W E D N E S D A Y
September 30, 2026 Vol. 47, No. 14
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SECTION INSIDE Injustice Watch’s guide to the 2026 Cook County judicial elections
of Oak Park and River Forest
Prayer and protest one year after Broadview Six
Community religious leaders, activists, students and local officials gather outside of Broadview detention facility
E-mobility causes concern for local school districts, police Following local ordinances, rules of road, should be each rider’s goal
By SYDNEY LOVAN
By GREGG VOSS
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
Hand in hand, heads bowed and eyes closed, over 30 people gathered outside of the Broadview ICE detention facility this Friday as has been done every Friday for the past 20 years. However, this day marked one year since the clash between protesters and agents resulting in the infamous “Broadview Six” prosecution. Village of Oak Park Trustee Brian Straw, Michael Rabbitt, Kat Abughazaleh and Andre Martin, four of the six protesters who were arrested outside of the facility on Sept. 26, 2025, reunited once again at the detention center. “It was really important to me to come back and show we’re not afraid,” said
The afterward of Oak Park and River Forest High School’s homecoming football game Sept. 18 was a study in e-mobility. On the packed pedestrian mall between the east stadium entrance and the parking structure, several students hopped aboard their ebikes, complete with a motor and thick, black tires, and began to creep their way through the crowd toward Lake Street. On Lake Street, two youngsters riding smaller, motorbike-like vehicles – called emotos – coasted behind two cars. Zipping by in the other direction was an apparent adult on an e-scooter. E-mobility is everywhere, it seems, and if you’re wondering what the positives and negatives are, you might want to ask OPRF sopho-
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SYDNEY LOVAN
Community activists gather outside of the Broadview ICE Facility to join in prayer and protest on Sept. 25.
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
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OPRF violates federal hiring laws, conservative think tank charges
W E D N E S D A Y
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
General Manager Max Reinsdorf Editorial & Audience Strategist Matthew Schwerha
Seeks investigation by federal Department of Education for using race as a factor
Staff Reporters Sydney Lovan, Hector Cervantes, Bill Dwyer, Jackie Pisano, Bob Skolnik, Gregg Voss
By BOB SKOLNIK Staff Reporter
A Washington D.C. think tank with close ties to the Trump administration has asked the Office of Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education to investigate Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 claiming that OPRF may be violating federal law by using race as a factor in its hiring practices and in allocating educational resources and determining eligibility for some scholarships awarded by two groups with close connections to OPRF. The American First Policy Institute, which was founded in 2021 by the current Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, announced in a press release on Sept. 25 that it had filed a civil rights complaint against OPRF with the Department of Education. The complaint cites the employee demographics report presented to the OPRF school board at its Sept. 10 Committee of the Whole meeting as evidence that OPRF could be using race as a factor in hiring decisions. The complaint also cites an item in the OPRF strategic plan that states the school’s goal is to have 35% of the school’s teachers be teachers of color by August 2028. OPRF officials have been open about wanting, in the long term, to better align the demographics of its teachers and students. The complaint asks that the Office of Civil Rights investigate whether the goal of increasing teachers of color affects individual hiring decisions. “A student’s race should never disqualify that student from a scholarship, and a teacher’s race should never count against a job application,” said Chad Mizelle, AFPI’s Chair of Litigation according to the press AFPI release. “Oak Park’s own records raise serious questions about equal treatment. The Department of Education should investigate and require the district to correct any unlawful discrimination it finds.” OPRF has declined to comment on the matter. The letter to the Department of Educa-
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Sports Reporters Melvin Tate, Bill Stone Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora Contributing Editor Donna Greene Columnists Marc Blesoff, Nicole Chavas, Jack Crowe, Vincent Gay, Mary Kay O’Grady, John Stanger, Josh VanderBerg Shrubtown Cartoonist Marc Stopeck Editorial & Digital Design Lead Javier Govea Design and Production Associate De Sergio Villalona Visual Designers Susan McKelvey, Darby Godman Sports Photographer Steve Johnston Senior Media Strategist Lourdes Nicholls Marketing & Advertising Associate Emma Cullnan Legal Notices Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Operations Associate Susan Liss Babin FILE PHOTO
tion was dated Sept. 22 and includes as exhibits the employee demographics report which was presented at the Sept. 10 meeting and a memo to the Board of Education about employee demographics that was prepared by Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Roxana Sanders and Director of Employee Relations and Recruitment Janel Bishop and accompanied the employee demographics report. The complaint also includes a video of the Sept. 10 school board meeting which featured discussion of employee demographics, hiring practices and efforts to boost the hiring of Black teachers. On June 11 AFPI Chief Legal Affairs Officer Leigh Ann O’Neill sent a letter to Greg Johnson, OPRF’s superintendent, and to the school board raising concerns about some OPRF practices and its focus on race in setting growth targets for Black
and Hispanic students. The letter, which is included as Exhibit A in the complaint, also raised concerns about scholarships awarded by the Oak Park and River Forest Scholarship Foundation and by the African American Parents for Purposeful Leadership in Education (APPLE) and cited those two organization’s close ties to OPRF. “In investigating the available scholarships awarded by both organizations, searches for eligibility for students of certain races, colors, national origins, ethnicities, genders, and who are of certain backgrounds (including “minority” students) return scholarship opportunities that expressly exclude non-preferred demographic markers,” the letter to Johnson states without offering any specific evidence. OPRF spokeswoman Karin Sullivan said the school had no comment about the complaint.
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
Joseph Beer joins Oak Park village trustee race Zoning motivated his involvement and community conversations keep him going
By SYDNEY LOVAN
and he is “all for helping families get to Oak Park” in addressing affordability issues. “I think you know one thing most of us Proposed changes to single-family zon- can agree on is there is a common thread ing motivated Joseph Beer, an Oak Park of wanting diversity, wanting affordability, and it just seems like resident and local attorney, to we’re in disagreement over run for Oak Park village trustthe mechanism by which to get ee in the April 2027 municithere,” said Beer. pal election. Beer said he was Other points of concern that feeling dissatisfied with how have been brought up to Beer the topic was approached and include parking, traffic and unsure about what was being transportation which he feels suggested. should be a priority for finding “I would rather see a lot more new solutions. He said it all rethought go into these types of lates back to safety, something decisions, a lot more planning, most people can also agree on, a lot more community input beJOSEPH BEER and his “focus would be on fore the board makes decisions things that really affect peothat will impact the community today, tomorrow, and for a long time to ple’s everyday lives.” Conversations with community memcome,” said Beer. He shared he is “no stranger to multi- bers during the campaign process conunit dwelling type things,” as his mother tinue to push his perspective, increase grew up in one in Austin and River Forest, awareness on other concerns, and inspire Staff Reporter
ideas of possible solutions should he get voted into the role. “Getting out there and hearing what people have to say, and sort of being challenged on my own notions about these things, it really helps inform my decision,” said Beer. “I’m happy to have people change my mind on this stuff, and I think that’s good if each side can change their mind a little, and that’s how compromise is made.” Going into election season and potentially obtaining a spot on the board, he feels persistence is going to be his biggest strength. “Framed in the context of being on the board of trustees, it’s obviously a heavy weight,” said Beer. “I respect the current members of the community that have taken it on, and you really have to have persistence in order for it to work.” Although contentious topics and civil debate are a driving force behind his
campaign and initial interest in running, his love and respect for Oak Park’s deep sense of community is a guiding factor through it all, he said. He used neighborhood staples such as block parties and school picnics as examples of Oak Park’s uniqueness that “you just don’t have in every suburb.” “It shouldn’t just be the most divisive, hot button issues that get people engaged, so I’m hoping, as I get out there and campaign and ask for people to sign my petition to get me on the ballot, that we can figure out ways to encourage that engagement further, and make sure that people are making time to go vote and to participate in any way that they can,” said Beer. The election will take place on April 6, 2027, and there are currently six people who have officially announced their plans to run.
Celebrating Ageism Awareness Day Featuring Raymond Jetson founder and author of Aging While Black The 19th Century Club 178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park, IL Friday, October 9 Doors open at 6:00pm Raymond Jetson’s presentation will be followed by a conversation with Jetson and members of the Oak Park Aging in Communities Commission and audience Q+A
Food provided. Admission is free. The Book Loft Oak Park will have copies of Aging While Black available to purchase.
Sponsored by the Village of Oak Park Aging in Communities Commission
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
It’s official as River Forest takes ownership of Civic Center By BOB SKOLNIK Staff Reporter
Monday night after almost an hour of questions and discussion the River Forest Village Board voted 4 to 2 to take over the powers of River Forest Civic Center Authority which has owned the Civic Center since it was purchased in 1991 with the help of a $1.9 million state grant as well as financial contributions from the Village of River Forest and River Forest Township. On Aug. 4 the Civic Center Board of Managers, which by law was made up of the River Forest Township Board and was created to own the building, voted to dissolve itself if the village voted to take over the building and powers of the Civic Center Authority. Trustees Lisa Gillis, Robert O’Connell, Respico Vasquez, and a hesitant Megan Keskitalo voted in favor of taking over the Civic Center while trustees Erika Bachner and Katie Brennan voted against taking ownership. Keskitalo said she had concerns about the financial impact on the village of owning the Civic Center but was voting yes because the tenants in the building support the village taking over the building. “I’d like to see a capital improvement plan and amended budget, as well as a community engagement plan come back to this table in the near future,” Keskitalo said right before casting her yes vote. “Given that this seems to be the only answer that we have right now and the tenants are in accordance with it I will vote yes, but I do express my concerns for our general fund and making sure we can continue to see those tenants thrive.” The Civic Center Authority Board of Managers decided to turn over the building to the village because the structure, which was built in 1955 as an office building, needs significant renovation work in the not too distant future and the Civic Center Authority had no taxing power and thus no easy way to raise the money to pay for such things as a new roof and new HVAC system. The village plans to tap its Madison Street TIF fund to help pay for the needed building upgrades. O’Connell said the idea for the village taking over the Civic Center, which is located at 8020 W. Madison, did not come from the village. “We didn’t initiate this. This was brought to us,” O’Connell said. Gillis said she didn’t see any other good alternative for the Civic Center. “We’re the solution right now,” she said. Before the board discussion River Forest
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Township Supervisor Vanessa Druckman and Jonathan Livingston, the executive director of the River Forest Community Center which is the largest tenant in the Civic Center, both spoke in support of the village takeover with Druckman also reading a statement from Mike Carmody, the executive director of Opportunity Knocks, another Civic Center tenant, supporting the village takeover. Livingston said while the original purchase of the Civic Center building was a testament to intergovernmental cooperation the old ownership structure created problems. One person, Margie Cekander made a public comment opposing the village takeover of the Civic Center. st Bachner and Brennan voted no because st they were concerned about the costs and the future of the tenants in the building especially with the rent for the Community Center scheduled to drastically increase in 2028 under the existing leases that the village is taking over. “It is a big deal, it is complex,” Bachner st said. “This is the first time we’re talking about it around the table. I would like more information.” After the meeting Village President Cathy Adduci said the village board had discussed the possibility of taking over the Civic Center twice in closed session. st Adduci, who strongly supported the village taking over the Civic Center, said the village’s cantatafest.org priority will be to make sure that the tenants can stay in the building. cantatafest.org Independent Living • Assisted Living • Memory Support • Short-Term Rehab • Long-Term Care • Home Care “We’re going to keep their leases as stable as possible,” Adduci said. Independent Living • Assisted Living • Memory Support • Short-Term Rehab • Long-Term Care • Home Care Recently the village had the building examst ined by a structural engineer and is starting to develop independent cost estimates for needed work. The preliminary cost estimates indicate st that between $2.2 and $2.3 million in work is needed in the not-too-distant future. According to the village the Madison Street TIF currently has a $3.7 million fund balance and collects more than $800,000 annually. The village projects that the TIF can support up to Independent Living • Assisted Living • Memory Support • Short-Term Rehab • Long-Term Care • Home Care $4 million in initial Civic Center renovations through 2029 while still meeting other commitments. “The intent is to manage costs as much as we can, prioritizing safety,” said Village Administrator Matt Walsh saying the initial emIndependent Living • Assisted Living • Memory Support • Short-Term Rehab • Long-Term Care • Home Care phasis will be on upgrading the envelope of cantatafest.org c antatafest.org the building. Independent Living • Assisted Living • Memory Support • Short-Term Rehab • Long-Term Care • Home The village may seek grants to supplement TIF funds to pay for needed work at the Civic Independent Living • Assisted Living • Memory Support • Short-T Short-Term -Te -T Term Rehab • Long-T Long-Term -Te -T Term Care r • Home Care re r re Center. cantatafest.org
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
D97 students want their recess back and supt. is listening
Added minutes for math cut into recess at some schools By BOB SKOLNIK Staff Reporter
Three Oak Park fifth graders, one accompanied by his third-grade sister, came to the Oak Park Elementary School District 97 school board meeting last week to complain about what they perceive as a cut in recess time. The students all made public comments to the school board and two delivered petitions to the school board and administration asking that outdoor play time that has been cut this year in some schools be restored. “We spend a lot of our time sitting and learning but we don’t get enough time to play,” Lincoln School fifth grader Leo Gary told the school board. Although D97 students get the state mandated 30 minutes of recess daily as part of their lunchtime, 25 minutes to eat and 30 minutes for recess, the students said what had been 15 minutes of additional recess time during the school day last year has been cut to once or twice a week this year due to the time demands of a new math curriculum. River Forest District 90 students also get their half hour of recess either right before or after their lunch time. Annie Stark, a fifth grader at Whittier School, also came to the school board meeting to make a public comment about recess. “Recess is essential because some kids can’t sit through the long period of time before or after lunch without running around because they need to move their bodies to calm their bodies,” Stark told the school board. “All kids focus and take in more information after a break.” Stark presented a petition with 142 signatures titled Bring Recess Back to Supt. Terri Bresnahan after the meeting. Stark, who is nine years old, said she wasn’t especially nervous about making a public comment at the school board meeting. “It was fine because I like speaking in front of people because I do theater a lot,” Stark said after the meeting. Lincoln School fifth grader Olivia Bryant
also spoke out calling for recess time to be restored. “Recess supports students physical, emotional and social well-being,” said Bryant who presented her own petition about recess that had 116 signatures to the school board. Bresnahan took the rare step of responding to the public comment after the public comment period ended. She praised the students for speaking up and said that she would look into the matter and the district will try to standardize recess practices at its eight elementary schools. “We are in the process of evaluation of our instructional minutes, including those recess minutes,” Bresnahan said. “We’ve discovered that we have lots of different practices happening across different grade levels and across our schools. We’ve gathered as a leadership team to really better understand what our processes are.” Bresnahan said the district’s leadership
BOB SKOLNIK
Whittier School 5th grader Annie Stark adds her public comment at the Sept. 22 D97 school board meeting.
BOB SKOLNIK
Lincoln School students Leo and Nyah Gary deliver a public comment at the Sept. 22 D97 school board meeting decrying a cutback in recess this year. council will look into the issue but noted that there are competing demands for minutes in the school day. “We will be meeting with our ed council so that we can engage our staff in this collective conversation and then we’ll be working on coming up with a solution,” Bresnahan said. According to D97 spokeswoman Amanda Siegfried the recess time the students were referring to was technically not recess at all but something called PEA, or physical education activity, which the district offers because it has a waiver from the normal state requirement of having physical education classes three days a week. Siegfried said it is the physical education activity that has been cut back in some schools this year. Siegfried noted that D97 conforms to the state requirements for recess. But the kids want more than the state minimum. “I think that we should have a longer recess so we can get more energy out so we can be calm in class,” Leo Gary said. Siegfried said the new math curriculum introduced this year as well as an ELA curriculum introduced last year are requiring additional instructional minutes which has led to the cutbacks of the PEA time. “At the start of this school year, we provided updated guidance to ensure that elementary schedules included the instructional minutes needed across the academic program,” Siegfried said in an email. “That led to changes in PEA time at some schools. We have since learned that PEA has been scheduled differ-
ently across schools and grade levels, so the impact has been much greater in some school communities than in others. “Right now, it is important that we slow down, listen and understand what is happening across all of our schools. We have met with our elementary principals and will continue the conversation with teacher representatives at the Sept. 28 Education Council meeting.” Two days after the school board meeting Bresnahan and a few other top D97 administrators, including Assistant Superintendent Patrick Robinson, met with Stark and four other Whittier fifth graders for approximately 30 minutes to learn more about the students’ concerns and search for a solution. “They asked questions and we answered them,” Stark said. Stark said the administrators suggested it might be possible to have some outdoor class time. In addition to meeting with the Whittier students Bresnahan sent emails to Leo Gary, his sister Nyah and Bryant praising them for speaking out and telling them that she will be meeting with teachers to work on the recess issue. That outreach impressed Linette Gary, the mother of Leo and Nyah. “As a parent, I’m really grateful to finally see the district communicate with families about this issue and, more importantly, listen to the kids affected by these changes,” Linette Gary said in an email. “I’m hopeful they’ll take that feedback seriously and rethink what isn’t working.”
