relations division: Hears cases involving divorce, child support, and other family law matters. Domestic violence division: Handles matters involving orders of protection, nocontact orders, and certain criminal cases related to domestic violence. Law division: Focuses on lawsuits for monetary damages larger than $30,000 in the city and larger than $100,000 in the suburbs. Examples of cases include personal injury, medical malpractice, and property damage. Pretrial division: Handles initial proceedings in criminal cases, such as detention hearings and out-of-state warrants. This division also oversees some specialty programs, including the deferred prosecution court. Probate division: Hears matters involving wills, estates, and guardianship of minors and/or those with disabilities.

INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

JUVENILE JUSTICE AND CHILD PROTECTION DEPARTMENT Child protection division: Hears cases involving child abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, and orders of protection concerning children. Juvenile justice division: Conducts trials for minors charged with crimes and proceedings for minors addicted to alcohol or drugs and those who are runaways. MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT The Municipal Department is divided into six geographical districts. First municipal district (Chicago): This district handles felony preliminary hearings, misdemeanor cases, evictions, small claims, lawsuits seeking damages under $30,000, marriages, and civil unions within the city. The traffic section, which is where judges who are new to the bench are assigned, hears misdemeanor and other traffic cases from Chicago. Second through sixth municipal districts: These suburban districts handle the same types of cases as the first district, but also oversee felony criminal cases and juvenile justice cases, traffic cases, orders of protection, some specialty courts, lawsuits seeking damages under $100,000, and name changes. These courts are located in Skokie, Rolling Meadows, Maywood, Bridgeview, and Markham.

Appointment: When a judge resigns, retires, or is removed from office, it creates a vacancy on the court. The Illinois Supreme Court appoints a replacement to serve until the next election. Associate judge: These judges serve the same roles as circuit judges, but they are selected by a vote of the circuit judges, rather than by the public. Assistant public defender: Attorneys who represent criminal defendants who cannot afford an attorney and parents accused by the state of child abuse or neglect. Assistant state’s attorney: Attorneys who prosecute state crimes in the county and represent county departments and officials in civil lawsuits. Post-conviction: Petitions filed by someone who has been convicted of a crime asking a judge to overturn their conviction or change their sentence. The bar for successfully filing a postconviction petition is extremely high and usually requires petitioners to show they have access to new evidence that could not have been available to them at the time of the original trial. Postconviction petitions are different from appeals, which focus narrowly on challenges to judges’ procedural decisions and interpretation of the law during a hearing or trial. Presiding judge: Judges assigned by the chief judge to oversee administrative matters in each court division. In some divisions, presiding judges assign cases to other judges; in other divisions, cases are assigned randomly by a computer. The presiding judges, along with Chief Judge Charles Beach, are known as the Executive Committee and meet regularly to discuss courtwide matters. Reversal: When a party in a case believes the judge made the wrong decision, they can appeal to a higher court. If the higher court believes that the judge misapplied the law or abused their discretion, it can reverse the judge’s decision and send the case back with instructions. Usually cases get sent back to the same judge, but in rare circumstances higher courts order the case to be transferred to a new judge. Visit injusticewatch.org/judges for a full glossary of terms

About our judicial election guide Judges are powerful officials whose choices on the bench touch many aspects of our lives, from traffic tickets to divorces, lawsuits, evictions, and criminal cases. They have the power to take or restore someone’s freedom, enforce or overturn state laws, and perpetuate or correct injustices. Illinois voters elect judges every two years. This November, 60 circuit judges and one appellate judge are running for reelection in Cook County. To help you #CheckYourJudges, Injustice Watch created this guide to Cook County’s judicial elections. Voters will be asked whether each judge should be retained for another term. To keep their seat, each judge must receive 60% “yes” votes of all the votes cast in their race. You’ll also see races on your ballot for open seats, or vacancies, on the court. All the candidates who won in the March Democratic primary are running

unopposed, so they are not included in this guide. Our team of investigative journalists spent months researching each judge’s background, judicial record, legal experience, political connections, conduct, and controversies. We sent every judge a survey asking how they approach their work. We watched them in court and spoke with attorneys and litigants who have had cases in front of them. We don’t endorse or recommend candidates. We report the facts, so you can make your own decisions. Candidates appear in the order they will appear on your ballot, which is based on how long they’ve been on the bench. This is a condensed version of our guide, edited for space and clarity. For full profiles, including candidate survey responses and bar association evaluations, visit injusticewatch.org/ judges.

How to use this guide CANDIDATE ICONS Former public defender: This candidate has served as a public defender, representing clients in criminal cases who can’t afford a private attorney. Former prosecutor: This candidate has served as a prosecutor in criminal or quasi-criminal (such as traffic court) cases at the city, county, state, or federal level.

Former public defender

Notable reversals: Notable cases exist where the candidate’s decisions have been reversed by a higher court. Notable controversy: This candidate has been involved in some kind of personal or professional controversy. We report what we found in the “Notable” section and offer candidates an opportunity to respond to our reporting.

Former prosecutor

CANDIDATE PROFILES Age: We list each judge’s age as of Election Day. Judicial experience: We include the types of cases each judge has heard in their time on the bench. Every judge starts out in traffic court, so we’ve excluded that detail from most profiles.

Notable reversals

Previous work history: Information about the type of law the candidate practiced before they became a judge, with dates when they are known. Notable: We often find interesting information about candidates during our research, whether about cases they’ve been involved in as attorneys or judges, family or political connections, or newsworthy events. Candidate survey: We sent every judge a survey about their upbringing, professional experience, and values. We include an excerpt of their responses. (This year, 19 judges replied.) Full answers can be found online at injusticewatch.org/judges.

Notable controversy

R E T E N T I O N | I L L I N O I S A P P E L L AT E C O U R T BERTINA E. LAMPKIN Age: 77 Judge since: 1987 Judicial experience: Lampkin was appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court in 2009 and won election in 2016. She currently serves in the third division of the appellate court’s first district, hearing appeals out of Cook County. Before being appointed to the appellate court, she served for 22 years as a Cook County associate judge and circuit judge, including 12 years as a supervising judge in the criminal division. Previous work history: • Senior attorney, City of Chicago Law Department, defending the city against civil lawsuits (1985-1987) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, prosecuting juvenile delinquency, sexual assault, and other felony cases (1974-1985) Law school: DePaul University (1974) Notable: Lampkin says she has written more than 400 opinions and orders as an appellate judge. In one recent example, she authored an opinion reversing the dismissal of a petition for postconviction relief filed by a 51-year-old man sentenced to life in prison without the opportunity for parole for killing two teenagers in a gang-related fight when he was 18. In his petition, the man argued he was eligible for resentencing in light of state and U.S. Supreme Court decisions finding mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles and young adults unconstitutional. Lampkin has served on five different Illinois Supreme Court committees related to issues including capital cases, criminal law, and appellate court administration. To alleviate a backlog of criminal appeals, she spearheaded the creation of a group of pro bono attorneys to take on some of those cases. “In one year, 65 cases were disposed of,” Lampkin told Injustice Watch, including two murder convictions that were eventually tossed out, she said. Lampkin was the lead prosecutor in the 1983 trial of Stanley Wrice, who was convicted in the brutal abduction and rape of a woman at his South Side home. Wrice was sentenced to 100 years in prison but was released in 2013 after a Cook County judge vacated his conviction based on Wrice’s claims that he was beaten into giving a statement by Chicago police lieutenants working under disgraced Cmdr. Jon Burge. Wrice’s case was significant in the Burge torture saga because it led the Illinois Supreme Court to establish that a confession coerced through torture must be thrown out, even if there is overwhelming evidence of a defendant’s guilt. Following his release, Wrice was denied a certificate of innocence, but he filed a federal civil rights lawsuit naming Lampkin as a defendant alongside Burge, his subordinates, and high-ranking law enforcement officials. The claims against Lampkin were dismissed, but she was made to sit for a deposition in 2016 and testify at the trial in 2020, records show. In her deposition, Lampkin was asked if she knew about the allegations of police torturing suspects on the South Side while she was a prosecutor. “Clearly some people were abused at Area 2, absolutely,” she said. “I don’t believe Stanley Wrice was.” In an interview with Injustice Watch, Lampkin continued to cast doubt on Wrice’s abuse claims and denied any wrongdoing. Wrice won a $5.2 million jury verdict against the city in March 2020. Candidate survey: “I saw the KKK burning a cross right off the highway and as a child, I watched TV with my parents as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. lead marches throughout the south, and I saw African American men, women and children have fire hoses turned on them or vicious dogs actually attack some of them. My father always told me that education was the key to changing the lives of Black people and I have strived all my life to be the best I could be in every endeavor.”

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W H AT TO K N OW

About the court system

Court and legal terms

COURT LEVELS

INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

Former public defender

Former prosecutor

Notable reversals

Notable controversy

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RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT LEWIS NIXON Age: 77 Judge since: 2001 Judicial experience: Nixon was appointed to the circuit court in 2001 and won election the following year. Since 2008, Nixon has served as the supervising judge for the mortgage foreclosure and mechanic’s lien section of the chancery division at the Daley Center. Previous work history: • Regional counsel in Chicago for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, overseeing fair housing discrimination cases (1983-2001) • Attorney for Burlington Northern Railroad, handling liability cases (19801983) • Associate at Conklin & Adler, handling aviation litigation (1979-1980) • Assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, prosecuting federal criminal cases (1975-1979) Law school: DePaul University (1974) Notable: Nixon is the longest-serving circuit judge running for retention this year. In an online tribute for a deceased former colleague in December, Nixon said if he wins retention, this will be his last term before he retires. However, in an email to Injustice Watch in August, Nixon walked back his comments, saying he had “not really thought that much about retirement at this time,” and that he would address it closer to his next retention election.