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
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Oak Park parks welcome autumn with annual Fall Fest Incredible Bats bring live animals to Oak Park Conservatory By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
Fall Fest took over Rehm Park and the Oak Park Conservatory for an afternoon filled with family fun. On Sept. 27, the Park District of Oak Park hosted the annual event that usually draws between 2,000 and 2,500 people according to Ann Marie Buczek, the district’s communications person. Buczek said “people look forward to it all year long,” and Fall Fest is a community favorite each year. There were carnival rides, interactive games, a train, booths run by local businesses and organizations, and animals for people to meet and touch in the Oak Park Conservatory, all to be enjoyed for free.
“This has to be my absolute favorite, the animals, I mean, where else do you get to pet the animals and hold them,” said Buczek. Incredible Bats, an animal education and show company, brought out a variety of animals for the event such as snakes, a spider, lizards, an armadillo, bats and a crowd favorite, Rico the sloth. People were able to interact with the animals and be educated about their functions and care. “It’s important so that they have a foundation for the rest of their life, understanding how beneficial the animals around them are to their environment, so it helps them kind of start being better stewards of their own world,” said Dan Peterson, the main caretaker of Rico the sloth and member of Incredible Bats.
SYDNEY LOVAN
Whirling and laughing at Fall Fest on Sept. 27, at Rehm Park.
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The Plan Commission hearing scheduled for October 1 is CANCELED. The date and venue have changed to accommodate all those who wish to participate in the public hearing for Shape Oak Park in a larger community space. On October 8, the Plan Commission will be presented recommendations for proposed changes to Oak Park’s zoning code and hear public comment before deliberating and voting on its own recommendation, which will go to the Village Board at a future meeting for final decision. LEARN MORE ABOUT SHAPE OAK PARK: Explore the full recommendations and Zoning Comparison Tool at www.EngageOakPark.com/Shape
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
BROADVIEW 6 – A YEAR LATER
Juan Muñoz details life and responsibility amidst legal fights with federal government Muñoz is an Oak Park Township Trustee, local business owner and father of three
By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
Juan Munoz, Oak Park Township trustee and owner of Sugar Fixé, recently joined 14 other Illinois residents in a lawsuit against the federal government for alleged misconduct by immigration enforcement agents last year. This is just one of the legal battles Muñoz’ has fought since last fall while also leading as a local government official, running a local business, and most importantly to him, doing what is best for his family as a father of three. “It’s been a year of really trying to understand what my role is, one, as a representative of the community, but then also to use the situation I was put in to try to seek accountability and limit the harm that’s happening,” said Muñoz. On Oct. 3, 2025, he was detained outside of the Broadview immigration detention facility, just one week after the “Broadview Six” arrests. He once described feeling as if the detainees that day, himself included, were being put “on display” for then Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem as she visited Broadview. “I saw the possible consequences of being used in that way. That it became clear that the reason that we were being detained and being used was for this propaganda, this show of force,” said Muñoz. “In the moment, it was more a fear of the real immigration system that I had experienced and seen people disappear into, which was once I was put inside of that facility, my name made me vulnerable.” After he witnessed the “unsanitary conditions” of the facility during his own arrest, Muñoz participated in a lawsuit which successfully advocated for a better environment and better access for legal representatives. He also testified in a second legal case about the actions of federal officers during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. In addition to legal action, he also par-
ZOË TAKAKI
Juan Muñoz (left) and Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman at the ICE protest in Broadview on Oct. 3, 2025. ticipated in the HART Truth-Telling Commission earlier this year, to record the incidents that occurred and continue to pursue accountability. “It’s important to continue to give voice to the communities that are not able to show up and have too much of a risk, too much at stake, to be able to show up themselves,” said Muñoz. “In the past, especially growing up in small communities, there was a silence when immigration raids happened, when workplace audits happened, and people disappeared. That silence has its own arm, that it does not lead to change.” He said there is also a need to move forward and heal, even as accountability is pursued. Muñoz not only had to learn the
federal legal system, but how to balance his life and responsibilities with the new reality that he was “thrust into.” Earlier in 2025, Muñoz became an owner of Sugar Fixé in downtown Oak Park. He also holds his elected position as township trustee in addition to a new position as board president for a non-profit for early childhood education. His family also grew in the past year with their third child. All of these individual aspects of his life intersect as “each kind of responsibility affects the other,” something his advocacy and legal action only highlights. “I think that it hasn’t made me shy away from pursuing these pieces of accountability, but it has informed, how I talk about
them, how I approach them, how I discuss it with others,” said Muñoz. He said he has been cautious associating himself with Sugar Fixé out of concern for his staff and how his actions could cause them to be targeted. He also highlighted how he represents and is responsible for Oak Park as a community. Ultimately, it comes down to family for Muñoz, as his “responsibility is, first and foremost, to them.” “It’s always a conversation with our family of what we pursue and how we pursue it,” said Muñoz. “I think for me that I am always more on the pursuit of accountability, pursuit of justice, and make sure that I’m doing everything that I can.”
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
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BROADVIEW 6 – A YEAR LATER
BROADVIEW SIX
Resisting the fear factor from page 1 Straw. “I think me and the rest of the members of the Broadview Six who are out here understand better than most that this administration wants us to be afraid, wants us to be afraid to stand up, but it’s important to show that we’re still standing and we’re still standing for the rights and dignity of the humans who are being detained inside this facility where the conditions just aren’t appropriate for human detention.” As people prayed and sang, multiple masked agents walked into the facility past the group. Protesters also called out as agents drove through the gates, at one point witnessing an individual be loaded into a car and a string of vehicles drive out together. One federal officer recorded media and protesters as the officer walked into the facility, and another car slowed as it exited with claims that the driver was showing
pepper spray, but no other direct interaction between protesters and officers occurred. Straw and Abughazaleh both echoed that they do face fear, especially when returning to the facility, but feel it is important to rise above. “I’m afraid all the time,” said Abughazaleh. “I was 10 minutes late getting to the car because I had nightmares last night. What I think isn’t okay is cowardice, and bravery isn’t not being afraid; it’s showing up despite being afraid...Mace and tear gas are temporary, but ruined lives are forever.” During the 2025 demonstration, protesters surrounded a vehicle driven by a federal immigration officer. It was reported that federal officers deployed tear gas and pepper balls during the conflict. The Broadview Six were arrested and federally prosecuted on the charge of conspiracy, but the case ultimately unraveled amidst charges of prosecutorial misconduct earlier this year. “The reason freedom of speech is important is it’s our right, it’s our right from birth, from existence, and that’s for everyone. That’s not just for people born here. That’s not just for a specific class. That’s for all of
us,” said Abughazaleh. “The last year was meant to intimidate not only myself, Brian Straw, the rest of our co-defendants, but other people from speaking out, and it didn’t work.” U.S. District Judge April Perry set a court hearing for Oct. 1, 2026, to hear arguments as the defendants push for a special prosecutor to investigate potential wrongdoing that led to the initial case being dismissed. “We’re going into court next Thursday attempting to actually see real justice. That is transparency and accountability on behalf of the U. S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice, which exercised gross prosecutorial misconduct,” said Straw. Jenna Leving Jacobson, another Oak Park village trustee, joined protesters outside of the facility to show support for her fellow elected official and continue to speak out against immigration enforcement tactics. “I’m really proud just to stand in solidarity with Brian Straw,” said Leving Jacobson. “If we don’t keep standing together and don’t keep standing up, we won’t see an end to the violence, so it’s going to take all of us.” Pastor Heidi Torgerson, an Oak Parker who regularly meets with people detained
in the facility, was also in attendance to support Straw, and other Broadview Six members, who she described as her “friend and brother.” She reflected on the difference between this year and last. “All of our lives are prayer, and the protests that unfolded here last year on this day were, in my estimation, also a form of prayer,” said Torgerson. “This kind of prayer this morning that you just experienced looks different than it did last year, but all of that activity is sort of toward the same goal of a more just and peaceful and humane world.” Recently, over a dozen Illinois residents, including Oak Park Township Trustee Juan Muñoz, took legal action against the Trump Administration for alleged violence and abuse by federal agents. Muñoz was arrested outside of the Broadview facility just one week after the “Broadview Six” incident. Last week, on Sept. 19, federal agents pepper-sprayed at least 10 protesters outside of the facility. A candlelight vigil is being held on Sept. 26, 2026, at the Broadview detention center to remember and reflect on the past year. The event begins at 6 p.m.
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VOICE YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT REZONING! Go to the
Plan Commission Hearing Thursday, October 8, 6:00 p.m. OPRF High School Auditorium 1.How will rezoning create affordable housing?
Show up and sign up to speak. Tell them you want to be heard.
2.What’s the impact of more density on parking, schools, and traffic? 3.Will it maintain our quality of living?
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mimbyoakpark.org
mimbyoakpark@outlook.com
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
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Insight Health proposes $5M settlement for Ohio employees amidst financial concerns for West Sub Ohio Department of Health inspection reports detail failing facility conditions By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
Insight Health Systems, the new owners of West Suburban Medical Center and Weiss Memorial Hospital, will have to pay $5.1 million to its employees at Ohio hospitals over the next three years if a settlement agreement is approved. The proposed settlement was filed on Sept. 15 and comes after hundreds of employees from Insight Regional Medical Center Trumbull and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Warren, Ohio, were laid off in March 2025. The first payment, if approved, will be made Dec. 31, 2026, and total $1.5 million. This proposed financial payout coincides with local questions and concerns regarding Insight’s ability to financially support West Suburban and Weiss, which Wednesday Journal previously reported. Insight also backed away from a lease-topurchase agreement with a struggling hospital in California in August 2025 “due to the shifting financial landscape,” as written in a statement and reported by Becker’s Hospital Review. The changes to the financial landscape relate to federal healthcare spending cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill. Insight bought the two struggling Ohio hospitals from Steward Health Care with plans to reopen, but those plans have still been unsuccessful almost two years later. Insight credits the struggles for reopening to Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy. According to a CBS News investigation and court documents, Steward left hospitals around the country financially reeling after company executives allegedly misappropriated hundreds of millions of funds. Unable to restore the hospital and jobs
since their acquisition in 2024, employees allege in the class action lawsuit they never received vacation pay, their three weeks of wages, and all medical benefits were terminated, according to reporting from local news outlets. Insight attempted to reopen the emergency room at Insight Regional Medical Center Trumbull last October, but quickly shut down once more, and later agreed to surrender its hospital license in January 2026. On Nov. 17, 2025, an official at the Ohio Department of Health notified Insight, “that I propose to issue an order revoking Insight Foundation of Trumbull’s license to operate,” citing violations from five different inspections spanning just over seven months. The letter sent by ODH states the “facility failed to provide diagnostic services and therapeutic services for medical diagnosis, treatment, and care of injured, disabled or sick people, by or under the supervision of physicians,” in February and March 2025, as it had closed. When the emergency room reopened, ODH investigated claims regarding their lack of ability to provide health care services once more. The investigation looked into a case of “dispensing intravenous thrombolytics to an emergency room stroke patient.” “Instead that patient waited for two hours in the emergency room before being transferred to another hospital for proper care, jeopardizing the patient’s ability to receive these medications within the narrow window of time available for their administration,” wrote ODH in the letter. Multiple inspection reports detail several cases where insufficient staffing impacted patient care during the reopening. There were other “delayed maintenance, life safety, and water management plan issues,” found in an earlier September inspection which continued through October, November and December. See WEST SUB on page 13
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 Center DON HARMON 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 ex-
periences, and 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 CAMILLE LILLY Center serves, which is Chicago’s far West Side neighborhoods and near-west suburban 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.”
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Report on 2025 Halloween teen mob complete, due out soon Scaman says village board waiting on review by Police Oversight Committee By BILL DWYER Staff Reporter
A long awaited report on the police response to a chaotic group of teens in downtown Oak Park last Halloween is completed and under review, Village President Vicki Scaman said Monday. The report, by consultant Jensen Hughes, focuses on an Oct. 31 incident where police from Oak Park, River Forest and other jurisdictions confronted a rowdy mob of teenagers and young adults estimated at 500 people. During that incident, as officers from Oak Park and other neighboring police departments struggled to get matters under control and disburse the crown, a River Forest police officer fired at least two pepper balls at the ground near teenagers, rais-
Now opeenw under n ent! managem
ing concerns among some village board members who were otherwise supportive of the police. Last November, the village board voted 6-1 to task the Citizens Police Oversight Committee, or CPOC to be involved in reviewing the incident. Scaman said she has not yet seen the Jensen Hughes report, which she said was being reviewed by village staff. “The report’s complete,” she said. The process has been slowed by the village board’s intention to implement procedural framework recommendations by Pivot, a consulting firm tasked with developing recommendations regarding CPOC’s procedures. In November 2024, the village board approved a $100,000 study by Pivot regarding CPOC. Among its recommendations were the hiring of a full-time staff member or a dedicated staff liaison to CPOC, expanding the committee’s authority to review complaints, and assuming a broader role in policing strategies. Last November the board further tasked
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Pivot with “advis(ing) on the development of a framework of the community impact assessments and help draft CPOC’s response to the after-action report.” “Next week the village board will review that framework,” Scaman said. “It’s important to adopt that framework to use in reviewing the (after incident) report.” “This is going to be used as an educational tool,” Scaman said. Once approved, Pivot’s framework recommendations will be forwarded to CPOC for use in their review of the Jensen Hughes after action report. CPOC will then forward their assessment of the report back to the full village board. CPOC meets on the third Monday of the month, making Oct. 19 its next meeting date. The village board meets on the first three Tuesdays each month, making the next scheduled meeting after the Oct. 19 CPOC meeting Oct. 20. Oak Park Police Chief Shatonya Johnson said the 2025 incident was no minor scuffle. “It took us about three hours to gain control of what was a chaotic scene with a great
deal of disorder,” Johnson told the board last November. “I was out there and from my perspective, officers maintained a great deal of restraint as they were being sweared at, threatened and completely disregarded.” Trustee Chibuike Enyia said last November that his primary concern was that officials and the public gain a clear understanding of what happened last Halloween. “One of the things that’s critically important is that we get clear information out to the trustees and the public about what occurred and how our system works,” he said. Trustee Cory Wesley said he fully supported the police response, with the exception of the use of pepper balls, saying, “That’s the only part of this that makes me uncomfortable.” “This was chaos, I don’t think there’s any other way to word it,” Wesley said. “I do want to call out that we had about 500 largely Black kids and young adults in Downtown Oak Park who were not there to have a good time, they were there to create turmoil.”
CTA train derailment at Green Line Harlem stop leaves three injured Cause of derailment remains unknown By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
Oak Park police officers responded to a CTA train derail at the Green Line Harlem/Lake stop Saturday afternoon, according to the Village of Oak Park. At approximately 3:01 p.m., on Sept. 26, a westbound CTA train came off its tracks, but remained upright, as it pulled into the stop near Marion Street, wrote the village spokesperson in an email. Officers stationed at Oaktoberfest on Marion Street and North Boulevard observed the incident and the Oak Park Fire Department also responded to a small fire on the tracks. All passengers were evacuated, and three people were taken to area hospitals by Oak Park Fire Department with non-
life-threatening injuries. Power was turned off for the officers to assess the situation, but the CTA has since resumed normal operations. According to the village, the cause of the derailment is still unknown. The CTA shared an alert at 3:17 p.m., that Green Line trains were running with residual delays because of “earlier track conditions” and noted people should allow for extra travel time. The Oak Park village board will vote on a resolution approving an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement between the Villages of River Forest, Forest Park and Rosemont to seek reimbursement from the CTA for first responder services at the Green and Blue lines at the Sept. 29 board meeting.