KERRY M. KENNEDY Age: 75 Judge since: 2002 Judicial experience: Kennedy was elected to the circuit court in 2002. Since 2021, he has been the presiding judge of the Bridgeview courthouse, where he has spent most of his judicial career hearing felony cases. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant public defender at the Markham and Bridgeview courthouses (1979-2002) Law school: Northern Illinois University (1978) Notable: During the past term, the Illinois Appellate Court has reversed Kennedy’s dismissals of two postconviction petitions filed by men convicted of murder. One of the petitions was filed by Ricky Schoen, 4

who was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2014 for a gang-related drive-by shooting. Schoen, who claims he is innocent and had ineffective counsel, is asking for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. The appellate court ordered Kennedy in 2022 to hold a hearing on his claims, and the case is ongoing. In 2016, Kennedy increased the bond for an unemployed roofer from $2,000 to $50,000 without explanation after the man was charged with a DUI and battery against a police officer, the Sun-Times reported. The appellate court later reduced the bond, a decision Kennedy sneered at in open court, prompting the defendant’s lawyer to file a motion to substitute Kennedy for another judge, the Sun-Times reported. Kennedy instead recused himself from the case, court records show. Kennedy presided over a high-profile sexual assault trial in 2006 of one of several teenagers charged with raping a drunken 16-year-old girl and videotaping it. During the trial, Kennedy said he might hold the victim in contempt if she did not watch the video while on the witness stand, according to the Chicago Tribune. Defense attorneys had asked Kennedy to dismiss the charges if the girl would not watch it, arguing the defendant had a right to cross-examine his accuser. After an uproar from advocates, Kennedy the next day said he would not force the victim to watch the video, the Tribune reported. Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment.

JOAN E. POWELL Age: 78 Judge since: 2006 Judicial experience: Powell was appointed to the circuit court in 2006 and elected in 2008. She serves in the law division, where she presides over civil trials. Previous work history: • Assistant state’s attorney in the complex litigation division, handling medical malpractice defense, employment and labor law, and civil rights matters (20002006) • Law clerk for two Cook County circuit judges (1996-2000) • Solo practitioner, focusing on contract, family, and elder law (1992-1996) Law school: UIC Law (Formerly John Marshall Law School) (1992) Notable: The First District Appellate Court

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in 2025 sharply criticized Powell, vacating a jury’s $43.8 million car crash verdict against a trucking company and ordering that a new trial be held before a different judge, a rare move. The case involved a woman whose car had been rear-ended by a tractor-trailer while she was stopped at a traffic light, rendering her an incomplete quadriplegic. In 2023, during jury selection in a trial over the amount of damages the company would have to pay, the woman’s attorneys published a blog post titled, “What Jurors Should Know But Don’t,” that said jurors were being “kept in the dark” about important case evidence. The next day, Powell collectively questioned the jurors about whether they’d seen the post, using leading statements the appellate court found “too suggestive toward a negative answer.” The appellate court said “any reasonable judge” would have taken the jurors aside one by one to learn whether they’d seen the posts. Powell told Injustice Watch the language she used with jurors followed the Illinois Supreme Court jury instructions, but she has since started the practice of polling jurors one by one when issues arise. “We have higher courts for a good reason. It’s a double or triple check. This appellate court disagreed with me. It’s their job to review, and they did,” she said.

MAUREEN WARD KIRBY Age: 62 Judge since: 2007 Judicial experience: Kirby was appointed to the circuit court in 2007 and elected the following year. Since 2023, Kirby has been the presiding judge of the county division, where she has heard cases since 2009. Previously, Kirby heard orders of protection in the domestic relations division. Previous work history: • Associate and partner at a Chicago-based law firm, handling commercial litigation cases (1989-2008) Law school: Loyola University Chicago (1989) Notable: Kirby currently presides over a lawsuit fi led in 2024 by the nonprofit Reform for Illinois to force the Cook County clerk to allow the City of Evanston to hold ranked-choice voting, following a referendum on the issue that passed by a wide margin in 2022. Kirby dismissed the

RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT lawsuit in November 2024 after the county clerk argued it couldn’t administer rankedchoice elections without state officials fi rst authorizing those types of elections. The Illinois Appellate Court ordered Kirby to reopen the case in 2025, ruling that no substantive rulings could be made because the City of Evanston was not a party to the lawsuit. Earlier this year, Reform for Illinois and the city refi led the lawsuit, adding the state board of elections and Dominion Voting Systems as defendants. Their attorney told the Evanston RoundTable they expect Kirby to issue a ruling before Evanston’s upcoming special mayoral election, with a primary likely to be held in February.

THOMAS J. BYRNE Age: 64 Judge since: 2008 Judicial experience: Byrne hears criminal cases at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. He previously handled misdemeanor cases in Chicago. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney serving at courthouses in Chicago and Markham, eventually rising to supervisor at the Rolling Meadows courthouse (1989-2008) Law school: Loyola University Chicago (1989)

EDWARD A. ARCE Age: 67 Judge since: 2008 Judicial experience: Arce was appointed to the circuit court in 2008 and won election later the same year from the 14th Subcircuit. He currently hears cases in the domestic relations division. Previous work history: • Associate and partner at a small firm, handling a variety of civil cases, including family law, bankruptcy, and contract disputes (1985-2008) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1985) Notable: Arce is currently presiding over a parentage case filed in 2019 by then-59year-old Daryl Miller, who is seeking to establish that blues musician Buddy Guy is his biological father. Miller filed his petition after Guy voluntarily took a genetic test that established that Guy couldn’t be excluded as the father. After the Illinois Appellate Court reversed Arce’s decision to dismiss the case, he ordered Guy to submit to a new paternity test in July. Arce’s family owns Tropical Optical, a retail eyewear and optometry chain started by his father, and Sun Optics, an eyewear manufacturing company in which Arce is a shareholder. Arce said he draws no income from the businesses. The family has also been active in local politics, including through a now-defunct political action committee, the Mexican American PAC, which was managed by his brother Daniel between 1989 and 2019 and backed politicians allied with Mayor Richard M. Daley and disgraced former Ald. Ed Burke.

Notable: The Illinois Appellate Court has overturned Byrne’s judgments, rulings, or sentences at least 16 times over the last term, the second-highest number among the six criminal division judges up for retention this year, though far fewer than some judges running in past elections. Some reversals stemmed from the mistakes of defense attorneys or extraordinarily technical legal questions. In several others, the appeals court found he too quickly rejected people challenging their convictions. In one case last year, the appellate court criticized Byrne’s decision to prevent a jury from seeing police body camera video showing a witness giving statements that might have bolstered a defendant’s selfdefense claim in a 2020 brawl in Chicago. The witness, a 90-year-old man, testified at trial that he wasn’t sure whether the defendant or an alleged victim threw the fi rst punch. The defendant’s attorney sought to counter that testimony by showing the jury video of him telling a police officer at the scene that the fi rst thing he saw was the alleged victim punching her and “beating that woman like she was a dog.” After watching the video in his chambers, Byrne said the recorded statements were improper hearsay and barred them. The jury convicted the defendant of aggravated battery, and the judge sentenced her to 2½ years in prison. The appellate court reversed her conviction, saying Byrne should have let the jury see the video since it contradicted the testimony the witness gave in court. The case is still pending. Byrne declined to comment through a spokesperson.

DIANA L. KENWORTHY Age: 58 Judge since: 2008 Judicial experience: Kenworthy handles felony criminal trials at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. She previously served in the domestic violence division and heard misdemeanor cases in the first municipal district. Previous work history: • Partner at a small family firm, arbitrator for the circuit court, and hearing officer for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (2000-2008) • Cook County assistant public defender (1996-2000) Law school: Ohio State University (1995) Notable: In 2022, Kenworthy acquitted Jimmy Jackson in the murder of his on-andoff girlfriend, Daisy Hayes, citing a lack of physical evidence and saying video of him leaving her apartment with a suitcase he threw in the trash did not clearly establish guilt. Kenworthy said Hayes appeared intoxicated the day she was last seen and cited medications on her nightstand in finding there was reasonable doubt that Jackson killed her. Hayes’ body was never found. “I know that my ruling will be difficult and frustrating for Ms. Hayes’ family,” the judge said in delivering her verdict. “I want to be clear: My finding is not that Mr. Jackson is innocent, rather my finding is that the state is not able to meet the very high burden of proving the defendant guilty of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.” Hayes’ family members held a press conference after the verdict, and they continue to criticize Kenworthy years later. “As a Black woman, it just makes you feel that the system, the justice system, doesn’t care about us,” Teresa Smith, her daughter, told Injustice Watch recently. Kenworthy declined to comment through a spokesperson.

KRISTYNA COLLEEN RYAN Age: 54 Judge since: 2008 Judicial experience: Ryan hears civil, misdemeanor, and felony cases at the fourth municipal district in Maywood, where she also presides over the mental health and veterans treatment courts. She previously oversaw the Avondale Restorative Justice Community Court.

Previous work history: • Associate at a small law firm that handles insurance recovery work • Attorney in private practice (2003-2005) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (2000) Candidate survey: “I came to law through a non-traditional path; I have a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Development from Ohio State and worked in environmental consulting before my J.D. from Chicago-Kent. My earlier training taught me to think in terms of systems: how one intervention ripples through an ecosystem, how ‘right plant, right place’ matters as much as good intentions. I bring that same lens to the courtroom. A person in front of me is not a discrete legal problem to be resolved but someone embedded in a family, a neighborhood, a community, and a set of circumstances that a single ruling can’t rewrite on its own.”

URSULA WALOWSKI Age: 57 Judge since: 2008 Judicial experience: Walowski was elected in 2008 and serves in the criminal division, hearing felony cases at the George Leighton Criminal Courthouse. She previously presided over misdemeanor and felony cases in the domestic violence division. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, handling cases including gang crimes and murder trials (1994-2008) • Worked in commercial litigation for former First National Bank of Chicago (1993) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1993) Notable: The First District Illinois Appellate Court overturned Walowski’s judgments, rulings, or sentences at least 25 times over her most recent six-year term, sometimes in pointed language. That’s more than any other criminal court judge seeking retention this year, though fewer than some other judges in past years. Some of the appellate rulings stemmed from technical errors or failures by defense attorneys, but the court directly criticized her work repeatedly. In one case, appellate judges reversed Walowski’s guilty verdict at a bench trial and said the evidence simply was not strong enough to convict. In 2021, an appellate panel ruled unanimously that Walowski should not have forced an attorney to go forward with a trial in 2017 over his repeated objections that he couldn’t properly defend his client as he was recovering

from food poisoning and its aftereffects. The attorney, Bernard Shelton Jr., asked Walowski for time to recover after he’d gone to the emergency room the previous day with a swollen face, but she rejected him, saying he “did a fine job” despite his complaints earlier in the trial. Appellate Court Judge Mary L. Mikva wrote that Walowski abused her discretion and denied the defendant a fair trial by brushing aside Shelton’s complaints. In 2023, Appellate Court Judge Bertina Lampkin wrote a unanimous ruling criticizing Walowski for failing to explain the constitutional right to an attorney or the potential consequences of representing himself to a murder defendant, Wynton Stewart, who then disastrously acted as his own lawyer and was convicted. The appellate judges called Walowski’s work “a complete failure” to follow rules intended to guarantee Stewart a fair trial and reversed his conviction. Stewart was later convicted again. Walowski told Injustice Watch she thinks the reversals stem in part from her working efficiently through a high volume of cases in criminal court, where cases are frequently appealed. She declined to comment on specific cases, in keeping with court rules, but said, “I respect the appellate court’s decisions.” “I do try to get things right as much as possible in each particular case, but sometimes things can be missed,” she said. “Mistakes can happen, but I strive to avoid them.”