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
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Pedestrian struck and killed by cement truck near Oak Park Fire Department Euclid Avenue was temporarily closed between Lake Street and South Boulevard By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
A cement truck fatally struck a woman near the Oak Park Fire Department on Sept. 23, on Euclid Avenue, according to the Village of Oak Park. Just before 9 a.m., 71-year-old Ann Marie LoPrieno, a resident of the 400 block of S. Oak Park Avenue, was struck as she was crossing the street at the corner of North Boulevard and Euclid Avenue. She was taken to Loyola University Medical Center
in critical condition where she was later pronounced dead at 9:17 a.m. The truck was operated by the concrete supplier for the project, and the driver was coming from the ongoing Oak Park Avenue streetscape project job site when the incident occurred, according to the village. The driver remained at the scene to cooperate with the investigation. The Hemingway District shared a statement in an email the following day, Sept. 24, acknowledging the accident and expressing their sympathy.
The statement read: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred yesterday, which resulted in the loss of a community member’s life. On behalf of the Hemingway District, we extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and everyone affected. We are holding them in our thoughts and will respect their privacy as more information becomes available.” Euclid Avenue remained closed for about five hours but was reopened around 2 p.m. after the investigation was concluded.
Fenwick students evacuated due to parking garage fire By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
Oak Park Fire and Police Departments responded to a structure fire at Fenwick High School Monday afternoon, according to the Village of Oak Park spokesperson. The fire involved three cars on the fourth floor of the parking garage at 505 Washington Blvd., and has been put out. Scott Hardesty, Fenwick director of marketing communications, said there were no one was in the garage at the time of the fire. Oak Park Fire Chief JT Terry confirmed there was not a Tesla involved in the incident, as other reports claimed. The investigation is still ongoing, and some security footage has not yet been received, according to Chief Terry. The
WEST SUB from page 11 Two inspection reports in October revealed violations for incomplete water testing and management for “controlling legionella risk or other waterborne pathogens.” October and November inspections separately cited heating issues on two different days about two weeks apart. Temperatures
TOM TELLEEN
Smoke coming from a parking garage at Fenwick High School. cause of the fire has not yet been determined. It is anticipated that the investigation will be completed by Tuesday afternoon. The school was evacuated and no injuries were reported. Students and staff
were able to return to class to finish out the day. Fenwick is hopeful that the fourth floor of the garage will be open by Tuesday, however, it is not known if that will be the case at this time, according to Hardesty.
were found to be about 63 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the building and the facility “failed to provide heat.” An inspection on Dec. 9, 2025, the last inspection report shared, stated “the facility failed to ensure routine maintenance was provided for the generator, medical gases and fire/smoke doors. This had the potential to affect all patients receiving care in the facility, visitors, and staff.” The report found 41.8% of fire/smoke doors were non-compliant, and an annual medical
gas inspection report had already found air compressors, vacuum pumps, alarms and valves failed. The power also went out at the facility during the survey with issues from two of the three facility generators. West Suburban Medical Center has notoriously faced similar facility issues and circumstances over the past two years with failing HVAC systems and broken elevators. Insight Health Systems did not respond to inquiries about the Ohio hospital inspections and their plans to rehabilitate West Suburban.
13
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I have only journaled for one week in my life: March 29, 1985 to April 8, 1985. Spring Break Sophomore year in college. A group of 11 of us (four girls and seven guys) from University of St. Thomas rented a Winnebago and drove from St. Paul, Minnesota to South Padre Island, Texas and back. I decided to keep a journal during that trip. I am not sure why. I have never journaled before or since. What was it about that week that compelled me to write down my thoughts and impressions? Who knows the mind of a 19-year-old? It must have been a bit of a spur of the moment decision since I did not use some fancy diary. Instead, I wrote in an old orange spiral notebook from fall semester sociology class. Despite the shabby state of the notebook, those thoughts and impressions have meant a lot to me. The notebook moved with me from Minnesota to Chicago and from apartment to apartment throughout my 20s. I have hung on to that journal for the last 40 years. Not much else from the college years remains beside some photos, a sweatshirt, and of course numerous friendships. (Embarrassingly, I didn’t keep one of the more than 100 letters my father wrote to me while in college. My older brother John kept them all.) Considering how much I have cherished that Padre Journal and the memories it contains; you’d think it would have spurred me to continue journaling after that week. Or at least take it up again once I graduated from college. Nope. Not one day of journaling since. Now that life is slower and
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quieter, I sure wish I had continued the practice. Even more so, I wish I had started journaling long before sophomore year in college. It would be great to go back and read my thoughts as a 9-year-old or 13-year-old even if those thoughts were insipid or superficial. I know journaling would have been good for my soul. But it turns out it may also have been good for my brain and body. Journaling is not just self-help advice. It has been the subject of decades of psychological research with studies suggesting benefits for mental health, cognitive function, sleep, and physical wellbeing. One way journaling may work is through what researchers call “affect labeling,” or putting feelings into words. UCLA studies suggest that labeling emotions can reduce emotional reactivity, help us process our feelings, and reduce stress. Writing about a difficult situation can also help us understand it better. Putting an experience into words and giving it structure can allow us to develop new perspectives. Brain-imaging studies have found differences in emotional processing between people who wrote about their feelings and those who wrote about more neutral experiences. And the potential benefits don’t stop there. A Harvard Business School study found that employees who spent 15 minutes reflective-journaling at the end of the workday performed 22.8% better than those who did not. In one study involving 49 adults in New Zealand, participants who wrote for 20 minutes about their feelings surrounding upsetting events healed faster after a biopsy than those who wrote about daily activities. Similarly, college students who
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wrote about stressful events were less likely to get sick than those who wrote about neutral topics, such as their room. A study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that expressive writing reduced intrusive thoughts, potentially freeing up working memory capacity. Participants also showed improvements in memory tasks following the journaling intervention. Over the years, I have given some thought to journaling again but never put it into practice. Journaling seems hard. It feels like one more thing to do every day. But the positive effects don’t necessarily require daily commitment. Research suggests that even relatively short writing sessions can be beneficial. The key may be finding a routine that works for you rather than worrying about writing every single day. So, I am going to try one of the options below to spur me into journaling (again). Option 1: The morning journal Spend five minutes writing about your intentions for the day. Try these prompts: 1. What is on my mind this morning? 2. What is one thing I want to accomplish today? 3. What is something I am looking forward to? 4. What would make today feel like a good day? Option 2: The evening journal Use the end of the day to reflect. Try these prompts:
Option 3: The completely unstructured journal This is probably the easiest approach if you don’t want journaling to feel like homework. Simply begin writing: • What am I thinking about? • What’s bothering me? • What am I excited about? • What do I wish I had more time for? • What would I like to change? Keep writing for five minutes without worrying about grammar, spelling, or whether your thoughts make sense. You don’t have to read what you’ve written afterward. You may be surprised by what has changed, what hasn’t, and what you were worrying about that ultimately worked itself out. The bottom line: Journaling doesn’t need to be profound to be valuable. Even five minutes of honest reflection can help you understand yourself, organize your thoughts, appreciate your experiences, and approach the day ahead with a little more clarity. Estate planning has some of the same benefits as journaling. Both provide an opportunity to organize and clarify your thoughts. Journaling helps you reflect on your life; estate planning helps you make a plan for yourself and your family for the future. And who knows? Maybe 40 years from now, someone will be grateful that you took the time to write a few things down.
1. What was the best part of my day? 2. What was challenging? 3. What did I learn? 4. Is there anything I need to let go of before tomorrow? 5. What am I grateful for?
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15
ART BEAT
Newsman by day, music man by night
River Forest native and Emmy Award-winning reporter Paris Schutz to perform with four-man band this Thursday in Forest Park By JACKIE PISANO
I did sort of absorb the spirit of just jamming and improvising,” he said. “Playing in a band, we can really stretch it out and really express ourselves in the moment — that’s what I love.” The band is one Schutz considers a jam band, one he says embodies a half improv/half songwriter vibe. “What we want to do live is be in the moment and take songs that are meaningful to us, have substance and take them to new places every time we play — that’s the really fun challenge,” he said.
and that’s the general conceit of that album — that the songs will take you through the dark side, and then the fever breaks, and you’re out into the open into the good stuff,” he said. “I was trying to grapple with both the kind For 20 years, Paris Schutz has graced TV screens in Chiof fever as a country and as humanity, and individually cago, delivering hundreds of rigorously investigated news what we go through and how to break that fever and get reports on hot-button issues and insightful analyses of local through the other side.” and national political happenings. Schutz points out while journalism and music producBut when the cameras stop rolling and the news packages tion seem unrelated, they actually share distinct commonhave aired, Schutz finds joy in a whole new way of connectalities. ing with people: creating music. “I wouldn’t say what I’m writing is anything diA two-time Emmy Award winner and River Forest rectly social commentary, but I like to write,” he native, Schutz’s career includes over 15 years with said. “I’m a journalist, and so I like to write about WTTW and its flagship weeknight news program, what’s going on in the world and try to turn it into “Chicago Tonight” and two years on the political resomething that’s a little more artistic.” porting circuit with FOX 32, before joining NBC 5 this Schutz and his band will feature their local debut past spring as an investigative and political reporter. performance in Forest Park at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Over the years, one thing Schutz says has helped Oct. 1 at Robert’s Westside, 7321 Madison St. He him stay grounded and reset after a long day’s work hopes people come to experience his band while has been writing and playing music. also rediscovering how music can bring neighbors “There have been times when it was a crazy breaktogether. ing news day, and I slipped off the camera after my “Performing live and interacting, trying to create live hit and raced to the club, loosened my tie, raced something spontaneous in the moment, is fun and up on stage and played a gig,” he said. exciting, especially when we live in a time where As a child, Schutz took piano lessons in Oak Park, we’re isolated on our phones and divided all the learning to play via the Suzuki method and gaining a time,” Schutz said. “Music is a great healing agent strong understanding of classical music. and something that unites people from all different Continuing to play piano during college and bebackgrounds because they just happen to connect to tween the grind of his early journalism days, Schutz a piece of music, and that’s a really great thing. I says music has stayed a welcomed constant in his life. want to tap into that — I think we all have to put Through experimenting with different piano playing aside our differences, come together, have a great styles across blues, jazz, R&B and rock, music has time and listen to music that is meaningful.” helped Schutz feel like he can truly unwind. Proudly, Schutz says music remains his anchor Most importantly, he says, was channeling his in the fast-paced political news cycle, helping him musical expression through writing and composing balance a TV news career that is under an unprecmusic, something he says he’s always enjoyed doing edented amount of scrutiny. while playing around with musical improvisation. PHOTO SUBMITTED “Political reporting has never been more om“I discovered that what I really enjoyed about music was the expression,” he said. “I enjoyed writing The Paris Schutz Band is a four-member band, including (left to right) nipresent than now,” he said. “There have never been more opportunities for stories, but unformusic so much that I just had to keep doing it — not Rob Dicke (drums), Schutz (piano and vocals), Phil Schurger (guitar) tunately at the same time, there’s never been a with any end goal in mind, but it was just a thing to and Alex Austin (bass). smaller audience for it and it kind of just keeps do when I wasn’t working in journalism.” shrinking every year. We’re all trying to figure Gradually, Schutz says he’s filled up dozens of noteLeading with vocals and playing four different key- out that magic formula, change the tide and feel like lobooks with songs; never intending to be a songwriter, but just something he enjoyed doing as a stress relief passion project. boards (piano, organ, electric piano and synthesizer), cal news and city news is worth peoples’ time every day. “The world of journalism and day-to-day TV news can be Schutz is joined by a drummer, a bass player and a guitar- I’m really thrilled when people, whatever their politivery stressful — there’s no way around it,” he said. “Music is ist — Forest Park resident Phil Schurger, who also helped cal leanings are, will interact with me and tell me they a way to sort of combat all that, to let off all that stress and to Schutz produce his first solo album, “Fever Breaks,” which consume the work I’m doing because that tells me, ‘OK, dropped this past February. we’re not all in our silos all the time — we can still look really enjoy something else.” Available on iTunes and Spotify, Schutz’s album features at a story and say, ‘OK, those are facts, and I need to know In between his work in the newsroom, Schutz has also picked up small performance gigs. Last year, he finally pieced original songs exploring both personal and universal this, however I feel about it.’” For tickets to see Schutz and his band’s Forest Park themes timely to today’s ever-chaotic news cycle. together his own four-piece band, the Paris Schutz Band. “There’s a general theme to the songs on ‘Fever Breaks,’ performance, visit robertswestside.com. “I wouldn’t say I’m a great jazz player by any stretch, but Staff Reporter
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
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E-MOBILITY Safety concerns from page 1 more Matthew Ash. He received his e-bike as a 2025 Christmas gift and rides it to school most days, parking it on the pedestrian mall near the tennis courts. “There’s a lot less effort required on e-bikes than that of regular ones,” said Ash, who always wears a helmet. “You don’t have to pedal with an electric motor that uses a throttle. Along with that, there is an assist mode built in where just pedaling with the motor on moves the bike.” Some might posit that e-bikes aren’t as safe as a regular non-powered bike. After all, village ordinance says most e-bikes can’t exceed 20 mph. Nevertheless, that’s quick. Ash has his own opinion. “What I can say is that yes, e-bikes are more dangerous only if they are not used responsibly,” he said. “As like with cars and combustion motorcycles, they have to be used with the idea that they can put not just themselves but others in danger.”
E-bike concerns at OPRF Kristen Devitt is OPRF’s director of campus safety. She said e-bikes and other e-mobility modes of transportation are a safety concern at school. “Number one is, obviously they move so much faster than something that you would speed manually, like a pedal bike or a regular skateboard,” she said. “That means you have less control over it. “Across the board, we’re seeing kids not wearing protective gear while they are riding these, helmets, pads, anything like that. They are also not necessarily wearing things that make them more identifiable to people.” This is true on and off campus, she said. Just like after the game, she said she’s “seen kids riding in the middle of the street like a motorcycle.” There have also been a few accidents, she said. “We have had incidents where kids have by themselves crashed into something on their bike, like a stationary object,” she said. “We’ve had a couple of incidents where bikes have had near misses with pedestrians here in our mall area. “Luckily, thus far we haven’t had severe injuries that have been reported to us. But it is very concerning because it could very easily get severe quickly.”
SYDNEY LOVAN
Electric bikes stand chained on the OPRF High School campus on Sept. 22. That’s why Devitt collaborates with her counterparts at Oak Park School District 97 and the Oak Park Police Department to address any e-mobility issues on the various campuses. Collaboration keeps everyone in the loop and allows for exchange of information, including with Deputy Chief Roderick Robinson of the Oak Park police. “I am part of the tri-agency meetings with District 97 and District 200 and it’s come up,” he said. “There are riders coming to the high school. Officers are at the high school or in the area to address (issues).” Felicia Starks-Turner is the chief safety officer of the District 97 elementary schools. She said its rules are aligned with the village ordinance, which is based on the forthcoming state law that will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027. (See accompanying sidebar.) The state law will mandate no e-bike riders under the age of 15, which is what the Oak Park ordinance says. Starks-Turner said the district is an education phase with its students and parents. “If we see a student that has that at school, generally they are spoken to, parents would be called to discuss the ordinance, and the student will be told not to bring it back to school,” she said. “We make sure we educate students. Because it’s new, we have to educate a little more. Everyone is getting adjusted to, and it is definitely getting addressed.”
Education over citations Robinson said though e-bikes and other emobility devices are more common, it’s not only students using them.