ANTHONY C. “TONY” KYRIAKOPOULOS Age: 63 Judge since: 2010 Judicial experience: Kyriakopoulos was first appointed to the bench in 2010 and won election in 2014. Since 2011, he has been assigned to the chancery division at the Daley Center, handling mortgage foreclosure and mechanic’s liens cases. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, prosecuting narcotics and other felony cases (1990-2010) Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (1989) Notable: Kyriakopoulos was one of three judges who dropped out of primary races against candidates favored by the Cook County Democratic Party in 2012, only to be reappointed after the election by the state Supreme Court, the Chicago Tribune reported. By dropping out, Kyriakopoulos cleared the road for former Ald. Tom Allen, who ran unopposed and retired from the bench in 2018. Kyriakopoulos did not respond to a request for comment.

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RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT CAROLINE KATE MORELAND Age: 59 Judge since: 2010 Judicial experience: Moreland was first appointed to the circuit court in 2010 and won election in 2014. She currently serves in the chancery division, handling class-action lawsuits, business disputes, injunctions, and public records requests. She previously served in the domestic violence division. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, prosecuting murders, sexual assaults, and other felony cases (1996-2010) Law school: Catholic University of America (1995) Notable: Moreland’s appointment to the bench played a role in the 2023 federal corruption trial of disgraced former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke. Prosecutors accused Burke of holding up the renovation of the city’s massive Old Main Post Office until the developer hired Burke’s law firm to handle its property tax appeals on the building. In a secretly recorded meeting with the developer, Burke dangled his relationship with Moreland’s father, then-Amtrak board vice-chairman Jeff rey Moreland, when discussing the challenges getting the railroad company to stop its trains from running under the building for the renovation to start. “We made his daughter a judge here in Cook County. … We’re family personal friends,” Burke says in the video from October 2016 played in court, according to news reports. Burke’s wife, Anne M. Burke, sat on the Illinois Supreme Court when it appointed Moreland to the bench. Burke was convicted in December 2023 of racketeering, bribery, and attempted extortion, and sentenced to two years in prison, plus a $2 million fine. A spokesperson for the Illinois Supreme Court refused to say whether or not the court investigated Burke’s comments. Emails to Ed Burke’s attorneys went unanswered. Moreland declined to comment. Moreland was one of three judges who dropped out of primary races against candidates favored by the Cook County Democratic Party in 2012, only to be reappointed after the election by the state Supreme Court, the Chicago Tribune reported. By dropping out, Moreland cleared the field for Michael T. Mullen, who’s currently the chancery division’s presiding judge. “I didn’t make any deals,” Moreland told the Tribune about her decision to withdraw from the race. “That was a personal and political decision that I made.” 6

Several of Moreland’s rulings in the past term have made the news. In September 2020, Moreland dismissed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against the city of Chicago for issuing thousands of Central Business District parking tickets to people who weren’t parked there, saying the plaintiff had failed to exhaust the administrative appeals process; the Illinois Supreme Court upheld her ruling. In 2025, Moreland ordered former Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau to take down confidential information about the village he had posted online after he lost re-election; the case remains ongoing. Also in 2025, Moreland granted class-action status to a lawsuit filed by a resident on Chicago’s East Side against an animal feed plant for blanketing the neighborhood in noxious odors. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office later filed its own lawsuit against the plant.

THOMAS J. CARROLL Age: 66 Judge since: 2011 Judicial experience: Carroll was appointed to the circuit court in 2011, and he won election in 2014. He is a supervising judge in the misdemeanor section at the Markham courthouse. Previous work history: • Attorney in private practice, working on criminal and civil cases in federal, state, and juvenile courts and serving as a hearing officer for municipal offenses in Merrionette Park (1992-2011) • Cook County assistant public defender, handling felony, misdemeanor, and juvenile cases (1988-1992) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1988) Notable: Carroll was one of three judges who dropped out of primary races against candidates favored by the Cook County Democratic Party in 2012, only to be reappointed after the election by the state Supreme Court, the Chicago Tribune reported. Carroll’s exit from that race cleared a path for Daniel R. Degnan, who had strong political connections but negative bar association ratings. The Illinois Supreme Court then reappointed Carroll, who has family ties to disgraced former Ald. Ed Burke, whose wife, Anne, served on the Supreme Court at the time. Since then, bar associations and attorneys who spoke to Injustice Watch have complimented Carroll on his easygoing temperament and legal ability. “Judge me on my record,” he told Injustice Watch. “I’ve

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really just tried very hard the last 15 years to do the right thing.” Candidate survey: “Helping my mom with my brother [who has Down Syndrome] and witnessing first hand the compassion and love for him gave me a great understanding of special needs children at an early age. I carried these values during my legal career and on the bench, showing compassion and understanding for everyone.”

ANDREA M. BUFORD Age: 70 Judge since: 2013 Judicial experience: Buford was appointed to the circuit court in 2013 and won election the following year. She currently serves as the presiding judge of the child protection division, where she has spent most of her judicial career hearing child abuse and neglect cases. Previous work history: • Attorney in private practice, representing corporations and municipalities in civil litigation (1987-2013) • Hearing officer for the Illinois State Board of Education and Department of Human Services (2009-2013) • Appointed commissioner on the Illinois Court of Claims, where she heard cases involving monetary demands against the state (2007-2013) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1986) Notable: Buford represented Joseph Miedzianowski, a former Chicago police officer, on behalf of the city in a 2007 federal civil rights trial filed by two former federal agents who claimed the Chicago Police Department retaliated against them for attempting to report him. Miedzianowski had previously been convicted on racketeering and drug conspiracy charges and sentenced to life in prison, and the U.S. attorney who prosecuted him called him the “most corrupt police officer ever prosecuted in this district.” A jury awarded the two federal agents $9.75 million. Buford declined to comment. Buford has previously served as president of the Cook County Bar Association and the Illinois Judicial Council. She has also served on several Illinois Supreme Court committees, including as chair of the Special Supreme Court Committee on Juvenile Courts. Buford’s brother was Renault Robinson, a former Chicago police officer who founded the African American Patrolmen’s League and was chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority under Mayor Harold Washington. Robinson, who died in 2023, was also her campaign chair when she first ran for judge.

RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT JOHN MICHAEL ALLEGRETTI Age: 61 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Allegretti hears civil cases, including consumer debt, personal injury, and contract disputes, in the first municipal district. Previous work history: • Attorney and general counsel, Cook County Treasurer’s Office (2011-2014) • Corporate counsel, North American Real Estate Management (2010-2011) • Legal director and general counsel, Cook County Assessor’s Office (2005-2010) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney defending the sheriff ’s office and individual correctional officers in civil rights lawsuits (2001-2005) • Associate attorney at a law firm focusing on property tax cases (2000-2001) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney in the real estate tax division (1998-2000) • Hearing officer, Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (1996-1998) • Associate attorney at two small law firms handling personal injury and domestic relations cases (1995-1996) Law school: St. Thomas University (1995) Notable: In 2012, Allegretti was involved with a push to outlaw alcohol sales in a precinct in the Northwest Side neighborhood of Galewood, the Chicago Tribune reported. The ballot measure would have impacted a few local businesses, including a longtime neighborhood tavern and a newer soul food restaurant with a large Black clientele, leading critics of the proposal to question whether it was racially motivated, the Tribune reported. Allegretti grew up in the area but lived at the time in suburban Riverside, where he was a Cook County Democratic Party committeeperson. The ballot initiative ultimately failed. In an email to Injustice Watch, Allegretti disputed the Tribune’s account. “The 193 neighborhood residents who signed the petition deserved to have their concerns fairly represented,” he wrote. “Longstanding concerns about late-night noise and nuisance — not race, organized crime, or a city-versussuburb dispute — prompted this diverse, grassroots community effort. I was asked to assist my former neighbors with the petition and did so without compensation or personal benefit more than a decade ago.”

KRISTAL R. RIVERS Age: 55 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Rivers was elected in 2014. She serves in the Bridgeview courthouse hearing misdemeanor and traffic cases. She previously served in the juvenile justice division. Previous work history: • Assistant attorney general in the Sexually Violent Persons Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office (2010-2014) • Attorney in private practice, focused on real estate sales and commercial property litigation (2001-2010) • Assistant criminal district attorney in Dallas, Texas, where she prosecuted homicide, assault, theft, and child sex crimes cases (1997-2000) Law school: Drake University (1996) Notable: Rivers spent her fi rst seven years on the bench in the juvenile justice division before transferring to the Bridgeview courthouse in 2021 upon her request. During her time in the juvenile justice division, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed several of her decisions, including

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orders she issued for minors to scrub their social media of all gang and drug activity and to avoid all contact with gangs as terms of their probation, parts of which the court found to be too broad. Rivers has not been reversed since she moved to Bridgeview.