“I think it’s definitely across the board,” he said. “Everyone is trying to get to places a little quicker, so it’s something that doesn’t have an age restraint.” He said e-bikes are particularly popular and there have been accidents involving them, which makes it “a very big issue for the police department and the village in general.” The village enacted a new ordinance regarding e-bikes and other e-mobility devices in July. As noted, it aligns with the new state law. Robinson said the police force’s emphasis has been on educating the public about the new ordinance rather than focusing on violations. But make no mistake; if your riding is over-the-top unsafe, expect a ticket. “Right now we want to educate and if the violation is egregious and hazardous to a lot of people, we’ll go the citation route,” he said. “We have cited individuals.” Over in River Forest, Police Chief James Greenwood said the village is planning to align its ordinances with the new state requirements, like Oak Park. And while he said, “riders must learn and follow the rules of the road,” there is the possibility of a citation. Yet, the focus there has been on education, too. “Concerns have included street safety, compliance with regulations, and reports of young riders using ebikes in parks and on sidewalks, where they are not permitted,” he said. “In response, officers conducted an education campaign – stopping violators and explaining the rules – before issuing citations. This led to 15 locally adjudicated citations in June. “Since then, records indicate no additional ebike citations, suggesting the message has circulated effectively.” A River Forest School District 90 spokesperson added that e-bike use must comply with local ordinances and must be walked on school property. E-scooters are not permitted.
Drive safely With the growth in popularity of e-bikes, e-scooters and the like, OPRF sophomore Libby Boveri agreed with her classmate Ash on how to be safe. She’s been riding her e-bike to school since the start of this school year and always wears a helmet. But it’s more than that. “In my experience, an e-bike is way faster and more efficient to get (to) where you need to be,” she said. “I would agree that e-bikes are more dangerous, but if you are following the rules of the road and riding how you should be, I would say they are just as safe.”
Oak Park ordinance mirrors new state law In July, the Oak Park village board passed an ordinance amending the village code regarding e-bikes, e-scooters and mobile mobility devices, designed to mirror a state law that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2027, after being signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in late August. The village defines an e-bike as an electric bicycle that includes motor assistance with a motor less than 750 watts and equipped with operable pedals. It does not require a driver’s license but any device at or above 750 watts is prohibited. There are three classes of e-bikes: Class 1: Pedal assisted with motor assistance only when pedaling. Motor assistance stops when speed reaches 20 mph. The Oak Park ordinance prohibits e-mobility device under age 15. Class 2: Throttle assisted, where the motor can be used to propel the e-bike without using pedals. Motor assistance stops at 20 mph, and like Class 1 e-bikes, the Oak Park ordinance prohibits e-mobility device under age 15. Class 3: Pedal assisted with motor assistance stopping when speed reaches 28 mph. Minimum age requirement is 16. There are other regulations. E-bikes must be labeled with its classification, top assisted speed and motor wattage. They are not permitted on sidewalks, including in business districts, and must be equipped with a lamp up front and a reflector in the rear for night operation. They may only be ridden on roadways and must abide by the common bicycle rules of the road. That’s a lot of potential violations. But the village isn’t as keen on enforcement as it is on education, at least presently, according to Sara Semelka, health education manager in the village public health department. “We are in the business of prevention and education,” she said, adding the village can’t enact an ordinance that is more restrictive than state law. That’s why helmets aren’t required, but Semelka and the village strongly recommends them, so riders can avoid traumatic head injuries. “We encourage that for every person, every ride, every time,” she said. As an example of that commitment, the village handed out more than 100 helmets at the BarrieFest neighborhood festival earlier this month, and delivered information about bike and e-bike safety.
— Gregg Voss
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
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Resident raises concern about rampless curb at Forest and Augusta Village says it will get work done by Oct. 30 By SYDNEY LOVAN Staff Reporter
A curb cut at the intersection of Forest Avenue and Augusta Street was missed during realignment, and residents on the street are concerned for the accessibility obstacle it poses. Sandra Emerson first noticed the uncut curb in late August and took a picture on Sept. 3 and thought it would be fixed promptly. After waiting a couple of more weeks, she emailed the Village of Oak Park Public Works department to bring it to their attention. “I’m not even complaining for myself. I’m complaining on behalf of parents with strollers, kids on bikes, people with disabilities,” said Emerson. “What genuinely shocked me
was the pushback that I received.” Emerson said that she did receive an email from President Vicki Scaman thanking her for bringing it to the village’s attention. The curb ramp was missed during initial construction due to realignment, as the new ramp is being shifted to reduce the crossing distance to the ramp across the street, according to a response sent to Emerson from Marilyn Sudkamp, the village’s civil engineer. At the time of the initial response, it was stated the pedestrian ramp was not specifically scheduled yet; however, Chris Welch, the assistant village engineer, has since said the work will be completed by Oct. 30. According to the response shared by village government, the northwest curb ramp has now also been barricaded and closed since there is no receiving ramp. The statement explained: “The previous curb ramp on the southwest corner was not compliant under modern standards and has been removed.” As the completion date is over a month
away, Emerson felt the uncut curb and the curb barricades still present accessibility issues that could be dangerous. She witnessed another resident with a stroller walking around the curb, in the street, in order to get back on the sidewalk. “I find it really interesting that one of the stated purposes of the Augusta Construction was to address safety issues and accessibility issues, and here you are with an obvious safety and accessibility issue, which has gone on for a month already. Now you’re telling me it’s going to be another six weeks,” said Emerson. In two emails to village government, Emerson stated that her written correspondence served as a formal notice of a “known, dangerous condition on public property” pursuant to the Illinois Local Government and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. “Once the village is on notice of a dangerous condition, their governmental immunity from lawsuits stops if there is an issue that leads to someone getting hurt or killed, but
SYDNEY LOVAN
Barriers block the uncut curb at Forest Avenue and Augusta Street and the receiving ramp on the opposite side of the street on Sept. 22. it’s only if you give the village the proper notice of the condition, which I have,” said Emerson. The village did not respond to comment on Emerson’s notice of dangerous conditions. There are other construction projects throughout the village that will impact curb ramps, but to the best of the village’s knowledge, there are no others that are outstanding as of Sept. 22.
“Enjoying life - making connections - maintaining independence” Our beautiful 6-story building provides quality, affordable, independent housing for seniors. We offer 75 studio and one-bedroom apartments. Amenities include an award winning interior landscaped atrium, central meeting room, library, laundry facilities, computer learning center, internet access, electronic key entry system, parking, onsite management, and 24/7 emergency maintenance service. The Oaks is funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development through HUD’s Multifamily Housing Program. Monthly rent is based on the resident’s income, with individuals paying approximately 30% of their monthly income toward rent.
For more information, please visit us at www.oakparkha.org or contact us at 708-386-5812.
114 South Humphrey, Oak Park, Il 60302
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
Berwyn orders shutdown of Flock cameras Riverside discusses renewal of Flock as part of current budget talks
By STELLA BROWN Staff Reporter
Mayor Robert J. Lovero of Berwyn issued an executive order this week calling for the suspension of the city police’s use of Flock cameras and the prohibition of city employees accessing the network of stored Flock data. The executive order, signed and filed on Tuesday, Sept. 22, calls for Police Chief Michael Fellows to “immediately” suspend the Flock program and prevent city staff from operating or accessing the license plate reading cameras. The order is set to last through June 2028, which is the conclusion of Berwyn’s five-year contract with Flock that began in June 2023. In a letter to Berwyn’s residents and city council also dated Sept. 22, Lovero said the city’s legal department and counsel will review the contract with Flock and “related state grant criteria” to make sure the city “can reasonably meet [its] obligations” moving forward. Lovero said he had conducted an internal audit alongside police administration prior to the issuance of the executive order, in which they found “no issues or inconsistencies” with “how the technology and its data were used” by Berwyn police. A press release from the city dated
Sept. 23 described Lovero’s decision to shut down the use of Flock cameras as a “proactive decision” that “does not reflect an accusation of misconduct by Berwyn police personnel.” In his letter, Lovero attributed his decision in part to the “many residents [who] are asking” Berwyn to discontinue its use of Flock cameras, which have attracted national attention for the data they collect, sparking concerns around the surveillance of civilians without reasonable suspicion and the potential for misuse by police, both in the community where the cameras are located or in one of the potentially many other police departments the data may be shared with. There have also been instances where local police have shared data with federal immigration officers. In a Facebook post on Sept. 23, Ald. Micah Caldwell of Berwyn’s First Ward mentioned the issue had first been raised more than a year ago. While Caldwell said he was “glad the mayor took this step,” he urged the city council to take further action in the form of an ordinance, as the executive order does not cancel the Flock contract or call for the covering, deactivation or removal of the cameras themselves.
Berwyn is not the first municipality in the region to disown Flock as the cameras come under increasing scrutiny across the country. In August 2025, Oak Park’s village board voted 4-3 to cancel the village’s contract with Flock and shut down its eight license plate reading cameras the next day. Riverside is discussing the renewal of its contract with Flock for the use of two cameras as village staff and officials solidify the village’s budget for 2027. Public Safety Director Matthew Buckley said Riverside’s use of Flock since March 2024 is primarily to track vehicles involved in crimes that pass into or out of the village. Village President Doug Pollock said he has been “satisfied” with Riverside’s use of internal safeguards to prevent the misuse of the cameras or data they collect. At least one Riverside resident, former trustee Mark Shevitz, has spoken out against the use of Flock in a Letter to the Editor of the Landmark arguing the burden should fall to village government to prove the surveillance of civilian residents is worth the value the cameras provide to police rather than residents demonstrating an abuse of the technology.
STELLA BROWN
One of Riverside’s two Flock cameras, located at the intersection of Longcommon and Byrd roads.
Referendum decision advances to state appellate court Decision regarding the matter could come as early as next week
By GREGG VOSS Staff Reporter
A state appellate court is considering an appeal of a referendum question which proponents hope will be on the Nov. 3 ballot in Oak Park. The appeal relates to an already upheld Oak Park electoral board decision regarding an overruled objection of an advisory referendum question. The objection to the question, “Should the state of Illinois repeal laws that ban state investment in businesses that boy-
cott the state of Israel?” was overruled last month by a board consisting of President Vicki Scaman and Trustees James Taglia and Chibuike Enyia. That decision was upheld earlier this month by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Viviana Martinez. Justice Aurelia Pucinski of the First Judicial District of the Appellate Court of Illinois is considering the matter this week and has granted expedited review. Attorney Michael Kasper of the Chicago government-relations law firm Kasper, Holmes & Dring, representing referen-
dum question objectors Alan H. Peres and Piergiorgio Uslenghi, appealed Martinez’s decision Sept. 25. According to Jesse Bauer of Oak Parkers for Free Speech, which brought forth the referendum question originally, a decision from Pucinski may come as soon as next week. Kasper added that the ETA would be “no sooner than next week.” Late last month, the electoral board overruled the objectors’ appeal that “the circulators’ affidavit did not include an explicit certification that the signatures
are ‘genuine,’” i.e., actual use of that specific language, according to the board’s findings and decisions document made available to Wednesday Journal posthearing. Oak Parkers for Free Speech recently launched a Facebook page and a video regarding the issue, and Bauer said it is planning to host events in support of the referendum. That includes an informational event about the referendum question from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Beer Shop, 1023 Lake St., Oak Park.
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
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Chalk up one year at Spilt Milk
New owners are thankful and ready to roll out more By RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Eats Reporter
When Sam and Nikos Liargovas took the reins at Oak Park’s beloved Spilt Milk Pastry, 811 South Blvd., they knew they had big shoes to fill. They will celebrate their first year as owners on Oct. 1. They say it has been a joy and an exploration. “Before we got the store, it had a name, a story,” Sam Liargovas said. “We wanted to be very intentional, to respect what the customers really love about this place.” “But also we’re trying to find our identity into it as well,” Nikos Liargovas said. “Like put our own touches too. People have been very supportive.” The couple point out the importance of the staff. “We have staff that was working here
before us, way before us even,” Sam Liargovas said. “They know the recipes. They know what they’re doing, so we trusted them.” “We give a heartfelt thankyou to our entire team. They have stood by us through both the challenging times and the good ones, showing us so much patience, understanding, and grace along the way,” Sam Liargovas said. COURTESY OF SPILT MILK Kayla Scatton is the front Staff: Sam & Niko Liargovas, Megan Samelak, Kayla Scatton of house manager. She is rewhen they had lar activities. sponsible for Another innovation is house made ice questions such drink innovaas whether they cream. Since they sell pie, it’s a natural tions and cuscould paint extension of their offerings. A la mode, tomer service, their windows anyone? among other “Vanilla is going to be the base,” Nikos with seasonal things. Metric displays. It was Liargovas said. “Then we can play with Coffee supplies a gift that they adding our recipes into the ice cream, like the beans. want to pay for- chop up an apple pie, mix it in the vanilla. “For the Or swirl our own caramel ganache in ward. coffee all our “We want there.” drink syrups There have been ups and downs over to keep workand ganaches ing with small the past year. are made from “Dealing with the (road) construcRISÉ SANDERS-WEIR businesses, as scratch,” Sam we are a small tion going on during almost all summer, Debut of Spilt Milk ice cream – on passion fruit Liargovas said. business as I would be lying to you if I would say that “I think that cheesecake well,” Nikos didn’t affect us because it did. And I know does make a big Liargovas said. that so many businesses around, not just difference.” And with Sam us,” Sam Liargovas said. “But I’m excited Megan Samelak joined as kitchen man- now joining the business full-time, “We’re about the holidays. I want everyone to get ager in June. She added her own ideas to trying to get more into it, especially now their pies. I also want them to try us after the pastry case, including her take on pop that she can take a little bit more on.” one year, then I want all the feedback. I tarts, Danishes, cheesecake bars, banana Spilt Milk has rebooted Friday Night just can’t wait to see customers enjoying bread. Dinner, a way to order a meal earlier in the the holidays!” “She came up with the idea to add pump- week, pick up on Friday and have a stresskin spice donuts,” Sam Liargovas said. free meal. “I’m like, go for it!” “We’re working with smaller businesses “People are loving them,” Nikos Liargo- for our dinner ingredients,” Nikos Liargospiltmilkpastry.com vas said. “Donuts are flying right now. It’s vas said. “We’re hoping to be able to do that 811 South Blvd, Oak Park, IL 60302 pumpkin donuts. It’s right on the season.” with farmers, butcheries, other places that Early on, the owners were supported by support us – we support them.” Operating Hours other businesses in the community. CandyComing soon will be more collaboraMonday thru Saturday: 8am-5pm copia did a collaboration. Another nearby tions. There is a plan afoot to activate the business lent a ladder. The village was easy shop’s outdoor patio space to make it even Sunday: 8am-2pm to work with too, according to the owners, more family friendly with events and regu-
Spilt Milk
COURTESY OF SPILT MILK
Pastry case at Spilt Milk
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
Homes
NEED TO REACH US?
email: dhaley@newswellchicago.org
Jim Doyle explains the solar panels on a garage during OPCAN’s 2025 Open House event. COURTESY OF OPCAN
Concerned about climate? Volunteers tell how to retool your home Open house shows impact of incremental changes and overhauls
By LACEY SIKORA Real Estate Reporter
Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN) will hold an open house tour in Oak Park on Oct. 4. OPCAN is a volunteer network of Oak Park residents working to eliminate the village’s contribution to the global climate crisis through equitable policies and practices. Along with advocacy for the implementation of the goals of Climate Ready Oak Park, OPCAN also supports climate friendly policies with other local taxing bodies, residents, businesses and organizations. As part of its resident outreach, OPCAN partners with local homeowners to offer tours to demonstrate the type of changes that can be made to lessen a home’s impact on the environment. Wendy Greenhouse, a walk organizer,
says OPCAN wants to make it easy for residents to make the switch to clean energy. She points out that 2030 is a deadline year for the planet saying, “We need to halve our emissions to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Homeowners can do their part by gathering information and making a plan for these upgrades.” Two homes will be open as part of the tour this fall. One home is an example of the affordability of green measures. Its owners made changes gradually to retrofit their home. The second house demonstrates what changes can be made when a house is opened up for a major renovation. Macey and Lee Majkrzak bought their Gunderson Avenue home knowing the house needed a gut rehab, so they went all in on green updates during the major renovation.