STEVEN G. WATKINS Age: 62 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Watkins was elected in 2014. He is a supervising judge in the criminal division at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. Previous work history: • Solo practitioner, focusing on criminal defense, civil cases, and real estate law while also working as an arbitrator in the Cook County courts (2001-2014) • Partner at a small firm, handling civil, criminal, administrative law, and real estate cases (1991-2000) Law school: DePaul University (1991) Notable: Illinois State Police arrested Watkins on a drunken driving charge in 2012 after an accident on Interstate 57 in Chicago, according to police reports and court records. Watkins, who refused sobriety tests, was “argumentative,” smelled strongly of alcohol, and swayed when he walked, police reported. Circuit Judge Daniel R. Degnan acquitted him of drunken driving in a bench trial in 2013, saying the testimony of police and a witness didn’t prove strongly enough that Watkins was intoxicated. The judge fi ned him $200 for failing to reduce his speed and ordered court supervision. Watkins was elected judge the following year, and the case has not previously been publicized. Watkins declined to comment on the drunken driving arrest, as did his attorney, Howard Brookins Jr., a former Chicago alderperson. The judge sent Injustice Watch a statement asking voters to focus on his record on the bench. “I take my role as a judge very seriously and I strive to be diligent, prepared, know the law, and always treat everyone with respect and kindness. I base my rulings on the law and the evidence presented and temper my decisions with compassion,” he wrote. Watkins’s highest-profile moment on the bench came in 2019 when he accepted prosecutors’ motion to dismiss charges

accusing actor Jussie Smollett of faking a hate crime against himself. The decision by then-State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office to seek dismissal of the charges was the subject of heated controversy for years.

ABBEY FISHMAN ROMANEK Age: 65 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Romanek was elected in 2014 from the 9th Subcircuit and hears cases in the domestic relations division. Previous work history: • Attorney at a boutique suburban law firm, focused on business and commercial litigation (2012-2014) • Senior attorney in the Illinois attorney general’s Medicaid fraud division (2004-2006) • Associate attorney and partner at four law firms, specializing in defending physicians in medical malpractice cases (1990-2001) • Attorney in private practice, focused on criminal defense (1987-1990) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1987) Notable: In 2024, Fishman Romanek was sued in her official capacity by Connor Paris and Children of the Court, a judicial watchdog organization focused on divorce cases. According to the complaint filed in federal court, Romanek denied Paris, an adult whose parents had a case before her, access to a Zoom hearing, allegedly stating: “Conor Paris is here. He has no business being here and he shouldn’t be here and I am not letting him in. He shouldn’t know about court dates.” A federal judge dismissed the suit, ruling that Romanek was “entitled to absolute judicial immunity” and pointing to a U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing that “trial judges have wide latitude to control courtroom atmosphere and litigants who appear before them.” Paris has an appeal pending before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a written statement, Romanek did not address Paris’ lawsuit directly, but said “I consider the best interest of the children of my litigants first and foremost. This includes keeping children from the courtroom who are not litigants and should not be testifying against family members. In decision making, I rely on the law and the evidence as well as experts such as guardians ad litem and mental health professionals.” Attorneys who spoke with Injustice Watch described Romanek as curt and easily annoyed, and some said she appeared unprepared

for hearings and sometimes delayed cases unnecessarily. Nevertheless, most attorneys described her as fair, knowledgeable about the law, and reasonable in her decisions. The attorneys spoke on condition of anonymity because they have cases before her. “I sit in a very volatile courtroom,” Romanek said in her statement. “All the litigants involved in domestic relations cases are angry and unhappy. Thus it is not surprising that some people are unhappy with the end result of their cases. Nevertheless, I take my role in the judiciary extremely seriously. I prepare for all of my cases prior to hearing. I also maintain a judicial demeanor at all times. If I find myself getting agitated, I take a break from the courtroom and walk for a few minutes.”

JUDITH C. RICE Age: 69 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Rice has been the presiding judge of the court’s domestic violence division since 2021. Before that, she heard divorce, domestic abuse, and eviction cases. Previous work history: • Senior vice president of BMO Harris Bank, overseeing the bank’s community development activities and serving as its Community Reinvestment Act officer to ensure equitable lending (2007-2014) • Deputy chief of staff to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, working on public housing and economic development issues (2006-2007) • Chicago city treasurer, an elected position overseeing the city’s investments (2000-2006) • Commissioner, Chicago Department of Transportation (1999-2000) • Commissioner, Chicago Department of Water (1996-1999) • Various roles in the Chicago departments of law and revenue and as executive assistant to Daley (1989-1996) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney in the criminal appeals and juvenile court divisions (1988-1989) Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (1988) Notable: Rice filed to run for retention even though she is running unopposed for an appellate court seat in this election. If she wins the appellate seat, which is nearly guaranteed, she will resign her circuit court seat.

INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

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INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT PATRICK KEVIN COUGHLIN Age: 57 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Coughlin was elected in 2014. He hears felony cases at the Markham courthouse, where he has spent most of his judicial career. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, culminating in serving as deputy bureau chief in the narcotics division (1996-2014) Law school: DePaul University (1996) Notable: The Illinois Appellate Court last year overturned Coughlin’s 38-year prison sentence for Lavert Bonner, who shot and killed Lawrence Mack in Markham in 2010 when Bonner was 17. Coughlin had heard testimony and seen evidence that Bonner acted in self-defense after a childhood of neglect and instability, and he noted in court that Bonner had potential to be rehabilitated. Appellate Court Judge Ramon Ocasio III wrote for the majority that Coughlin abused his discretion, saying his explanation of the sentence didn’t justify its length. “Given the court’s express finding that Bonner has rehabilitative potential, we do not understand why or how it concluded that the appropriate sentence was one that, if served in full, will keep Bonner in prison until he is 55½ years old,” Ocasio wrote. Appellate Court Judge Mary K. Rochford dissented, suggesting her colleagues were improperly second-guessing Coughlin based on their own judgment of the case. Citing court rules, Coughlin told Injustice Watch he couldn’t comment on a pending case. Bonner, who turns 34 in October, has yet to be resentenced. He wrote a letter to the court asking for a shorter term and saying, “I was 17 years old when I made the most terrible mistake of my life. … I wish I could take it all back.” Candidate survey: “I believe that humility, patience, and respect for everyone you interact with are essential for maintaining a good judicial temperament. I always try to remember that what may be a routine court appearance for attorneys, can be a very confusing and stressful event for those unfamiliar with criminal proceedings.”

MEGAN ELIZABETH GOLDISH Age: 55 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Goldish was elected to the circuit court in 2014 from the 9th Subcircuit. She serves in the domestic violence division, handling criminal cases as well as orders of protection. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney in several divisions, including felony review, domestic violence, and felony trial (1997-2014) Law school: Northwestern University (1996) Notable: Since her retention in 2020, Goldish has had to answer questions under oath about her role in the separate wrongful prosecutions of John Velez and Omar Williams. As a felony review prosecutor, Goldish approved murder charges against Velez in 2001 and Williams in 2011. Velez was convicted but ultimately exonerated in 2017, after his girlfriend recanted a statement she gave to police, saying it was coerced. Williams was incarcerated pretrial for more than five years and eight months before a jury acquitted him, also in 2017. In both cases, key witnesses said statements prepared by Goldish contained falsehoods and they were made to sign the statements under duress, according to federal civil rights lawsuits filed by Velez and Williams. Federal judges in both lawsuits allowed claims against Goldish to proceed, and she was made to sit for hours-long depositions in each case and to testify in court during Willliams’ civil trial, records show. Williams’ attorneys eventually voluntarily dismissed the claims against Goldish, and a jury awarded Williams $100,000 in damages in 2021. Velez settled his lawsuit against Goldish and the county in 2024 for $2.4 million. In an email, Goldish downplayed her role in both prosecutions. “These matters are approximately 20 years old and my involvement in each was peripheral,” she said. “There has never been any finding that I engaged in misconduct.” Goldish has long been a prolific donor in Cook County politics. Since becoming a judge, she’s made more than 150 donations for a total of about $74,000, including dozens of donations to judicial candidates, records show. In an email, Goldish said the “overwhelming majority” of her

INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

contributions were tickets she purchased for fundraising events “involving friends, colleagues, and people with whom I have worked over many years.” Goldish is married to Matthew Savage, a Chicago police sergeant. Two cases Goldish handled in recent years involving Chicago police have made the news. In August, Goldish granted an emergency order of protection for a woman who alleged she had been beaten and held against her will by her boyfriend, Chicago police officer Joseph Vecchio, records show. Vecchio was ordered detained at Cook County Jail by another judge a day later. In 2019, Goldish dismissed a misdemeanor domestic battery charge against a police officer on former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s security detail. The officer was accused by her ex-girlfriend of pushing her and pinning her against the wall of their home. Goldish sided with the accused, citing surveillance footage that didn’t show any physical altercation and noting the accuser took three days to report the incident to police, which Goldish said was “very telling,” according to the Chicago Tribune. Candidate survey: “Determining whether someone poses a danger to another person, whether contact between family members should be restricted, or whether conditions of release are necessary requires careful judgment. These decisions are among the most consequential a judge can make, and they demand both compassion and discipline. My responsibility is not to predict the future with certainty, but to faithfully apply the law to the facts presented, recognizing both the need to protect victims and the constitutional rights of those accused.”

ANJANA M.J. HANSEN Age: 54 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Hansen was elected from the 9th Subcircuit in 2014. She serves as a deputy presiding judge at the Skokie courthouse, where she hears felony cases. She previously heard misdemeanor and traffic cases in Skokie. Previous work history: • Attorney in private practice while also working as an administrative hearing officer for the City of Evanston, hearing cases related to police, property

RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT standards, health, and fire issues (2010-2014) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, serving in several divisions including criminal, juvenile, and appellate. She also helped create an administrative hearings unit for the office. (1997-2010) Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (1997) Notable: Hansen served as 9th Ward alderperson in Evanston from 2005 to 2009. Hansen founded the Asian American Judges Association of Illinois. Earlier this year, the appellate court ruled that Hansen should not have denied a certificate of innocence to Frank Drew, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 24 years in prison before being exonerated in 2024 based on newly discovered evidence. The appellate court clarified that judges are required to automatically issue a certificate of innocence to people who meet certain requirements.

ROBERT D. KUZAS Age: 65 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Kuzas hears felony preliminary hearings in branch 44 on the West Side of Chicago. He previously heard misdemeanor cases in the same courthouse. Previous work history: • Attorney in private practice focused on criminal defense, personal injury, and labor relations, including representing the Chicago Police Sergeants Association Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (1988) Notable: Before becoming an attorney, Kuzas was a Chicago police officer. He also served as the 46th Ward Democratic committeeperson and ran unsuccessfully for 46th Ward alderperson in 1995. In 2014, Kuzas, who is white, ran for election in the 7th Subcircuit, which covers much of the West Side of Chicago and was created to help elect more Black judges. He temporarily rented an apartment on the downtown edge of the subcircuit and was endorsed by powerful Black politicians, including then-Secretary of State Jesse White and Ald. Walter Burnett, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

JOHN J. MAHONEY Mahoney withdrew from the retention election in September, after the State Board of Election ballot certification deadline. Due to the timing, his name will still appear on the ballot, but votes for or against him will not be counted.

MARITZA MARTINEZ Age: 61 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Martinez was elected to the circuit court in a countywide race in 2014, and she serves in the domestic relations division at the Daley Center. She previously heard civil and criminal cases in the first municipal district. Previous work history: • Attorney in private practice at several small law firms, focused on civil matters and criminal defense (1989-1991 and 2004-2014) • Commissioner with the Illinois Court of Claims, presiding as a hearing officer over claims brought against the state (2007-2014) • Assistant corporation counsel, City of Chicago Law Department, where she defended city employees in civil lawsuits and prosecuted municipal ordinance violations (1991-2004) Law school: Loyola University Chicago (1989) Notable: In July 2025, during a Cook County Board of Commissioners hearing on improving court services for survivors of domestic violence, Martinez was accused of insensitivity and bias against survivors by several litigants whose domestic relations cases she had been hearing. Martinez had recused herself from one of the speakers’ cases before the hearing. Several litigants and advocates also contacted Injustice Watch with similar complaints, including one woman whom Martinez ordered to mediation with her ex despite acknowledging that she had an existing order of protection against him, which should have prevented mediation. Another woman who spoke at the hearing and to Injustice Watch unsuccessfully tried to have Martinez removed from her case after the judge reinstated her ex’s parenting time despite an arrest for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend in front of their child. (The assault charges against him were dropped.) Martinez recused herself from the woman’s case about a month after the county board hearing. In interviews with Injustice Watch, attorneys who practice before her described Martinez as unpredictable at best. Some attorneys said they found her fair, hardworking,

TERRENCE J. MCGUIRE Age: 62 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: McGuire was elected to the circuit court in 2014. He serves in the probate division, hearing cases involving estates and wills of the deceased. Previous work history: • Solo practitioner, focusing on estate planning, probate, and property sales. He also served as an administrative law judge handling ordinance enforcement proceedings. (1991-2014) Law school: Loyola University Chicago (1991) Candidate survey: “I spend a great deal of time explaining the law and the consequences to unrepresented parties. Often this extra care operates to the irritation of some attorneys. I feel that the extra time is beneficial to the court and process in that the participants understand the role of the judge in the case.”

JAMES P. PIECZONKA Age: 70 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Pieczonka was elected in 2014 from the 12th Subcircuit as a Republican. He presides over civil matters, including evictions and consumer debt cases, in the third municipal district in Rolling Meadows. Previous work history: • Solo practitioner, focusing on a variety of civil cases, real estate, and misdemeanor criminal cases. He also served as a parttime hearing officer for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. (1983-1985 and 1996-2014) • Administrative law judge for the Illinois Department of Revenue, hearing cases related to income tax appeals and refund claims (1985-1996) Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (1983) Notable: In addition to his work as an attorney, Pieczonka was also a licensed real estate agent prior to becoming a judge. He owned a residential rental in Andersonville and two commercial properties, all of which he lost in foreclosure sales between 2013 and 2020. Asked how that experience, as well as going through personal bankruptcy in that period, impacts him as a judge, Pieczonka told Injustice Watch: “All of my life experiences have made me more aware of how important it is to bring a case to resolution as soon as practical within the requirements of the law.”

BRIDGET ANNE MITCHELL Age: 69 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Mitchell was elected in 2014 and serves in the law division, presiding over civil bench and jury trials. She previously handled foreclosures in the chancery division. Previous work history: • Solo practitioner and attorney at several local law firms, focused on tort defense, medical malpractice, and wrongful death cases (1981-2014) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1981) Notable: Mitchell is the sister of Illinois Appellate Court Judge Raymond W. Mitchell.

PATRICIA O’BRIEN SHEAHAN Age: 57 Judge since: 2014 Judicial experience: Sheahan was elected to the circuit court in 2014. She is assigned to the law division, hearing trials in civil cases including personal injury, medical malpractice, and products liability. Previous work history: • Associate general counsel of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (then the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), defending the facility in employment and labor matters and other litigation (1999-2014) • Attorney at Baker McKenzie, a large,

knowledgeable about the law, and highly attentive to details of cases. However, even the lawyers who said they like practicing before her said she has a tendency to lose her temper and “go off” on people. Those who said they don’t like appearing before her described her as rude, biased against survivors of domestic violence and pro se litigants, and inappropriately emotional in her decision making. The attorneys spoke on condition of anonymity because they have cases before her. Martinez did not respond to requests for comment.

global law firm, handling civil litigation, including medical malpractice, employment, products liability, and class action claims (1996-1999) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1996) Notable: Sheahan’s father-in-law is Michael F. Sheahan, the former Cook County sheriff and 19th Ward alderman.

MICHAEL A. FORTI Age: 72 Judge since: 2016 Judicial experience: Forti was appointed to the circuit court in 2016 and again in 2018, after losing an election. He was selected as an associate judge in 2019 and elected as a circuit judge in 2020. He currently hears cases in the domestic relations division. Previous work history: • Chief counsel and ethics officer, Illinois Department of Transportation (2012-2015) • Attorney, City of Chicago Law Department, rising to the rank of deputy corporation counsel (1994-2012) • Equity partner at Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, a large firm handling a variety of complex civil cases (1980-1994) Law school: Northwestern University (1980) Notable: In June 2026, Forti was highlighted in a Chicago Sun-Times article about Steve Fanady, “one of the longestheld civil contempt detainees in recent Cook County history.” Forti held Fanady in indirect civil contempt of court and ordered him detained at the Cook County Jail in 2022 for failing to pay his ex-wife $10 million in stock she was awarded in their divorce proceedings. Fanady, a former options trader, has argued he cannot pay because he does not own the stock. Fanady’s lawyer, Laura Grochocki, has accused Forti of failing to hold substantive hearings to review Fanady’s continued incarceration. In 2025, the appellate court affirmed Forti and found that Fanady had failed to prove he can’t turn over the stock or that his incarceration had become punitive and not merely coercive. “Judges generally do not comment on ongoing cases,” Forti wrote in a statement to Injustice Watch. “I followed the law and I was affirmed. Numerous judges have ruled against Mr. Fanady based on the evidence in this multi-year saga at both the circuit court and appellate court levels.”

INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT NICHOLE C. PATTON Age: 54 Judge since: 2018 Judicial experience: Patton was appointed to the circuit court in 2018 and elected in 2020. She is assigned to the law division, presiding over civil trials, including medical malpractice and commercial litigation. Previously, she served in the county division, hearing cases involving mental health law, real estate taxes, and elections. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, prosecuting cases involving commitments and treatment for people involuntarily detained at Cook County mental health hospitals (2010-2018) • Administrative hearing officer for the Village of Matteson, where she reviewed housing code violations, and towing, compliance, and minor criminal offenses (2010-2015) • Solo practitioner, handling real estate matters, civil and criminal litigation, and securities law, and serving as an arbitrator (2003-2010) • Associate with a Chicago law firm, focused on medical malpractice and transportation defense (2002-2003) • Staff attorney with an insurance company, specializing in personal injury defense (2001-2002) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, working in divisions including appeals, traffic, child protection, delinquency, and real estate taxation (1996-2001) Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (1996) Notable: In 2025, Patton ran unsuccessfully to oust eight-term Chief Judge Timothy Evans in an election among judges. Before being appointed in 2018, Patton waged at least five unsuccessful judicial campaigns, including an abandoned bid for the appellate court. She served as president of the Chicago Bar Association from June 2025 to June 2026.

SONDRA N. DENMARK Age: 53 Judge since: 2018 Judicial experience: Denmark was appointed to the circuit court in 2018 and won election in 2020. She currently serves as a supervising judge in the civil jury section of the first municipal district, where she hears civil lawsuits seeking monetary damages of $30,000 or less. Previous work history: • Will County assistant state’s attorney, prosecuting felony and misdemeanor cases (2008-2018) • Solo practitioner, handling personal injury, product liability, real estate transactions, and eviction cases (2007-2008) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney assigned to the public interest bureau, handling misdemeanor and contempt cases (2004-2007) Law school: Northern Illinois University (2004) Notable: Denmark ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the 15th Subcircuit in 2014.

GERARDO TRISTAN, JR. Age: 56 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Tristan was appointed to the circuit court in January 2019 and won election the following year. He hears civil cases where parties have asked for a jury, including evictions, personal injury, and small claims, in the first municipal district. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney prosecuting felony and juvenile delinquency cases (2003-2019) • Attorney in his brother’s law firm, then Tristan Ports, focusing on incorporating businesses and defending employers in labor lawsuits (2002-2003) Law school: DePaul University (2002) Notable: In 2023, Tristan and a brother, Horacio, were sued by their parents’ caregiver, who alleged the brothers failed to pay her $240 for her last three days of work. The caregiver also alleged that on

INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

her last day of work, Tristan berated her and stopped her from leaving his parents’ home after he accused her of not feeding the elderly couple. The caregiver, who had worked for the Tristans for more than two years, according to the lawsuit, said that “fearing for her safety” she called Horacio, who eventually called the police on his brother. Horacio told the 911 operator that Tristan “was blocking her way out of the house, is angry and agitated, and seems intox,” according to dispatch records obtained by Injustice Watch through a public records request. When officers arrived, they observed Tristan’s parents in “good spirits/health and no apparent issues with their caretaking,” and officers “did not observe any signs of intoxication on Tristan,” according to a heavily redacted police report. The suit was settled in May 2024 for an undisclosed amount. The caregiver, through her attorney, declined to comment. In an interview, Tristan denied that he was intoxicated or that he ever stopped the caregiver from leaving the house. “I just wanted an explanation of why my parents, who were in their 80s, were not fed, and that was her responsibility. That’s all,” he said. He acknowledged that he was angry but said he was not disrespectful. Tristan said he instructed his brother to pay the caregiver and he didn’t know she hadn’t been paid until he received a letter from the caregiver’s attorney. Tristan is also the brother of Homero Tristan, a well-known Chicago lobbyist and founder of the Chicago Latino Public Affairs Committee. Homero’s law firm, Tristan & Cervantes, is a city contractor hired to collect outstanding utility bills from Chicagoans. Both the political action committee and the law firm contributed to Gerardo Tristan’s 2020 run for judge.