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
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Before you go OPCAN’s open houses will take place on Sunday, Oct. 4 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free, but registration is required. Learn more or register at: https://opcan.org/updates/opcans-clean-energy-open-houses-returns-on-oct-4 After registration, attendees will be provided with the addresses of the two homes included on the tour.
Oak Park River Forest Museum plans Bicentennial Remembrance event The Oak Park River Forest Museum will step back in time in October as it hosts “Stories from ’76: A Bicentennial Remembrance” on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3 p.m. at the Oak Park River Forest Museum, 129 Lake St., Oak Park. Residents who were around in 1976 are encouraged to look through their attics, closets and basements for mementos from the Bicentennial that they would like share that day. If you have an item you’d like to share, email a photo of it, along with your name and a brief description of the item, to the museum at oprfhistorymatters@sbcglobal.net. Those who don’t have things to share, and younger generations, are invited to come and listen to the stories and see how the country’s 200th anniversary compares to this year’s 250th anniversary. Museum staff and volunteers will also display special items from the museum collection. For more information, visit oprfmuseum.org. LACEY SIKORA
Macey notes that as a climate coach, she always knew she and her husband wanted to take the climate into account when renovating their home. “We had the luxury of buying a house that needed a complete renovation,” she said. “We gutted the inside and left the four walls.” The couple is passionate about combating climate change, and it shows in what they put and didn’t put into their home. They went with a geothermal system that heats and cools their air and their water instead of a gas-fueled system. They added foam insulation throughout the home and electrified their entire home, adding solar panels. A charger in their garage charges their one electric vehicle and their electric cargo bike. Macey said all of these changes came at a slight financial premium over conventional gas-powered solutions, but she emphasizes that the solar and geothermal system were expected to have payback periods of well under 10 years. The couple plans to stay in their home for many years to raise their family, so the initial payback periods weren’t daunting. “With the price of gas going up, the payback period is even shorter,” Macey said. She’ll be on hand at the open house to share the family’s energy bills. They no longer have a gas bill. Electricity covers all of their heating, cooling and car fuel-
ing needs. She says that in the worst of the winter, when snow was covering their solar panels, their highest bill was $350. In the summer, their only charge was the supply fee as the solar panels provided more than enough energy to power their entire home. The couple also monitors air quality and says that not having to worry about gas exhaust around their two daughters gives them less stress. “It was a big decision when we were going through it, but now we love it.” She said the house is indistinguishable from a conventional home in terms of comfort and finishes. “We didn’t sacrifice anything,” she said. While it made sense for them to implement a houseful of green updates all at once, she knows that for many homeowners it is more approachable to make incremental steps. She said, “It’s just so important to make good decisions when you’re making the decision. When your furnace goes out, get a heat pump. When your gas stove dies, make the switch to induction.” During the Oct. 4 open houses, homeowners and OPCAN volunteers will be on hand to share contractor recommendations and cost analyses. Contractors will also be on hand to share their professional expertise.
Representatives of Ailey Solar speak to interested homeowners about installing solar panels in Oak Park.
LACEY SIKORA
A geothermal system in Macey and Lee Majkrzak’s home.
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
P R O P E R T Y
T R A N S F E R S
OAKPARK.COM
The following property transfers were reported by the Cook County Clerk from May 2026. Where addresses appear incomplete, for instance where a unit number appears missing, that information was not provided by the clerk.
OAK PARK ADDRESS
PRICE
SELLER
BUYER
812 Carpenter Ave 229 S Euclid Ave 213 Washington Blvd 537 N Euclid Ave 1033 Belleforte Ave 230 Washington Blvd 135 S Kenilworth Ave 118 S Clinton Ave 116 S Clinton Ave 116 S Clinton Ave 116 S Clinton Ave 116 S Clinton Ave 118 S Clinton Ave 116 S Clinton Ave 118 S Clinton Ave 116 S Clinton Ave 415 Wesley Ave 510 Madison St 242 S Maple Ave 425 S Wesley Ave 1146 Ontario St 201 S Maple Ave 426 S Lombard Ave 436 Euclid Ave 1025 Washington Blvd 408 S Grove Ave 201 S Maple Ave 920 Wesley Ave 1008 Washington Blvd 1042 Washington Blvd 203 N Kenilworth Ave 106 S Scoville Ave 727 Erie St 1039 Randolph St 107 S Marion St 106 S Scoville Ave 107 Washington Blvd 331 N Marion St 915 S Oak Park Ave 38 Washington Blvd 139 N Ridgeland Ave 837 S Lombard Ave 1152 Home Ave 810 S Austin Blvd
$1,100,000 $1,101,000 $1,237,500 $1,500,000 $1,840,000 $1,872,000 $112,000 $135,000 $135,000 $135,000 $135,000 $135,000 $135,000 $135,000 $135,000 $135,000 $139,000 $160,000 $163,000 $170,000 $177,500 $180,500 $181,000 $185,000 $190,000 $190,000 $190,000 $194,500 $199,000 $208,000 $217,000 $225,000 $225,000 $225,000 $230,000 $250,000 $255,000 $280,000 $300,000 $305,000 $328,000 $350,000 $350,000 $360,000
Arora Sunil Gillet Henri A Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr Weicher Richard E Tr Mary Walls Cap Llc Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr Steadman Rick Tong Annie Aggen Angela King Anna Brooker Matthew Tr Shepherd Nicole Wilder-Dean Joel Salinas Solanjel Poluha Alex M Mucha Przemyslaw M Wei Yaoming Santos Tatiana Bonuma Dos Hettinger James M Crespo Maria I Wanko Joseph J Bryja James C Overholser Troy D Rabbani Omeed Hoogewerf Erica M Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr Sanchez Maria Del Carmen Duncan Kimberly D Tr Patel Hiral Hiren Rendon Alma Delia Lucht Mark Qudrat Amra Thrun Alexandra Mary Ymk 1039 Randolph Llc South Marion Re Holdings Llc Overbeck Renee Abrusci Rose Premiere 3 Llc Vannopas Tanapat Munro Martha Goedert Jeanne E Tr Olson Anton J Bell Ann W Rahman Araf
Aeon Lwin Llc Vasco Jr Charles John Mc 213-219 Washington Llc Lowes Michael Jardine Susan Mc 228-230 Washington Llc Kendall Partners Ltd Oak Pk Residence Corp Oak Pk Residence Corp Oak Pk Residence Corp Oak Pk Residence Corp Oak Pk Residence Corp Oak Pk Residence Corp Oak Pk Residence Corp Oak Pk Residence Corp Oak Pk Residence Corp Boose Adrienne Rodriguez Manuel A Aguilar Orleck Kelli Suzanne Bonafide Holdings Llc Garcia-Mendoza Noe Cardona Maria Kleckner April Black Tina M Alliu Ergys Burg Ryan Nichols Zachary Dorado Catalina Collins Michael Abrusci Rose Teason 25 Prop Llc Tomassi Nicole K Walsh James Rogala Kelly Ann Lhb Holdings Llc Schirmacher Jianna Boyle Cassidy Riveron Yudith Vargas Berg Paula Ertler John Gancer Margaret Mitchell Ian Green Dev Llc Fuechsl Adam
537 N. Euclid Ave., Oak Park
OAK PARK ADDRESS
PRICE
SELLER
BUYER
1182 S Taylor Ave 106 S Ridgeland Ave 817 N Harlem Ave 425 Harvey Ave 917 Home Ave 1040 N Austin Blvd 221 Washington Blvd 325 S Elmwood Ave 502 Madison St 1019 Division St 208 S Austin Blvd 527 S Lyman Ave 233 Clinton Ave 1020 N Taylor Ave 200 S Maple Ave 717 South Blvd 438 Berkshire St 921 N Humphrey Ave 325 N Oak Park Ave 1192 Clarence Ave 420 Pennsylvania Way 1020 S Taylor Ave 1215 Linden Ave
$375,000 $407,000 $423,000 $425,000 $461,000 $475,000 $5,935,000 $500,000 $524,000 $525,000 $550,000 $572,000 $578,000 $580,000 $582,000 $605,000 $620,000 $620,000 $625,000 $625,000 $650,000 $66,000 $664,000
Carrera Mizael Masur Ann L Tr Christman James A Gatto Rodolfo G Vranderic William Ahmad Adalena Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr Lyons Patricia A Tr Oak Pk Commons Cohousing Llc Facklis Katherine R Moore John H Kruegel Michele George Ginger H Bartlett Thomas A Flynn William E Bracero Thomas Tr Teetsov Mark C Tr G P Artec Inc Tohme Cassie Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr Smith Mary Catherine Tr Straka Levi Lloyd Dodd Ashley Nicole
Salerno Kyle Patrick Adams Trenton Karajgi Shlok Sandeep Anderson Jennifer Lee Warrior Const Inc Blake Jeff Mc 221-229 Washington Llc Javor Kenneth Fischer Rebecca A Smith Stacie J Bassett Thomas Ettedgui Jose Alberto Tr Matthews Shelly Kibblesmith Rachel E Bunkers Laurel A Tr Newman Kevin Patrick Downes Paul Bacoyanis Amanda E Fletcher Reggie A Kordas Michael R Carmer Iv George Lowrance Haley E Greffin Charlotte
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
OAK PARK ADDRESS
PRICE
SELLER
BUYER
1043 N Grove Ave 419 N Taylor Ave 543 S Euclid Ave 208 S Taylor Ave 921 Wenonah Ave 311 Chicago Ave 608 S Elmwood Ave 1220 N Euclid Ave 921 Fair Oaks Ave 143 N Taylor Ave 704 S Elmwood Ave 542 N Ridgeland Ave 108 Wesley Ave 847 Fair Oaks Ave 930 N Taylor Ave 134 N Lombard Ave
$687,500 $695,000 $710,000 $715,000 $750,000 $750,000 $760,000 $765,000 $770,000 $785,000 $810,000 $815,000 $820,500 $825,000 $850,000 $900,000
Wendt Daniel G Trela Constantine J Mack Katherine E Shore Samuel L Hackett Jacky D Land Trust Co Land Trust Co Oconnell Bernard J Tr Wolf Charles B Casey Laurie A Sengupta Urmi Long Luisa Bolles Marita Diane Tr Burns Mark W Tr Dourlain Louis A Jokumsen Zena Joanne
Berisha Lindsay Louise Haefliger Paul Todd James Glessner John Fitzpatrick Morgan Bukowski Beata Cullen Christopher Rogers Megan Joyce Bridget Campbell Reginal De La Torrr Roxanna Nicodema Rosanna B Skultety August Starck-King Theodore Giles Zachary Holkins Patrick
RIVER FOREST 1001 Jackson Ave 823 Jackson Ave 35 Keystone Ave 327 Gale Ave 1321 Monroe Ave 1312 Franklin Ave 940 Bonnie Brae Pl 617 Franklin Ave 7204 Oak Ave 1538 N Park Ave 1535 William St 7956 Madison St 510 Bonnie Brae Pl 1138 Franklin Ave 7344 Lake St 424 Park Ave 411 Ashland Ave 407 Ashland Ave 914 Jackson Ave 17 Ashland Ave 46 Park Ave 1407 Monroe Ave 1507 Clinton Pl 1310 Jackson Ave 734 Bonnie Brae Pl 1235 Park Ave 618 Monroe Ave 347 Keystone Ave 1430 William St 411 Lathrop Ave
$1,000,000 $1,028,500 $1,037,500 $1,100,000 $1,325,000 $1,400,000 $1,500,000 $1,731,000 $143,000 $147,500 $150,000 $180,000 $196,000 $2,110,000 $285,000 $335,000 $435,000 $449,500 $575,000 $575,000 $590,000 $600,000 $720,000 $750,000 $751,000 $775,000 $810,000 $876,000 $960,000 $969,000
Kieselstein Heidi Tr Long Aaron Hunter Bradley R Hawks Lisa M Tr Beck Jr John H Tr Lagios Lisa M Rojnica Marko Burns John Markovic Jelena Rettig Kathleen K Hoffman Isaac Carragher Peter Beausoleil Kevin B Wolkstein Deborah L Wellek Mathews Jennifer L Bruce Douglas T Christian Alexandria M Tr Starbuck Ronald R Huntington Natl Bk Gordon Andrew Bushman Jason Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr Stamatakos Mary P Pye Douglass A Heidorn Bonnie Jean Tr Contreras Efrain Tristano Keith R Yim Patrick Gantner Cathie A Leonard Mary A Tr
Schmidt Jennifer Bredrup Julia Tr Whybrow Oliver Tonellato Daniel J Tr Stoken Katie Weber Rebecca R Hague Timothy Brewster Laurent Jacob 7204 Inw Llc Bolanos Jorge Velez Judith Soto Lizett Zhou Aiwen Perumbeti Katherine S Senak Nicholas Bonura Jr Joseph Petrone Theresa Dunne Michael Tr Mjs Inv Grp Llc Brinker Jeffrey S Cook Jessica 1407 Monroe Cjb Llc Orbe Francisco Cisneros Jpm Const Contracting Inc Gordon Andrew C Donlan Brian Tr Renya Yudel Martinez Werner Benjamin M Laghi Franco Papirnik Rudolf Tr
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
Shrubtown p. 27
VIEWPOINTS
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M.
Call Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor at 708-613-3310 Email: ktrainor@newswellchicago.org
A mix of housing types
I
grew up on the 500 block of North Humphrey, which has a mix of housing types. It consists of mostly single-family homes of different sizes, several frame 2- and 3-flats, and a larger brick multi-unit building at the north end. This mix of building types was not a detriment to the block, and it was a great place to be a kid. However, these buildings were built before the current zoning regulations were in place, and a similar range could not be built in most places in the village now. I strongly believe that allowing a mix of building types would not destroy the character of many of our blocks, and that if a few more blocks ended up looking like the block where I grew up, that would be a good thing. A mix of housing types allows for more people to enjoy the benefits that make Oak Park a great place to live. I attended the community meeting at the Community Recreation Center on Sept. 14 and talked with a number of my fellow Oak Parkers afterward. What I heard from many of my fellow residents in conversation about the proposed zoning plan can be boiled down to several main concerns: ■ I think the village has enough people and is just fine the way it is, and I don’t want to increase the number of people living here. ■ I want my block to continue to look nice, and new multiunit buildings will destroy it. ■ I’m afraid that the new zoning plan will reduce my property value. If the new zoning plan resulted in an increased population in the village, I believe it would be a good thing. If we try to lock the village into the present and keep it just the way it is, this will lead to decline over time in many areas. For example, this past spring, District 97 was wrestling with a need for staff cuts due in part to declining enrollment. We have around 10,000 fewer residents than we had at the village’s peak population, so it is not unreasonable to believe that the village has capacity for more people. Many of the concerns related to increasing the village’s population can be addressed by other means. For example, a number of my neighbors asserted that more people in the village would mean my kids are less safe because of increased traffic. I would argue that driver behavior can be shaped by factors like street design and stricter enforcement of traffic laws, which are certainly worth addressing. But dangerous driver behavior is separate from the number of people in the village or the mix of buildings on your block. Increased population leads to more vibrant business
JEREMY WEST
PROVIDED
One View
See JEREMY WEST on page 30
JENNIFER WOLFE
Frank Muriello on South Humphrey Avenue at the FarrellyMuriello apartments he imagined and championed for severely mobility impaired adults.
O A K
P A R K
Mills Tower, adjacent to Mills Park, was the first true high-rise in Oak Park. It provided low income seniors the opportunity to remain in the village and live in a racially integrated development.
H O U S I N G
H I S T O R Y
Affordable housing’s golden era
This is episode 12 in our series on the history of Oak Park housing as it relates to diversity and equity: etween 1968 and 1974 Oak Park continued to build its historic narrative, a professed exceptionalism in coming to grips with its decades old racially, socio-economically, and religiously exclusionary housing policies. Almost 30 years after its popular effort to provide affordable housing to 148 World War II veterans and their families, the village did the same for the parents, aunts and uncles of the “Greatest Generation.” It was the first of a series of village developments from 197480 that focused on affordability and access to housing for low-income seniors. A focus on affordability came shortly after the village Fair Housing Ordinance was passed in 1968, and in 1973 when a new village Comprehensive Plan and the Oak Park Diversity Statement were adopted. Village leaders wrapped the success of each of these landmark documents around the common goal of nondiscriminatory access to housing. They explicitly committed to a future of ensuring affordable housing for all residents regardless of race, age or socio-economic position. Subsequent housing development plans reaffirmed these aspirations in 1979, 1990, and 2014.