LYNN WEAVER BOYLE Age: 61 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Weaver-Boyle was appointed to the circuit court in 2019 and won election in 2020. She currently serves in the chancery division, handling contract disputes, injunctions, insurance claims, and public records requests. Previous work history: • Partner at a boutique law firm, representing clients in state and federal court in commercial litigation and insurance claims (1999-2019)

RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, prosecuting felony, gang, and drugrelated cases (1990-1999) Law school: DePaul University (1990)

DANIEL EDWARD MALONEY Age: 50 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Maloney was appointed to the circuit court in 2019, and he won election the following year. He handles felony preliminary hearings at the Markham courthouse and presides over three specialty courts for veterans and those with substance abuse or mental health problems. Previous work history: • Division counsel for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s regional field office, working on legal matters, including open records requests and regulatory issues, as well as training agents (2017-2019) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, including eight years in the narcotics unit (2001-2017) Law school: Valparaiso University (2001) Notable: Maloney’s career has involved different approaches to drug enforcement. As a prosecutor, he worked on major drug cases that carried lengthy prison sentences. As a judge, he oversees Markham’s problemsolving courts, which offer treatment and supervision to people with substance abuse problems or mental illness, as well as struggling veterans. Maloney told Injustice Watch his past work informed his view that people with addiction issues were being preyed on by those who sold drugs. “The court system is inherently adversarial, right? But this is the one thing that is collaborative and builds to a positive outcome. So I feel lucky to be able to preside over it, and I find it incredibly rewarding,” he said. Candidate survey: “Because the courts are an adversarial process, litigants will not always be pleased with the results that take place. But if litigants feel they are being heard, that their position is being respected, and that the rulings that impact their lives are made with sincerity and an understanding of the gravity of the ruling, I believe that we have fulfi lled our duties as a judge.”

THOMAS M. CUSHING Age: 65 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Cushing was appointed to the circuit court in 2019 and was elected to a full term in 2020. He currently handles civil jury trials in the law division and previously heard cases in the domestic violence division.

and not enough on the evidence showing the woman was abused. The court found his error was “considerable.” In an interview, Cushing said the presiding judge of the domestic violence division asked him to discuss the reversal with fellow judges, and Cushing said he readily did so because the case touched on new legal issues. “This was a leading case, and I applied its lessons affirmatively and learned from it as I went forward,” he told Injustice Watch.

Previous work history: • Attorney at a small Evanston law firm, handling civil litigation and chancery cases (2013-2019) • Managing director of strategic partnership and policy at the Delta Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit focused on environmental and conservation issues (2012-2013) • Solo practitioner, specializing in civil litigation and chancery matters (2005-2006, 2010-2011) • Senior vice president of the Chicago Climate Exchange, a digital platform that allowed corporations, cities, and organizations to trade greenhouse gas allowances and offsets (2006-2010) • Trial and appellate attorney at a firm where his brother was a principal. He litigated complex professional and municipal liability. (1988-2005) Law school: Loyola University Chicago (1988) Notable: In 2022, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed Cushing’s denial of an order of protection for a woman who alleged her former boyfriend punched her in the back of her head and had abused her in four previous incidents. Cushing said her credibility was damaged because her court testimony about one of the past incidents went beyond the allegations in her petition and she may have started that physical altercation. The appellate court said Cushing focused too much on who was the aggressor in the fight

JOHN G. MULROE Age: 67 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Mulroe was appointed to the circuit court in 2019 and won election the following year. He serves in the juvenile justice division, hearing delinquency cases from the 3rd police district, which encompasses several southeast and South Side neighborhoods. Previous work history: • Illinois state senator representing the 10th district, covering parts of Chicago’s far northwest side, Norridge, and Rosemont (2010-2019) • Solo practitioner, representing people in a variety of cases including criminal, civil, probate, and real estate (1995-2019) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, prosecuting felony and misdemeanor cases (1988-1994) Law school: Loyola University Chicago (1988) Candidate survey: “I try and put myself in the shoes of the litigants that appear before me. I do my best to follow the law and explain it the best I can in terms that the average person can understand it. I also do my best to answer any questions that any of the participants in the courtroom may ask.”

TYRIA B. WALTON Age: 55 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Walton was appointed to the circuit court in 2019, and she was elected the following year. She currently hears criminal cases at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. She previously handled criminal and traffic cases in Chicago and Maywood. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant public defender, representing clients charged with murder and other crimes (1998-2019) • Solo practitioner in criminal, civil, family, probate, traffic, chancery, and real estate cases (1997-1998) Law school: Loyola University Chicago (1997) Notable: In 2024, Walton acquitted Whitley Temple of all charges after she dragged and injured a Chicago police officer with his own squad car, fi nding her not guilty of attempted murder and not guilty by reason of insanity on several other counts. Temple, who was partially naked during the incident, was “in a psychotic state,” her defense attorney argued in court. Allies of the police were furious over the acquittal, and Walton said in court she had received threats and seen racist online posts about herself. “I’m not moved by any of it. My decision was based on the evidence in this case and the law that supports my ruling in this case, period,” she said. “I needed to make a record just in the event that something happens to me.” Walton is the president of the Illinois Judicial Council, a professional group of Black judges. In August, she introduced a group of the judges seeking retention during Sunday services at a South Side church. “Go down and vote ‘yes’ for all of us.

Retention is not automatic. We need the ‘yesses’ because there are organizations that purposefully vote ‘no’ just to get us off the bench from the front of the ballot all the way to the back,” she told the congregation. Candidate survey: “I grew up in a loving home with both my parents and my older brother. We were poor and our economic struggles were extreme, but those humble beginnings were marked by experiences and lessons that made me who I am today, and proud of how I made it to where I am today.”

ERIN HAGGERTY ANTONIETTI Age: 60 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Antonietti was appointed to the circuit court in 2019, and she won election the following year. She serves as a floating judge at the Markham courthouse, filling in for other judges. She formerly heard traffic, eviction, and other civil cases at the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, primarily in central bond court (1994-2019) • Associate at an insurance defense firm, working on cases involving product and property liability and medical malpractice (1991-1994) Law school: DePaul University (1991) Candidate survey: “I believe the best way for the legal system to be fair to everyone regardless of money, power and resources, is to focus on the presented evidence and apply the law to the facts. By making a clear and accurate record which supports my decisions, I hope to show that I will not permit the legal system to be used advantageously by some people at the expenses of others.”

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RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, prosecuting felony, gang, and drugrelated cases (1990-1999) Law school: DePaul University (1990)

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INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT TERESA MOLINA-GONZALEZ Age: 52 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Molina-Gonzalez was appointed to the circuit court in 2019, and she was elected in 2020. She currently hears felony, misdemeanor, and traffic cases at the Maywood Courthouse and previously heard small claims and eviction cases in the first municipal district. Previous work history: • Chief of real estate prosecutions, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (2016-2019) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, mainly in the felony trial division (2001-2016) Law school: Ohio State University (2001) Notable: Molina-Gonzalez received intense public criticism in 2025 after she granted pretrial release to a man who was charged with aggravated battery of a worker in a mental health facility. The man was reported to have a history of criminal arrests and mental illness. While on electronic monitoring, the man allegedly violated the conditions of his release and set a woman on fi re with gasoline while riding the CTA. She did not respond to requests for comment. Molina-Gonzalez was the fi rst Puerto Rican to be appointed and elected to a countywide judicial vacancy in Cook County, according to her biography and past interviews.

PATRICIA MARIA FALLON Age: 54 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Fallon was appointed judge in 2019 and won election in the 12th subcircuit against a Republican opponent in 2020. She is currently assigned to the domestic relations division at the Daley Center. Prior to that, she heard a variety of civil cases in the fi rst municipal district. Previous work history: • Chief of human resources, Cook County Recorder of Deeds (2017-2019) • Attorney and supervisor in the labor and employment litigation unit of the Cook 12

County State’s Attorney’s Office (2004-2017) • Contract attorney at Mayer Brown and for Abbott Laboratories (2000-2004) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (2000) Notable: After Fallon won her seat by 502 votes in 2020, her Republican opponent, Frank DiFranco, waged a years-long legal battle against her and county officials in state and federal court demanding a recount. He lost the state court case, and his federal lawsuit was dismissed by a district court judge, but his appeal to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals remains pending. Fallon said she could not comment on the pending federal case but added that she “gained valuable and unique insights to the court system and litigation process from the other side of the bench as a party in the State Recount Case and Federal Court Case. This has made me a better Judge. I appreciate and understand the importance each litigant places in their case and their expectations of me to address their cases in a thoughtful, fair, and timely manner.” Candidate survey: “While a judge is barred from giving legal advice, I try to explain procedure to self-represented litigants when feasible so they can understand the proceedings. I remind myself daily that being in court can create high anxiety for any litigant and the courtroom process can be intimidating and overwhelming to the people appearing before me.”

SHEREE D. HENRY Age: 57 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Henry was appointed to the circuit court in 2019, and she was elected the following year. She hears misdemeanor, traffic, and felony cases at the Maywood Courthouse and has presided over the mental health and veterans treatment courts. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant public defender, representing defendants charged with felonies and clients in specialty courts (1999-2019) • Cook County assistant public guardian, representing children in abuse and neglect cases (1995-1999)

INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

• Associate at a small law firm where she litigated discrimination cases (1995) Law school: Northern Illinois University (1994) Notable: Henry is a member of the Special Supreme Court Advisory Committee for Justice and Mental Health Planning. She served in the Illinois Army National Guard from 1987 to 1995. Henry is married to Jeff rey Henry, a Cook County assistant public defender. Candidate survey: “The one thing that I have learned through practicing criminal law is that most people just want their day in court and to be truly heard. My experiences as a defense attorney and judge have taught me to listen to those who appear before me in court with my ears and eyes. I find that most people will understand and accept your decisions if you fully explain it to them. My goal is to always make sure that everyone in my courtroom is treated fairly and understands what happened when they leave.”

CELESTIA L. MAYS Age: 65 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Mays was appointed to the circuit court in January 2019, and she won election in 2020. She hears misdemeanor and traffic cases at the Maywood Courthouse. Previous work history: • Attorney in private practice, focused on family law, probate, and residential real estate cases (1997-2018) • Associate attorney at a law firm that handles criminal defense and federal litigation (1994-1997) • Law clerk for several California firms (1987-1994) Law school: University of Detroit Mercy (1986) Notable: Mays oversaw a high-profi le case involving far-right social media influencer Nick Fuentes, who was accused of misdemeanor battery for pepperspraying a woman who showed up at his door after his Berwyn address was leaked online. Fuentes received a deferred prosecution deal in which he was required to apologize to the victim, pay about $635 in restitution, take an anger management course, and complete 75 hours of community service.

RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT LEVANDER SMITH, JR. Age: 63 Judge since: 2019 Judicial experience: Smith was appointed to the circuit court in 2019 and selected as an associate judge later that year. He won election in 2020. Smith serves in the child protection division, hearing child abuse and neglect cases. He was previously assigned to the domestic violence division. Previous work history: • Attorney for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, including roles as a supervisor in St. Clair County and litigation attorney (2011-2019, 1993-2000) • Assistant attorney general in Missouri, assigned to its labor division (2006-2011) • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, assigned to the child protection division (2003-2004) Law school: University of Kansas (1991) Notable: In 2022, the First District Illinois Appellate Court reversed Smith’s decision to remove an incarcerated mother from a Zoom hearing during which he ultimately ruled that she was unable and unwilling to care for her child. The hearing, in late 2021, took place while the woman was in the Cook County Jail. According to the appellate court’s review of the transcripts, Smith said that she had repeatedly interrupted him during an off-therecord portion of the hearing. In a unanimous opinion, Appellate Judge Oden Johnson wrote, “It is hard for this court to imagine what an incarcerated and muted parent could have done to disrupt a Zoom hearing to the point where her remote attendance and viewing of the proceeding was no longer possible.” The appellate court noted that Zoom hearings were still relatively new at the time, and “we do not imply or intend any criticism of the trial court.” In an interview with Injustice Watch, Smith said the mother had been unmuting herself to interrupt him. He said he didn’t know at the time that Zoom had a feature that allowed the host to fully mute all participants. “I would have operated differently now that I’ve received the instruction from the appellate court,” he said. Smith is a board member of the Alliance of Illinois Judges, an organization focused on LGBTQ+ issues in the judiciary. He also sits on the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Juvenile Courts.

JULIE BESS AIMEN Age: 69 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Aimen was elected in 2020 from the 9th subcircuit. She is currently assigned to the domestic relations division. Previous work history: • Solo practitioner focused on family law, civil rights, and criminal defense; represented defendants in death penalty cases through the Illinois Capital Resource Center. She also worked as an administrative hearing officer and as an arbitration officer for the Circuit Court of Cook County. (1986-2020) • Attorney with the Illinois Office of the State Appellate Defender, which represents criminal defendants in appeals when they cannot afford a lawyer (1984-1986) • Social worker at Travelers and Immigrant Aid in Chicago and the Park Ridge School for Girls (1979-1981) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1984) Notable: During a July 2025 Cook County Board of Commissioners hearing on improving court services for survivors of domestic violence, Aimen was criticized by two women whose divorce cases she had been hearing. One woman complained that Aimen had ordered her to participate in mediation with her ex-husband, who had repeatedly abused her. Another woman said Aimen was not granting her petitions for fee waivers even though she was on food stamps. In a written statement to Injustice Watch, Aimen said she could not comment on pending matters, citing judicial ethics rules. In reviewing the first woman’s case, Injustice Watch found no orders of protection, which are supposed to prevent mediation. Under Illinois law, Aimen could have exempted the woman from mediation based on her husband’s history of domestic abuse, which included a criminal conviction stemming from an incident where he strangled her in front of their child. But the woman’s attorney didn’t file a formal motion asking that mediation be avoided, and Aimen’s order for mediation noted both parties agreed to it. A review of the second woman’s case showed Aimen granted her fee waiver request the same week she spoke out at the county board hearing.

LAURA AYALA-GONZALEZ Age: 50 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Ayala-Gonzalez hears criminal cases at the George Leighton

Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. Previously, she handled traffic and eviction cases. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, who prosecuted serious criminal cases, including murder, and supervised felony trial attorneys (2003-2020) Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (2002) Notable: In 2024, Ayala-Gonzalez handled the trial and sentencing of former Chicago high school basketball star Raekwon Drake, who was convicted of second-degree murder for killing a man who stole his French bulldog. She sentenced Drake to 14 years in prison. “I understand things happen so fast, and there are times that you are in such a rage that you leave all common sense and you leave all reason behind,” she said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “Two wrongs do not make a right. Whether or not you know that yet, you will have time to think about that.” Candidate survey: “The most important exercise of judicial power is restraint—listening carefully, applying the law faithfully, and never forgetting that every person who appears before the court deserves fairness, respect, compassion, and equal justice under the law.”

KRISTA D. BUTLER Age: 61 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Butler was elected to the circuit court in 2020. She’s currently assigned to the civil jury section of the first municipal district, where she hears lawsuits seeking monetary damages of $30,000 or less. She previously heard eviction cases. Previous work history: • Worked as an attorney in various roles, including as a public service administrator for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Office of the State Guardian (1994-2020) Law school: IIT-Chicago Kent (1993) Notable: In 2020, Butler ran unopposed for a seat in the 1st Subcircuit. She declined to participate in the bar association evaluation process at the time. Injustice Watch attempted to reach her multiple times to get more detailed information about her legal background but did not receive a response.

MARIE AILEEN DEMPSEY Age: 49 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Dempsey was elected in 2020 from the 10th Subcircuit. She currently handles pretrial motions in the law division at the Richard J. Daley Center. Previous work history: • Associate and partner at four small Chicago law firms, focused on medical malpractice and insurance defense (2002-2020)

Previous work history: • Senior counsel and supervisor, City of Chicago Law Department, defending individual police officers and the city in police misconduct and civil rights lawsuits (2003-2020) • Attorney in private practice, representing local and international clients (1997-2003) • Illinois assistant attorney general, primarily representing state police and corrections officers. He took a yearlong leave of absence to earn a master’s degree in international and comparative law from Georgetown University (1991-1997)

Law school: University of Illinois (2002)

• Attorney in private practice (1986-1991)

Notable: Before becoming a judge, Dempsey volunteered with the Syrian Refugee Network, helping a Syrian family for several years as they adjusted to life in Chicago, and with the Legal Assistance Foundation, counseling women in abusive relationships on matters including housing, divorce, and child custody proceedings.

Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1986)

JAMIE GUERRA DICKLER Age: 47 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Dickler won election to the circuit court in 2020. She currently serves in the probate division, handling cases involving guardianship of minors. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, ending as a first chair in the felony trial division, prosecuting murder, narcotics, fraud, and sexual assault cases (2005-2020) Law school: DePaul University (2005) Notable: Dickler’s mother, Grace Dickler, was a Cook County judge for 34 years before retiring in 2022 as presiding judge of the domestic relations division.

JONATHAN CLARK GREEN Age: 65 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Green was elected in 2020 from the 8th Subcircuit. He currently serves in the law division and previously was assigned to the domestic violence division.

Notable: Green was a senior attorney and division supervisor in the Chicago Law Department when he and the department were criticized by civil rights attorneys and the media for improperly withholding evidence of police abuse in lawsuits. The city revamped its records-disclosure policies in 2016 after then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel faced widespread criticism and protests for refusing to release videos of the murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by officer Jason Van Dyke. In 2016, Green was assigned as a liaison between the city law department and the newly created Civilian Office of Police Accountability. He specialized in writing and litigating the protective orders that restricted the dissemination of police records the city considered sensitive, including personal data and law enforcement information about ongoing cases. A 2016 report commissioned by the city attributed the courtroom disclosure issues primarily to poor record keeping and communications failures between city lawyers, police, and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications. Injustice Watch research found no instance when Green was individually accused in court of withholding evidence. Green declined to comment on his work for the city law department. Green’s father, Albert Green, was a Cook County circuit court judge, and his mother, Virginia Bucko Green, was a prominent Chicago lawyer. Candidate survey: “I was also raised with three of five siblings with special needs and have personally experienced the constant demands and delights that families with developmentally disabled children regularly experience… I believe these experiences have provided me with increased patience and understanding in my day-to-day activities working with litigants on the bench.”

INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

LAURA AYALA-GONZALEZ Age: 50 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Ayala-Gonzalez hears criminal cases at the George Leighton

Law school: University of Illinois (2002)

• Attorney in private practice (1986-1991)

Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1986)

INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT MARY CATHERINE MARUBIO Age: 56 Judge since: 2016 Judicial experience: Marubio was selected as an associate judge in 2016 and elected as a circuit judge in 2020. She currently serves as the presiding judge of the second municipal district in Skokie and deputy chief judge of fi rst appearance court operations, advising the chief judge and serving as a resource on detention hearings and the Pretrial Fairness Act. She was previously the presiding judge of the pretrial division, where she spent most of her judicial tenure. Previous work history: • Prosecutor and then administrative law judge and ethics officer for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, handling cases regarding professional standards in the medical, real estate, and banking sectors (2012-2016) • Attorney in private practice, handling state and federal criminal defense cases (1996-2011) Law school: DePaul University (1996) Notable: Marubio was tapped by former Chief Judge Timothy Evans to serve in the newly created pretrial division in 2017. When the Pretrial Fairness Act went into effect in 2023, Marubio played a pivotal role in implementing the new procedures countywide. When Charles Beach, a friend of Marubio’s since law school, was elected chief judge in late 2024, he elevated her to several leadership roles in his administration. Marubio has served since 2016 on the Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee, which publishes advisory opinions on judicial ethics; she currently teaches judicial ethics to incoming judges. She also serves on the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Equal Justice and was president of the Alliance of Illinois Judges, an organization focused on LGBTQ issues in the judiciary, from 2019 to 2021.