B
JOHN DUFFY
Taking care of seniors
In preparing the 1973 Comprehensive Plan, community survey data documented the challenge seniors faced in remaining in Oak Park as they aged. The village immediately responded with a major zoning variance to construct the highly popular Mills Tower 19-story high-rise with 198 one-bedroom units for low-income seniors. Then in 1980 private investors, also with federal support, built the 14-story, 200-unit Heritage House at Lake and Lombard for low-income seniors (2). Two final affordable developments for seniors and individuals with disabilities closed the era of providing significant affordable and accessible housing. The late lifelong Oak Parker Frank Muriello who served as a village trustee and for decades directed the Oak Park Residence Corporation (ResCorp) worked passionately for a much-needed innovation in Oak Park affordable housing. Muriello’s unwavering dedication urged village leaders to address housing challenges faced by adults with special needs. The village responded and constructed The Oaks, a senior/handicapped, 79-unit, income-assisted building, and the income-assisted Farrelly-Muriello Apartments for severely mobility-
One View
See HOUSING HISTORY on page 30
V I E W P O I N T S
OAKPARK.COM
O
Civic Center takeover
n Sept. 28 the River Forest Board of Trustees considered a takeover of the Civic Center Authority (RFCCA) and its building. The RFCCA, a non-taxing body, voted Aug. 4 to transfer itself to the village, a taxing body, to use village funds or Madison TIF tax dollars for capital improvements, or consider demolition. Notice of the RFCCA vote was buried in a link in its agenda under “New Business,” a rare move which skipped an initial notice to the public. The vote was rushed, held on a special meeting date during summer vacations, and should go to referendum because of the impact on the community. This is Village President Adduci’s third attempt in 12 years to take over the Civic Center. The township met with Adduci on the status of the Civic Center building and with the village and park district on planning since at least July 2025. (1) Consolidation FAQs were jointly drafted by the RFCCA and the village. (2) On July 9, FGMA estimated capital needs three times RFCCA’s prior estimates. In May 2025 minutes, John Becvar, stated the building needed several million over the next couple of years while board member Keith Strom said the building needed $5 million within 3-5 years, and that some of prior consultant Cadogan Clark’s deficiencies were speculative. FGMA said $13 to $15 million is needed in 0-5 years and $15 to $16.7 million total within 7+ years, much of it in management services, fees and allowances. FGMA also estimated demolition at $1.5 million and full renovation at $29 - $33 million. (3) Past Community Center Board President, George Vukotich, refuted the high capital costs. These estimates require rigorous review. RFCCA raised Community Center rental rates 900%, effective July 2028 to push childcare supporters to a takeover. Jonathon Livingston, hired as Community Center Executive Director and a member of the District 200 Board of Education, could face a conflict of interest should TIF funds support the Civic Center instead of surpluses going to D200 and D90 schools. A village takeover transfers the Civic Center to the village to levy taxes, spend TIF tax dollars, or demolish it using un-reviewed capital costs. What are the village’s plans? Where are plans for community services and building management? Will the township be taken over or consolidated with Oak Park’s? Secrecy fosters distrust. More time is needed to review, discuss and gain resident input. Sources: (1) RF Township agenda, 7/15/25, p.3; (2) RFCCA minutes, 7/14/26, p.3; (3) Ibid., p. 2-3
MARGIE CEKANDER One View
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
25
A postcard from Pikes Peak
Sadly, I thought of you, Mr. President, wonut my hotel window looms the purple dering what, if anything, could bring you to mountain majesty of Pikes Peak in tears, wondering whether you have ever venColorado Springs, dominating the tured into a natural sanctuary like this one. horizon. I imagine Katharine Lee Bates Have you ever been moved to poetic words of standing atop, alone, gazing down on praise by this country’s majestic beauty? the fruitful plains below, the culmination of If you stood on Pikes Peak, alone, looking her train trip in the summer of 1893, which out, would you see America the Beautiful or included a stop at the Columbian Exposition America the Profitable, visions of extracting in Chicago (“thine alabaster cities gleam”). oil or precious metals from sacred terrain? She marveled at waves of amber grain passing Could you envision brotherhood — not to through Kansas and spacious skies over the mention sisterhood — from sea to shining Great Plains. sea? I tried to imagine you doing so, but came Standing atop Zebulon Pike’s Peak (elevation up empty. 14,115 feet) that summer, emotion poured forth Which is why I’m sending this postcard in the words we now know as “America the from Pikes Peak to you, the Beautiful” (music by a church epitome of America the Ugly. organist named Samuel Ward). You’re a Star-Spangled Banner Her song begins with an kind of guy. Rockets’ red glare, exclamation she could not supbombs bursting in air, all about press: “Oh beautiful …” and ends power and might, combat and urging her country, blessed with conquering, and the flag alone, an embarrassment of beauty, surviving bombardment. But to “crown” that goodness with you really have no clue what “brotherhood, from sea to shinthat flag stands for. ing sea.” What it stands for is not the I don’t know if Bates, a 33-yearinalienable right to pursue old educator at Wellesley College, profit. We need an Americacame here specifically seeking the-Beautiful president, not a America the Beautiful. “Seek flag-worshipper. and ye shall find,” we’re told, but Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs The national anthem has its often we seek even when we don’t place: “Oh say, does that staryet know what we’re looking for. spangled banner yet wave o’er Was Bates surprised when she the land of the free and the home of the brave?” But if we found America the Beautiful? I am on this sunny morngrafted that line onto “America the Beautiful,” we might ing looking out my window. forge a more powerful anthem: “Is beauty still sought and We drove over 700 miles in Colorado, including Trail seen in the land of the free and the home of the brave?” Ridge Road at 12,000 feet (without guard rails), seeking Gazing at Pikes Peak, my answer is decidedly yes. primarily brotherhood (and sisterhood) but finding so The closest you have ever come to nature, unfortunatemuch more: sculptured red-rock formations in Garden of the Gods, golden aspen leaves vibrating like soundless ly, is a meticulously cured golf course. In your insular chimes in the breeze, reconnecting with friends and, in oval-office prison cell you are beauty-blind, which is my case, the past, feeling hopeful after visiting an improbably why you keep trying to “improve” the White migrant’s family (and their three amazing kids), hiking House, the Reflecting Pool, etc. and succeed only in near Steamboat Springs by a lake where the relentless wrecking them. And why your only interest in national hiss of traffic cannot be heard (then soaking in open-air parks is to drill, baby, drill. hot springs), and above all, this: mountains and open sky. Everything you touch turns ugly. We need a president Entering Rocky Mountain National Park caught me by who is genuinely moved by America’s spacious skies, surprise, unlocking pent-up tears after so many years. fruited plains, and majestic mountains. Katharine Lee I needed this refuge from the settled world and sorely Bates recognized her place amid all this splendor: She felt missed its pine-perfumed vistas more than I could say. We small in a big way. spied a bull moose staring across a tree-rimmed meadow You feel big but in a small way. You are the smallest and an elk herd on a distant slope, viewed through president we’ve ever had. It’s long past time for you to borrowed binoculars. Wilderness protected, preserved leave. And when you finally do, I recommend visiting and shared. Woody Guthrie’s your land and my land. Colorado. America’s best idea. We all need beauty that overwhelms The only one way you will find America the Beautiful us to the verge of tears and reaffirms our belief in this is to lose yourself in it. country’s breathtaking goodness. So I suggest you get lost.
KEN
TRAINOR
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V I E W P O I N T S
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
By ALI ELSAFFAR
Q&A on 2nd installment tax bills
Oak Park Township Assessor
For most Oak Park taxpayers, the second installment property tax bills that arrived in early September reflect an annual tax increase of about 3.9% over last year. For a property with a $10,000 tax bill, this corresponds to an increase of $390. Why did most Oak Park tax bills increase by 3.9%? The primary reason for this year’s higher tax bills is the levy increases approved by the taxing districts serving Oak Park. Local and regional taxing districts combined to levy $272 million on Oak Park properties this year, an amount 3.2% higher than last year’s combined levy. Among Oak Park’s local taxing districts, the levy increases ranged 2.3% to 5.0%. Can I do anything to reduce my tax bill? You can reduce your tax bill if you are eligible for, but did not receive, a homeowner, senior citizen, disabled person, or disabled veteran exemption. If you think you are eligible for any of these exemptions, you should call the Oak Park Town-
ship Assessor’s Office at 708-383-8005 for help in getting a reduced bill. The most common available exemption is the Homeowner Exemption. If your property was owner-occupied on or before Jan. 1, 2025, you should be eligible for the Homeowner Exemption, which reduces the tax bills of most Oak Park properties by $1,166 this year. The Homeowner Exemption is automatically renewed for most taxpayers, but new homeowners must apply for the exemption. If you bought your property in 2024 or before and have not yet applied for the Homeowner Exemption, it will probably not be on your bill. If it’s not there, you can call the Township Assessor’s Office to get a revised bill. The second most common exemption is the Senior Citizen Exemption. Homeowners who were born in 1960 or earlier, and lived in their properties in 2025, qualify for the exemption, which reduces Oak Park taxes by $933 this year. The Senior Freeze Exemption could provide for additional tax savings if the income of the senior’s household is $65,000 or less. Can I appeal my 2026 assessed value?
Unfortunately, the Cook County Board of Review’s appeal period for tax year 2026 closed on Sept. 1 for Oak Park. The next appeal period for local taxpayers will be in the early months of 2027. In May, Oak Park residents received reassessment notices that increased assessed values by an average of 25%, which is much higher than the 3.9% increase in tax bills. How is this possible? The reassessment notices residents received in May have nothing to do with the bills that arrived in September. Property tax bills in Illinois are paid in arrears, which means that the recently arrived tax bills are for the 2025 taxes, which are paid in calendar year 2026. The reassessment notices that arrived in May are for the 2026 taxes, which will be paid in calendar year 2027. Underlying this section’s question is a common but incorrect assumption — that a 25% assessment increase will lead to a 25% tax increase. When bills come out next year, taxpayers will see that post-reassessment tax increases are almost always smaller than increases in their assessed values. Some tax bills may still increase
Don’t take a flyer on the ‘Flyer’
I am writing to express my opposition to the proposed “O’Hare Flyer,” a high-speed passenger rail service currently in preliminary planning stages. Over the past several weeks, our neighbors in River Forest have raised numerous concerns about the project, and I share many of the issues highlighted by President Cathy Adduci, the River Forest Board of Trustees, and their engaged residents. Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico and Cook County Commissioner Maggie Trevor, representing the Cook County Forest Preserve and the West Central Municipal League have also joined in voicing their opposition. Despite the scale and potential impact of this project, affected municipalities have not been provided with adequate information or complete analyses regarding traffic impacts, public safety implications, emergency response disruptions, noise, vibration, or infrastructure demands. Without these studies, they are being asked to evaluate a project without understanding its consequences. Although the proposed route uses existing rail corridors alongside the Blue Line and Eisenhower Expressway, Oak Park should stand with our River Forest
neighbor and other affected communities in insisting on transparency, data, and meaningful engagement. The project also threatens Thatcher Woods, a valuable regional resource used heavily by Oak Parkers throughout the year. I call on the project sponsors to communicate clearly with all municipalities along the proposed route and to release detailed plans and analyses for public review. Investment in the CTA Blue and Green Lines, systems already serving thousands of Oak Park residents daily, would be a far better use of public funds than a high-speed service that would simply pass Oak Park by. I look forward to working with our neighbors in River Forest, Melrose Park and the Cook County Forest Preserve, Chicago, and other communities along the route to press for answers and explore alternatives. I encourage residents who share these concerns to contact state Senator Don Harmon, state Representative Camille Lilly, and County Commissioner Tara Stamps.
Jim Taglia
Oak Park village trustee
significantly, but others will go down. To learn more, see the “2026 Reassessment” article at www.oakparktownship.org Two years ago, the due date for second installment tax bills was Aug. 1. Last year, the due date was Dec. 15, and now it’s Oct. 1. What’s going on? Second installment property tax bills are supposed to be due on Aug. 1 every year. Cook County met this deadline two years ago but last year the county started using a new computer system to calculate tax bills and there were many problems with the new system. The result was last year’s Dec. 15 due date for second installment bills. Last year’s late bills are a major reason for this year’s delays. Last December, the county reopened appeal periods that had closed before the bills came out, and there were also continuing problems with the computer system. These factors led to another round of late tax bills. This year, however, the computer system is doing better. The hope is that by next year, all kinks in the system will be worked out and we again have on-time tax bills due on Aug. 1.
Turn rail line into a bike path
The proposal to plan the express flyer to O’Hare is as ludicrous as capping the Ike, if not more so. But as far-fetched as those proposals are, they do bring up the opportunity to discuss a major change for the obsolete CSX rail line through River Forest. Convert the tracks to a bike path, connecting with the Illinois Prairie Path at the Blue Line Terminal in Forest Park. The terminal could also create a starting point for a trail extending north through River Forest eventually connecting with the Des Plaines River Trail in Rosemont. For the time being, a bike path extension would be a connection with Triton College. It will take years for the Cook County Forest Preserve District to improve the Des Plaines trail’s conditions beyond North Avenue. Finding a substitute for rail-line connection of freight trains supplying Ferrara Pan is another hurdle. But those problems pale in comparison to building a high-speed railway to O’Hare.
Chris Donovan Oak Park
V I E W P O I N T S S H R U B T O W N
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
by Marc Stopeck
W E D N E S D A Y
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Viewpoints Guidelines
More staffing for ECHO
I am writing to those elected village officials who can vote to make a difference so that Oak Park can continue to be a leading village in so many ways. You really make decisions to help various human beings within our community to massively improve their life. We have had reportedly 454 homeless human beings who have made contact with our various police and fire departments, but also connected to our relatively new ECHO engagement these past two years. At present the ECHO staff only is budgeted for three very effective caregiving people. My purpose in writing this is to ask that within the 2027 budget, you vote to add 4-5 more folks within this ECHO department. They are making a difference, but Oak Park can do much more! I would add that two of the added personal should work in the evenings and also provide weekend coverage, to help
our present fire and police personnel. I have been involved with PADS, now Housing Forward for over 10 years. Homeless human beings are a reality within our community. Oak Park is a leader already in helping those who are homeless, but we can do more if we choose. At first I was a site captain where every night up to 60 folks would find a place to spend the night. They would continue to sleep, have breakfast, some may find counseling, but most would repeat their days wandering during the day, and find shelter that night. Then with the help of many, we found out if we could house these people for up to three months, 80% of these people found permanent housing and work. Thank you big time to Linda & her team plus over 155 known folks who have contributed to Housing Forward. During the past two years, ECHO
(with only three personnel) has helped our police and fire departments assist with the current homeless, which is reported to be most effective. Also ECHO has worked hand in hand with Housing Forward and the Township to better plan on how to deal with the various present homeless. It is working, but can even work more effectively, if you would vote to add more personnel to Echo. I am counting on you! P.S. As a member of the Downtown Oak Park Board, I am a big proponent of bringing back our program of not giving money to panhandlers, but instead give your $1 to $5 to Housing Forward. You’re making a greater contribution to those, plus helps our local hard-working businesses by not encouraging this activity.