REGINA A. MESCALL Age: 49 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Mescall was elected in 2020. She currently hears domestic relations cases at the Bridgeview courthouse. Previously, she heard eviction and felony 14

preliminary hearings in the first municipal district. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, prosecuting felony and misdemeanor cases (2007-2020) • Assistant district attorney in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she prosecuted misdemeanors and felony crimes against children (2002-2007) Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (2001) Notable: In 2025, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed Mescall’s ruling on a 2023 eviction case in which she entered a $75,000 judgment against a tenant whose landlord said they had failed to move out of their West Loop apartment after agreeing to do so. The appellate court found Mescall should have held an evidentiary hearing before ruling since the parties disagreed on whether the tenant had actually moved out. The court noted that this was a “case of first impression,” meaning it addressed novel legal issues. Mescall is married to Peter M. Kramer, who works as a special counsel for labor affairs in the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office. Candidate survey: “Coming from a single-parent household and now serving in Domestic Relations, I understand fi rsthand the stress and instability families can face, so I work carefully to explain my rulings, base them fi rmly in the law and the record, and remember the real lives—especially children—behind every case.”

LORRAINE MARY MURPHY Age: 50 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Murphy was elected to the circuit court in 2020. She hears felony cases and presides over the drug treatment court program in the Skokie courthouse. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant state’s attorney, prosecuting felony cases (2003-2020) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (2003) Notable: Murphy’s husband, James V.

INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

Murphy III, was elected Cook County judge in 2024 from the 10th Subcircuit and serves in the pretrial division. Her father-in-law, James Murphy, was an associate judge in Maywood until his retirement in 2006.

EILEEN MARIE O’CONNOR Age: 46 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: O’Connor was elected from the 6th Subcircuit in 2020. She currently serves in the trial section of the law division, handling civil lawsuits seeking damages over $30,000. Previous work history: • Attorney at her family’s law firm, representing clients in personal injury, medical malpractice, product liability, civil rights, and workers’ compensation cases (2010-2020) • Associate at a small law firm, focused on civil litigation (2006-2009) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (2006)

JILL ROSE QUINN Age: 71 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Quinn was elected to the circuit court in a countywide race in 2020. Since 2023, she has served in the domestic relations division, hearing divorce, parentage, and child support cases. She previously served for three years in traffic court. Previous work history: • Solo practitioner, handling civil cases, bankruptcy, and criminal defense (19972020) • Associate attorney in several small Chicago-area law firms, working on estate planning, bankruptcy, and family law (1983-1997) Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (1983) Notable: Quinn was the first openly transgender elected official in Illinois and, as of 2021, was one of just four openly transgender judges in the nation.

RETENTION | COOK COUNT Y CIRCUIT COURT Candidate survey: “I am careful to consider my background as I make a decision: the fact that I came from a functional family, that my father never came home drunk, that neither parent played psychological games on each other or their kids, that I have never had to sleep outside involuntarily, that bullets never fi red in my neighborhood — in other words that I have lived for the most part a life of emotional [and] relative economic privilege — and I do my best to address and eliminate any preconceived concepts I may have.”

PAMELA REAVES-HARRIS Age: 67 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Reaves-Harris was elected to the circuit court from the 7th Subcircuit in 2020. She hears small-claims cases in the fi rst municipal district. She was previously assigned to the housing section. Previous work history: • Special assistant for legal affairs at the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development (2017-2020) • Illinois state representative for the 10th District, covering much of Chicago’s West Side (2015-2017) • Solo practitioner, concentrating on real estate, child support, divorce, and estate planning. She also served as an administrative law judge for the City of Chicago and several suburban municipalities. (1995-2017) • Assistant vice president and compliance officer at CitiBank (1993-1995) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (1992) Notable: In 2019, Reaves-Harris spoke out against then-Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke’s appointment of a white woman to a vacant seat in the majority-Black 7th Subcircuit. At the time, Burke defended her decision, saying the Chicago Bar Association did not recommend Reaves-Harris for a spot on the bench because of her “limited practice and court experience.” In an interview with the Sun-Times, Reaves-Harris said she was “very offended by the disparaging statements that Justice Burke put out.” During the primary elections the following year, Burke’s appointed candidate declined to run, and Reaves-Harris, who was by then found qualified by the CBA, won a five-way race for the seat.

TIESHA L. SMITH Age: 51 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Smith was elected to the circuit court in 2020. She serves in the juvenile justice division, where she primarily rules on juvenile expungement petitions and previously heard cases involving children who were wards of the state. She was previously assigned to the child protection division. Previous work history: • Cook County assistant public defender, representing clients in felony cases (2010-2020) • Attorney at Chicago Legal Clinic, assisting homeowners facing foreclosure (2010) • Attorney at a small law firm, representing insurance companies in civil litigation (2009-2010) • Attorney for the Chicago Board of Education, handling truancy and expulsion hearings (2009) Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent (2006) Notable: Smith ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the 2nd Subcircuit in 2018. She ran again in 2020 and won in a countywide race against two candidates — including an appointed judge, Kerrie Maloney Laytin, who was the Democratic Party’s slated candidate — despite not participating in the bar evaluation process either time. In an emailed statement to Injustice Watch, Smith explained that she didn’t participate in the bar evaluation process in 2018 because she didn’t have enough experience to receive a qualified rating. She said she didn’t participate in 2020 because her previous negative ratings were valid for three years. Despite that, Smith said, voters chose her for her “professional, life, and community experience.” Candidate survey: “I grew up in a low-income housing project on Chicago’s South Side. My mother was a single parent who worked hard to provide for our family, while my father struggled with addiction and was in and out of prison throughout much of my childhood. Those experiences exposed me at an early age to many of the same challenges faced by the children and families who now appear in my courtroom.”

CHRIS STACEY Age: 69 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Stacey hears civil cases in which the parties have asked for a jury trial, including evictions, personal injury, and property damage lawsuits, in the first municipal district. Previous work history: • Attorney in private practice, focused on personal injury and commercial litigation (1983-2020) Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (1982) Notable: In 2020, Stacey, who was the Democratic Party’s pick, won a crowded countywide race that involved a potential “sham candidate,” allegedly placed on the ballot as a shill to draw votes from those running against the party’s pick, Injustice Watch reported. Stacey, who also goes by Christ, denied any involvement at the time. Earlier this year, the Illinois Appellate Court vacated Stacey’s criminal contempt order against a father whom Stacey had sentenced to seven days in the Cook County Jail. Stacey was presiding over an eviction trial where the man was representing himself, and Stacey took issue with the man repeatedly interrupting him, calling him biased, accusing him of spending a large sum of money on his judicial campaign, and saying “I’m going to make sure you get prosecuted.” The appellate court said the man’s statements didn’t meet the bar for criminal contempt. The court criticized Stacey, saying the father’s frustration “was exacerbated by the remarks and responses of the Judge,” adding, “judges are supposed to be people of fortitude and able to thrive in a hardy climate.” Attorneys interviewed by Injustice Watch said they found Stacey to be fair and patient. Stacey did not respond to a request for comment. Stacey, who hears evictions, owns several rental properties, mostly on the city’s North Side. Stacey is suing the City of Chicago over an injury he says he suffered after he fell on a broken sidewalk in the West Loop in 2023. He is seeking more than $50,000, according to court documents. After two Cook County judges recused themselves from hearing the lawsuit, it was assigned to Judge Kathy M. Flanagan in the court’s law division. A trial is scheduled for October. The city denies wrongdoing, according to court documents. Candidate survey: “I grew up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, in a close-knit working-class family that valued

hard work, fairness and mindfulness of those less fortunate. My father worked in a factory and my mother was a key punch operator (before the digital age of computer) and then, secretary. I was taught that goodness was measured by how you treat someone that cannot do you any good, that it was important to forgive and not let the sun go down on your anger, and to remember that everything looks different in the perspective of the morning light.”

PERLA TIRADO Age: 50 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Tirado hears civil jury cases, including evictions and personal injury lawsuits, in the first municipal district. Previously, she heard consumer debt cases that passed through the Early Resolution Program and eviction cases. Previous work history: • Supervising attorney at Beyond Legal Aid (previously Community Activism Law Alliance), working on civil, criminal defense, immigration, and family law cases (2016-2020) • Attorney in private practice handling criminal defense, traffic, immigration, family law and civil cases (2007-2016) • Cook County assistant public defender focused on traffic and domestic violence cases (2005-2007) Law school: DePaul University (2005) Notable: Tirado’s election in 2020 was part of a push from Latinx political leaders to increase the number of Latinx judges, motivated in part by the Illinois Supreme Court’s appointment of a white male judge to a majority-Latinx subcircuit on the Southwest Side. At the time, some bar associations found Tirado not qualified, noting a lack of experience with complex litigation. Attorneys interviewed by Injustice Watch who have had cases before her said Tirado is “balanced,” adding that she is patient, organized, and fair. Tirado is one of two judges working to update the civil jury bench book, a resource guide for other judges. Candidate survey: “One of the first things I realized after taking the bench was that every decision I make has consequences for the people standing before me. Whether it involves housing, consumer debt, or a civil jury trial, my rulings can have a significant impact on someone’s life or livelihood. I never lose sight of that responsibility.”

ELIZABETH ANNE WALSH Age: 47 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: Walsh was elected to the circuit court in 2020. She serves in the law division’s motion section, handling pre-trial filings in civil cases for damages over $30,000. Previous work history: • Attorney at a corporate law and insurance defense firm affiliated with the State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. (2007-2020) • Associate at an Arlington Heights law firm, where she defended personal injury actions (2006-2007) Law school: UIC Law (formerly John Marshall Law School) (2006)

MAURA MCMAHON ZELLER Age: 62 Judge since: 2020 Judicial experience: McMahon Zeller was elected countywide in 2020. She currently hears cases in the domestic relations division. Previous work history: • Solo practitioner, primarily as an appointed child representative and guardian ad litem in domestic relations cases (2003-2020) • Assistant public guardian and child representative, Office of the Cook County Public Guardian (1993-2003) Law school: DePaul University (1993)

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INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026

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Research and reporting: Carlos Ballesteros, Alejandra Cancino, Maya Dukmasova, Kelly Garcia, Dan Hinkel, David Jackson, and Rita Oceguera Editing and project management: Jonah Newman Cover illustration: Verόnica Martinez Engagement and distribution: Danny Callison, Kat Keller, Charles Preston, Jason Schumer, and Maggie Sivit Web development: Monkruman St. Jules, Hayley Owens and Derek Eder (DataMade) Print guide design: Jeff Bowen