Paul Beckwith
Downtown Oak Park board member
The goal of the Viewpoints section is to foster and facilitate a community conversation and respectful dialogue. Responsible community voices are vital to community journalism and we welcome them. Space is at a premium and readers’ attention is also limited, so we ask that Viewpoints submissions be brief. Our limit for letters to the editor is 350 words. For One View essays, the limit is 500 words. Shorter is better. If and when we have sufficient space, we print longer submissions, but when space is limited — as it often is — we may ask you to submit a shorter version or hold the piece until space allows us to print it. We reserve the right to edit submissions. We do not have time to allow the writer to review changes before publication. We also do not have time to do more than superficial fact-checking, and because of our national epidemic of misinformation and conspiracy theories, when writers include statistical evidence to support their opinions, we require them to include the source of that information, such as credible websites, print publications, titles of articles and dates published, etc. Be as specific as possible so that we and our readers have some way of assessing the credibility of your claims. Links may also be included for the online version. We follow the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics: seek the truth and report it and minimize harm. As a result, we will do our best not to publish pieces that espouse doubtful or debunked theories, demonstrate harmful bias, or cross the line into incivility. While we will do our best not to engage in censorship, we also do not intend to be used as a platform for misinformation. Your sources for fact-checking are a critical step in keeping the discourse honest, decent and respectful. All submissions must include your first and last name and the municipality in which you live, plus a phone number (for verification only). We do not publish anonymous letters. One View essays should include a sentence at the end about who you are. If we receive your submission by 5 p.m. on Sunday, you can expect your opinion to be included in that week’s paper (and online), space permitting.
Pieces can be submitted through our online form at oakpark.com or directly to Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor, ktrainor@newswellchicago.org. For the latter, we prefer attached Word files or plain text included in the email. LETTER TO THE EDITOR ■ 350-word limit ■ Must include first and last
names, municipality in which you live, phone number (for verification only)
‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY ■ 500-word limit ■ One-sentence footnote
about yourself and/or your connection to the topic ■ Signature details as at left
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V I E W P O I N T S
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
Adapt rather than decay
During a widely acknowledged housing crisis nationwide, every local government should be looking for ways to lower housing costs. Doing so decreases local rates of homelessness (Pew) and increases the rate of children moving out and starting their own families (Urban Institute). Oak Park is an incredibly family-friendly town and should prioritize both outcomes. While single-family home prices have skyrocketed over the last two decades, a rise almost certain to continue regardless of rezoning plans, those of us lucky enough to have ridden that rocket should not pull the ladder up behind us. Increasing housing supply is the surest way to keep up with housing demand. Allowing the development of smaller dwellings will welcome younger families and those working in less lucrative careers to join us in utilizing, and supporting, our wonderful schools, parks and libraries. The ability to add an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) would allow many homeowners to address the needs of their
Why I’m running
I am an architect and a member of the Oak Park Zoning Board. I am also a founding member of Preservation Chicago, a nonprofit advocating for Chicago’s endangered structures. After moving to Oak Park, I joined the board of Oak Leyden – an organization focused on improving the lives of adults and children with disabilities. I believe in public service, in using my skills and interests to better the lives of people and their communities. After my family and I moved here for the high-quality schools, I chose to contribute to the high school as a football coach. With a zoning re-write at the forefront of voters’ minds, my qualifications are particularly suited to this moment. Architecture teaches you that a project’s success is determined before the first shovel goes in the ground. That forethought
aging parents or boomerang children; or generate some rental income to pay ever-increasing property taxes. ADUs are typically added to garages or basements and will have a negligible effect on the character of the neighborhood. Duplexes and 4- or 6-flats would be more noticeable but were already part of the town when it was initially built. They were later banned, with existing stock grandfathered in, but the addition of more density as advances in mobility make Oak Park more integrated with Chicago seems practical and historically consistent. The character of Oak Park, like any neighborhood or town, will continuously change based on outside forces and its own responses. Clinging to outdated zoning regulations will not preserve Oak Park’s character any more than changing the zoning regulations will. I would rather we adapt and attempt to improve than pridefully decay.
John Downey Oak Park
and planning seem to be missing from the board where intentions seem more important than outcomes. I believe there might be other, more thoughtful ways to add housing that may not disrupt the aesthetic of our community. But I am not a single-issue candidate. The zoning rewrite is connected to other important issues like sustainability, affordability and economic development. Like architecture, public service starts with listening to the needs of the people. Villagers I meet speak about a lost connection between the board of trustees and the people of Oak Park. People need to feel heard to trust that the government is serving the people. As an action-oriented person, I don’t complain from the sidelines. I believe that you have to be the change you want to see. That is why I decided to run. Citizens who want to help with my campaign can contact me at KIMforOP@gmail.com.
Kimberlee Smith
Oak Park
Seat’s taken
OAKPARK.COM
In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, the young main character nervously walks onto the bus and along the rows trying to find a seat for the ride. As he arrives at the first seemingly open spot, the boy in the neighboring space puts his hand down and declares “Seat’s taken.” In solidarity, the others on the bus made sure young Forrest knew that these other empty spaces were equally off-limits. When I was young, I watched this and naively believed that the children on the bus were acting horribly. But fortunately, my neighbors in Oak Park, writing in Wednesday Journal’s Viewpoints, have been here to educate me that actually it was Forrest who was acting selfishly. Those children were on the bus first. That grants them some power over the unoccupied seats and preserving the character of the bus. They also understood slippery slopes. Sure, it may look like only two or three people could sit in that seat. But who is to say three children, stacked on each other’s shoulders in a giant
trench coat won’t arrive soon after? No, that was a bus for single children to sit in their dual seat. Maybe you could say “But aren’t there already many seats with two children?” Obviously, that was before the “Seat’s Taken” policy went into effect. It’s the new ones you have to worry about. As someone whose family’s changing financial fortunes once required moving between single-family homes, townhouses, and apartments to stay in a great school district, I know how impactful having choices can be. It is true other suburbs with ample land have easier decisions on how to support growing demand, but Oak Park has also been blessed with public investments we all benefit from — and now hoard. The scene ends with a friendly girl named Jenny defying the bus norms and making space for Forrest. In Oak Park, of course, that choice would not be afforded to Jenny. We’ve banned that possibility — and hung signs on our grass saying, “All are welcome.”
Ben Magnuson
Oak Park
Police forces did admirable work
We are wondering why Wednesday Journal is not reporting on a very frightening incident that occurred on Aug. 9 at 2 a.m. on the 700/800 blocks of South Humphrey when there were 50 youth yelling and running down the street and cars jamming the street. When 911 was called, residents were advised to remain in their homes and that police from Chicago, Berwyn, Cicero, Forest Park, Elmwood Park and Oak Park were managing the situation. The area was bathed in red and blue light, the sounds of sirens and moving police cars. The key point is that there was no property damage in residential neighborhoods and no injuries to persons in the area and order was returned.
WJ missed this
I am a 40-year resident and homeowner of a southeast (within eyesight of Columbus Park) Oak Park single-family home. Within the last few months, there was a shooting incident in the alley behind the 700 block of South Humphrey and a crowd of teenagers and young adults taking over the
I googled Forest Park Review and found a report on the Forest Park, Illinois State Police and River Forest Police role in dealing with this incident as well as the immediately preceding disturbance in the Shell Station at Austin and Harrison involving a large number of persons jumping on cars and gas pumps in the station. I very much want to thank the effective intervention to regain order by the police forces of Oak Park, River Forest, Cicero, Berwyn, Chicago, Elmwood Park and Forest Park as well as the Illinois State Police — and that calm effective 911 operator.
Frank Vozak Oak Park
street of the 800 block of South Humphrey. The latter incident required police from seven different departments. While I don’t wish to highlight crime in our neighborhood, our neighbors need to be aware of serious crime if and when it happens. Wednesday Journal is where I expect to find this information. Why didn’t you report on this?
Terrie Rymer Oak Park
OAKPARK.COM
Is Oak Park a village for ‘me’ or for ‘we’?
Far too often we hear the loud pop! crunch! from inside our home on the corner of Ridgeland and Van Buren. We walk outside to see what happened and hope that no one is gravely injured. In our four years, we’ve seen several near misses of the worst-case scenario across the street from our home: a teenage cyclist flipped in the air; a child’s mother struck, shattering her leg; an Edible Arrangements truck trying to speed across Ridgeland only to be T-boned by a Pace Bus, its driver taken away in an ambulance. So when the village installed new “no left turn” signs and traffic diverters as a trial in support of the Vision Zero plan, I expected relief. Instead, the local discourse has deeply upset me. Largely speaking, folks are saying that the diverters are “a big inconvenience to me,” with one even suggesting the community should “keep turning left,
Upgrade the Harlem & Lake park
Over the past few months, there have been some developments around the Oak Park area. A notable one is the new Barnes & Noble on Lake Street. Just across this new installment is the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, which I think could use some of these developments in the park area. As a college student, who has waited by the Lake/ Harlem bus stop countless times, I have noticed heaps of trash around the area. There is a parapet wall surrounding the park entrance and behind it there are always cups, bottles, and wrappers. There is also a seating area that hardly anyone sits at because the tables are not maintained well. The park could have
V I E W P O I N T S eventually the posts will go away.” Maybe my perspective is naive. Maybe owning a home on a dangerous intersection makes me feel unsafe. I am not a “born and raised” Oak Parker, but my family has chosen this community to raise our family, a 2.5-year-old and a 13-week-old. For now we can keep them safe, but they will become more independent, walking and riding their bikes around the neighborhood, and I can only hope that our community bands together to protect them. I urge you to think about these changes beyond how it impacts your day to day. Practice the empathy and inclusivity I see signaled on your yard signs, and think beyond the me toward we. These traffic-calming measures will make our streets markedly safer if we can bear the inconvenience of making three more right turns to get home, stopping for pedestrians when the beacons are flashing. I urge you to pay attention and participate. Crash data is publicly available. There are open meetings and comment periods about the Vision Zero plan. Maybe if we get beyond the “me,” and open up to the “we,” Oak Park will be better for it.
Ellen Janowski Oak Park
so much potential if the upkeep of the area were consistent. To me this is also an environmental concern, since animals consider this their home. All of the filth would be absolutely harmful for these living creatures. Litter also affects the quality of living for many around the Oak Park area. Volunteers are always essential to contributing to our communities. To make it more interactive, the district should host events to participate in a park clean up. They should also think about updating seating areas and benches. If no action is taken, wildlife will be at risk, and people will not get to enjoy the beauty of what the park could be. Developments should be made to the park at Harlem and Lake Street. To conserve this area, it is important for us as a community to act and volunteer. The districts should also be involved in creating tidy-up events and implementing upgrades to the park for the public.
Jennifer Flores Chicago
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
Oak Park deserves better
My husband and I attended one of the recent Shape the Village presentations at the Community Recreation Center. The room was overflowing — far too small for the hundreds of concerned residents who showed up. The format was a 30-plus minute presentation, and while questions came up throughout, the response was consistently, “We’ll get to that.” Too often, that follow-up or clarification never came. Instead, at the end, a small group of poorly identified staff and consultants were spread out in the two rooms to field individual questions from small groups in the crowd. As such, it was hard to hear questions or answers. One attendee suggested it would be far more efficient to address common questions for everyone at once, rather than one-on-one. That idea went nowhere.
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This isn’t an isolated experience. Recent initiatives, including some of the traffic-calming changes now disrupting many neighborhoods and last year’s leaf collection changes, follow a similar pattern: residents raise concerns, and the process moves forward largely unchanged. When that happens repeatedly, it sends an unintended but real message that community input isn’t shaping outcomes. I’d urge village leaders to rethink how information like this is shared. Rather than a one-directional presentation followed by informal side conversations, a true open forum, where questions are addressed for the whole room, in real time, would go a long way toward rebuilding trust. Testimony at Plan Commission meetings, offered after key decisions already feel settled, isn’t an adequate substitute for that dialogue. Oak Park residents want to be heard, not just informed. I hope our elected leaders will treat that as a priority going forward. Oak Park deserves better.
Jennifer GoodSmith Oak Park
Starter vs. upscale properties
My husband and I are in our mid-70s. We were lucky enough to buy our first house in 1976 when we were 25 and 26. Before that, we started out in a windowless “illegal” basement apartment on the Southwest Side of Chicago, and later upgraded to an apartment on Archer Avenue facing the alley. Thanks to a housing boom, we made a nice profit and bought a larger home two years later in 1978 and eventually in 2013 purchased a 2-flat in Oak Park with our daughter and her family, where we live today. I don’t consider Oak Park to be a starter neighborhood. Our property taxes are way too high to open ourselves to even a “perceived” reduced quality of living. If you purchase a single-family home on a block with multi-units, you knew they were there when you moved in. But to have them thrust on you after the fact is just not right. Multi-family buildings are awesome for starting out. A 2-flat gives you the opportunity
to buy a building and have tenants help pay the mortgage, with banks factoring that rental income into your potential loan amount. We should build 2-3 unit buildings on Roosevelt Road, North Avenue, and the Mohr site to open the door for homeownership. Buildings on busy streets should cost considerably less than in the middle of the neighborhood, offering perfect “starter” possibilities in an otherwise more “upscale” community. We need to stop “studying” everything and just look at what works in Berwyn and Chicago regarding Roosevelt and North Avenue. Let’s not be so snobby about what type of businesses are good enough for us, and let’s match Berwyn & Chicago property tax rates on those streets. They’re our competition! Your potential tax bill should not be the deciding factor on which side of Roosevelt/ North Avenue you locate your business.
Shirley Noah Oak Park
Bearing witness
It’s past time to bear witness against the unaccountable, sadistic hoards of roving bullies, daily seen on our screens. It’s time to call them by their true names: Brownshirts.
Pat Healey
55-year resident 30-year Oak Park teacher Evanstonian grandmother
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V I E W P O I N T S
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
Methodists welcome, support migrants United Methodists have a history of mission and outreach to those marginalized and victimized in our society. On Sunday Sept. 13, at the steps of First United Methodist of Oak Park, three congregations from Oak Park and Franklin Park were in solidarity with migrants. Rev. Megan Tobola, pastor of First United Methodist Oak Park, opened the assembly with prayer and exhorted all to assist and support migrant families in response to ICE activity, sharing a recent testimonial from a school parent on Chicago’s South Side
HOUSING HISTORY
Affordable housing burst from page 24 impaired adults (3). The affordable housing surge of the ’70s complemented the work of ResCorp, formed by the village in 1966. Its mission focused on buying, rehabbing and managing distressed multi-unit buildings and providing that 20 percent of their units would be affordable. ResCorp today owns 32 properties, mostly in high-density corridors along Austin and Washington and manages Mills Tower and other properties for the Oak Park Housing Authority. Rehabbing apartment buildings, providing affordable housing for seniors, and upward trending home sale prices calmed economic uncertainty as the village was rapidly integrating. The village added one more entity, the Oak Park Development Corporation (OPDC) to ensure the trend continued. From 1974 forward the OPDC, a private/public collaboration, would become the dominant voice in shaping economic development, including housing. By 1980 the average village home selling price skyrocketed during a period of national hyperinflation from $26,200 in 1970 to $66,300 (1) and village pride soared as the national media showered praise on the village for the initial success of its multi-
who took action to keep neighbors safe on the first day of school. Rev. Robert Moreno of First United Methodist Franklin Park, retold instances of heartache among his congregation and the working people of Franklin Park. The news reports are not remote or untrue; the reality is often all too real and terrifying. Rev. Jason Reed, a retired United Methodist pastor, reminded everyone of collective action and our ability to make a difference in our local communities. Rev. Nancy Blade, Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church, invited a trumpet call and led chants as the group marched along Oak Park with signage. Here is a photo of our public witness and private concerns for migrant workers and their families in Illinois.
Cynthia Breunlin
First United Methodist of Oak Park
faceted “Oak Park Strategy” for racial integration and economic stability.
OPDC The Oak Park Development Corporation (reorganized as the Economic Development Corporation in 2014) comprised representatives of six local banks, members of major businesses, two non-voting members from village government and Bobbie Raymond, founder of the Housing Center. OPDC operated in secrecy without public minutes of their proceedings. Local renowned business and civic leader Art Replogle directed the OPDC for its first 23 years. By the conclusion of its first decade, business sections of Chicago enthusiastically praised OPDC as housing prices soared, distressed properties were renovated, and District 97 adopted a successful integration plan (4). Replogle and the OPDC imitated the national Republican economic mindset which was skeptical of and opposed excessive governmental involvement in business — with the exception of federal funding of Oak Park’s large affordable housing projects for seniors. As Replogle was wont to say, “Business people believed developers prefer to meet with other business people rather than government officials” (5). OPDC provided low-interest loans for startups and established businesses while winning new investment in the village. Many loans went to help rehab deteriorat-
OAKPARK.COM
JEREMY WEST
A different perspective from page 24 districts and more opportunity in lots of different ways. I agree with many of my neighbors’ preferences in terms of the appearance of a block. I love old houses, and their architectural details. I think in most cases it’s a bad idea to replace original wood windows, for example. But I recognize that there is a difference between what I think you should do with your house, and what the government should enforce as law. Enforcing my preferences is not a primary value that should drive our government, especially when there are other more important values that should be in play. “I don’t want a 4-unit building next to me,” or “I think new buildings are ugly,” are
not included in our village board’s vision statement. Increasing the number of housing units in the village and increasing the range of housing options are included. I don’t believe that the proposed zoning plan will reduce the value of your single-family home if you currently own one. However, I am the owner-occupant of a 2-flat building in Oak Park, and my property value may go down. If there are a number of new, small multi-unit buildings, it may make my old one less attractive in comparison, but I think we should allow new buildings to be built anyway. I’m not going to try to hold the village captive to my personal financial interest, and I don’t believe that you should either. I thank you for considering my views, and in any case I hope that we can disagree about important issues and continue to live together as good neighbors. Jeremy West is an Oak Park resident.
ing apartment buildings — complementing efforts of ResCorp and the Housing Center to get white renters into East Oak Park. Just as importantly, OPDC amped up Oak Park tourism when it facilitated the purchase and restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio in 1974. Five decades later, OPDC, renamed as the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation (OPEDC), faced increasing opposition from both affordable housing advocates and traditional village preservationists who opposed the multiple high-rise buildings OPEDC backed in downtown Oak Park in the 2000s. More importantly, the organization was dealing with its own internal dysfunction and growing tensions with economic development officials at village hall. In 2023, the OPEDC’s 50-year run was over (6). The village assumed direct control of housing and commercial development operations, freeing up over a half-million dollars in the village’s budget.
developments in Oak Park until 2014. The next episode in this series turns to the mid-’80s and beyond as progressive and conservative grass roots groups challenged Oak Park’s housing and development strategies, including growing concerns about school integration (7). Source citations can be found in the online version of this article at oakpark.com.
The tumultuous ’80s
Send letters
Following the burst of affordable housing in Oak Park in the first years of managed integration, the Reagan administration gutted funding for public housing, halted new construction and raised, from 25 to 30 percent, the monthly contribution of tenants in public housing — contributing to a national explosion of homelessness and the last significant affordable
Ken Trainor, Wednesday Journal E-mail: ktrainor@newswellchicago.org Fax: 708-524-0047 Please include name, address and daytime phone number for verification.
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
V I E W P O I N T S
Give hospital’s neighbors a voice
Dear Village President Scaman and Village Trustees, My name is Christopher Hahs. My wife and I are raising our three OPRF High School daughters in our home at 609 Wenonah Avenue. We have taught our daughters to be thoughtful, engaging community members and leaders. As a parent I want to exemplify these teachings by writing today to ask that you please vote in favor of Trustee Brian Straw’s proposal to lower Oak Park RUSH hospital’s automatic height limit from 125 feet down to a community-needed 60 feet. I want to underscore my appreciation for OP RUSH Hospital. The incredible staff at the hospital saved my wife from acute appendicitis while I was traveling for work. I am aware of many occasions over our decade living in our home that the hospital staff have helped our neighbors and friends. While OP RUSH is a true asset to Oak Park and our immediate community, RUSH should not automatically get preference over us voting neighborhood residents. We expect village trustees to take a balanced approach to RUSH development. We have witnessed the hospital’s paved parking lot replace several homes on Wenonah Avenue. We have had to engage with former OP RUSH administrators whom our justice system has proven completely untrustworthy. OP RUSH administrators have not established a good rapport with me or my community. Allowing a 125-foot building to be automatically approved for construction adjacent to our homes without neighborhood input would signal complete disregard for me, my friends, and my neighbors by the village trustees. Lowering the approved limit to 60 feet is a fair change that matches the height of the OP RUSH building on Wisconsin and Maple. Trustee Straw’s proposal will not block the hospital from expanding. If OP RUSH adamantly demands building higher than 60 feet, hospital administrators should adhere to the existing zoning variance process to make their case in public. This gives me and my friends, who actually live here, a voice and ensures balanced growth that works for everyone. Please support Trustee Straw’s resolution and help protect our residential neighborhood.
Christopher Hahs Oak Park
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O B I T U A R Y
Neil Sheehan, 94 Popular school principal
Neil Sheehan, 94, a longtime resident of Oak Park, and retired grade school principal who spent over 40 years inspiring lives and minds as an educator, died on Sept. 12, 2026. Famous with students for allowing them to finish fights in his office as well as leading the charge (no prisoners taken) during lunchtime winter snowball fights on the school playground, he would say, “Don’t come out if you aren’t ready to get hit.” He despised school gyms sitting idle and would open for pickup basketball games for the community to anyone who dared meet his sharp pointy elbows and received his own share of fat lips without complaint. This fierce competitive drive and passion for education were rooted in his early years. He met Jean (Ullmann) growing up in Deerfield during the 1930s. His dad (William Sheehan) was the superintendent of schools, the principal, and the eighth-grade teacher at the school Neil and Jean attended. He excelled in baseball and basketball at Highland Park High School from 1945 to 1949, and went on to become an outstanding athlete playing both at Middlebury College in Vermont from 1949 to 1953. While home from college for the summer, he pitched a no-hitter for the Deerfield town baseball team. He went to the drugstore where Jean worked, bought a pack of gum, and asked her out for a date. That was the beginning of a nearly 70-year romance. Drafted by the Army during the Korean War, he was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma from 1953 to 1956, where he was a standout pitcher for the Fort Sill military base all-star team. He participated in the All-Army baseball tournament held at Camp Carson, Colorado in 1956 — basically an Army World Series — playing against other military bases all over the states for bragging rights. Following military service, he taught sixth-grade teacher at Rockland School in Libertyville, before moving into administration as the principal of Elmwood School in Zion from 1964 to 1965, and Copeland Manor School in Libertyville from 1965 to 1967. Neil and Jean eventually moved to Oak Park, where they raised their seven children. He served as the principal at three schools over his career in Oak Park from 1967 to 1987: Whittier, Hawthorne, and Holmes. From 1972 to 1976, he was heavily involved with the implementation of the landmark racial integration plan across the Oak Park school system — a historic movement for social and educational equity that Oak Park ultimately became nationally known for. Living close to the schools where he worked, he could be seen riding his bicycle to work even during snowstorms. All of their children went to Oak Park and River For-
est High School, becoming classmates with hundreds of students who had previously had Neil as their grade school principal. After early retirement from the Oak Park schools, he and Jean spent two years outside of Turin, Italy, where he served as a sixth-grade teacher at the International School from 1987 to 1990. They spent their spare time touring all of Europe, welcoming anyone who wanted to visit them. Over 100 overnight house guests took them up on the offer. When they returned, he continued working, this time on the tarmac at O’Hare Airport as a baggage handler for Eastern Airlines from 1990 to 1992. He lied on his application because he didn’t think a PhD would be considered for the position, so he left off all his post-high school education experience. He got the job, including free air travel, which was his objective. From 1990 to 1999, he also worked as a supervisor, mentoring student teachers for Illinois State University (Normal), who were entering the public school system. They eventually downsized from their home at 216 N. Ridgeland Ave. and transitioned to two homes: in Michigan City, Indiana, and Tangerine Woods, Englewood, Florida. They never declined overnight guests who would be family, friends, and friends of friends. They eventually settled in Tangerine Woods full-time and stayed active in the community, where both took up tennis and won community championships in doubles and singles tournaments. They also served on the association board and led multiple committees. As leader of the Lazy Daze work crew, he directed 20 years of weekly labor to eradicate invasive Brazilian pepper plants from the nature trails, transforming a landscape that was unusably overgrown into beautiful walking paths used daily by the community. Following Jean’s passing in 2019, after 65 years of marriage, Neil relocated to Sarasota’s Bay Village retirement community and met the second true love of his life, Sandy Wallis. They lived together for four years until his death. Sandy was considered a Godsend, reigniting his passion and joy for life. Neil is survived by his partner, Sandy Wallis; his seven children, Cathy Sheehan, Patty Walton, Terry Sheehan, Tim (Karen) Sheehan, Tom Sheehan, Colleen (Ken) Bird, and Kelly Sheehan; his sister, Nancy Mull; his brother-in-law, Jean-Yves Cojean; his 14 grandchildren, Kelsey, Jamie, Jeramiah, Abby, Danny, Katie Rose, Kevin, Thomas, Caroline, Patrick, Mary, Claire, Bridgett, and Caitlyn; and six greatgrandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jean (Ullmann) Sheehan; his parents, William and Matilda “Tilly” Sheehan; his stepmother, Agnes Sheehan; his brother, Bruce Sheehan; his sister, Sally Reeder Cojean; and his granddaughter, Jessica. A private Celebration of Life will be planned in the Chicago area for family and close friends. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Neil’s honor to the Gastric Cancer Foundation to support research and patient education.
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
SPORTS OPRF girls volleyball rolls past Montini By MELVIN TATE Staff Reporter
After a slow start to the season, the OPRF girls volleyball team has found its rhythm and rattled off victories in four consecutive matches, nine of its last 10. The latest victory for the Huskies, ranked seventh in the Illinois Prep Volleyball Class 4A poll, occurred at home on Sept. 24 as they rolled past Montini Catholic 25-20, 25-11. “We played really good as a team,” said OPRF outside hitter Bella Gray, who had a team-leading eight kills, nine digs, and an ace. “We’ve been working on a lot of stuff in practice and I think we implemented that really well in our game tonight.” OPRF head coach Symone Speech said the Huskies’ early tough schedule, in which they faced several nationally-ranked teams, was beneficial, even though losses came as a consequence. “They knew going in we were playing some of the best volleyball (teams) we’ve seen,” Speech said, “so we came back and took it as a chance to get better and prepare for the rest of the season.” OPRF (12-6) had several notable perfor-
mances against Montini. Emmi Bozarth and Aniyah Scott each had seven kills. Edie Carroll had 13 assists and Greta Ostry had eight assists. Bozarth had 11 digs while Devyn Kleidon added nine. Scott and Eva Truss each had two blocks, and Bozarth and Carroll both had two aces. For Gray, who transferred to OPRF from Fenwick, the transition has gone smoothly. Yet she still thinks about and supports her former Friar teammates. “It was really hard. A lot of the coaches and the girls there, I miss them so much,” Gray said. “It was a hard decision for me, but I’m really happy here. We really didn’t have as much team chemistry at the beginning, but I think it’s growing with practices and that’s helping us a lot.” OPRF has a challenging slate of upcoming matches, beginning with a home contest versus St. Laurence, Oct. 3, at 10 a.m. Following that for the Huskies will be away matches at Downers Grove North, Oct. 6, and the East Avenue Showdown at Fenwick, Oct. 8. “Keep the practice intense, keep the conversation going, and just building up on their relationships,” Speech said of the
SYDNEY LOVAN
OPRF senior Bella Gray spikes the ball during the volleyball game against Montini Catholic on Sept. 24.
Second-half swing costs OPRF outright Silver flag title Healthier Huskies look to rebound in postseason as No. 2 sectional seed By BILL STONE Staff Reporter
KYNNEDI ALAWODE
Junior linebacker Kynnedi Alawode and her Oak Park and River Forest flag football teammates have confidence going into the postseason, thanks to their 18-7 victory, Sept. 15, over defending state champion Maine South, “I feel like that time we focused on being disciplined,” Alawode said. “(We were) being disciplined in all of the little things and not trying to
make big plays but just knowing what you have to do and holding it down and also just trusting each other. When one of us goes to rush or something, you know the person behind you has your back.” Now what the Huskies need is some slight adjustments and to get healthier. They hoped to be the undefeated and outright West Suburban Conference Silver Division champions but they lost at home to Lyons Township 3313 Thursday in the league finale to share the title with the Lions at 5-1.
OPRF (10-5) led 13-7 at halftime after a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ionna Griffin to Penny Morton with just eight seconds left in the second quarter. Griffin and Anna Dore platooned at quarterback. Then the Lions (10-2) scored 26 unanswered points in the second half. With the help of multiple rushers, they recorded five sacks and two interceptions over the final 24 minutes. “Word is out. We cannot beat two rushers,” OPRF coach Jim Geovanes said. “It showed a
S P O R T S
OAKPARK.COM
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
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Huskies’ Vattana eyes state return with third at WSC Meet Senior goes after third straight state berth; Huskies finish fifth in WSC “I’m ready to go to regionals, do well at sectionals, go to state,” Vattana said. “(The keys are) just try to stay in it, and know my game, I guess, not making too big of mistakes.”
By BILL STONE and MELVIN TATE Staff Reporters
Oak Park and River Forest High School senior Nadia Vattana feels she is playing her best golf this season. That’s a great sign, considering she’s already qualified for the Class 2A state meet the past two seasons. “(I’ve improved on) just how I strike the ball,” Vattana said. “A lot of mental things, too, just being more calm, staying in it and not getting too mad about my shots.” Vattana goes into the postseason with even more momentum after finishing third at the West Suburban Conference Meet, Sept. 23, at Village Greens in Woodridge. She shot a 6-over-par 78 to finish one shot from second and six strokes behind the medalist, Hinsdale Central senior Sara Han. Using one birdie and 11 pars, Vattana improved on a 10th-place 82 in 2025. “I did kind of want to play better, maybe first or second, but I’m happy with where I’m at,” Vattana said. “I’d be happier with a low (70s), maybe 74. But high 70s, if that’s a bad round, then I’ll take it.” Seniors Samantha Leung (92), Lucy Wojtowicz (95). Chaya Shah-Hempel (97), Maddie Zielinski (104) and Faith Sizemore (122) and freshman Arshia Tak (123) also competed for the Huskies (362), who tied for fourth with Lyons Township but finished fifth on a tiebreaker. OPRF also finished fifth in the final overall stand-
ings, which combine dual and WSC Meet results. The Huskies were scheduled to compete at the 2A St. Ignatius Regional Tuesday at Cog Hill. The top three teams advance to the Prospect Sectional, Oct. 5, at the Mt. Prospect Golf Club as well as the top 10 individuals not among the advancing teams. This season, Vattana said she has been most pleased with her 2-over-par 73 that earned sixth at the Joliet Township Invite, Aug. 22.
Also competing in the St. Ignatius Regional was Fenwick. The Friars were coming off a second-place finish in the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference North tournament held at Green Garden Country Club in Frankfort, Sept. 24, with a team score of 362. “We started slowly, but I was thrilled with the way the girls stayed in the game and didn’t let the slow start affect their attitudes,” said Fenwick coach Mike Trankina. Senior Mairin Sweeney was Fenwick’s top golfer, finishing in a tie for sixth with a round of 84. Junior Lila Gaddipati also secured a top-10 finish, tying for ninth with an 89. Senior Noel Gallery (T-11th, 90), juniors Maddie Roginski (T-25th, 98) and Ella O’Brien (T-32nd, 105), and senior Maddie Brennan (T-41st, 112) completed Fenwick’s lineup. “Both Noel and Lila really stepped up their game at conference and we would not have done as well without them,” Trankina said. Gaddipati, Gallery, and Sweeney were all named to the GCAC North All-Conference Team. As for postseason goals, Trankina would like to see his team qualify for the sectional for the 10th consecutive season – and perhaps if all goes well, the state fi-
couple of weeks ago. It’s on film and now everyone has it. We’ve got to re-adjust next week and game plan how we’re going to beat that defense.” The Huskies started strong as usual with an 86-yard TD drive as quarterback Griffin scored on a 21-yard run on fourth-and-1 in which she maneuvered between and around four tacklers. On fourth-and-3 earlier in the drive, quarterback Dore threw a lateral to Griffin, whose 6-yard pass to Lucy Avrut advanced the ball to the 37. The Lions had the ball first in the third quarter and scored to take the lead. Right after a 25-yard completion, Taylor Hoffen-
berg’s dramatic 44-yard TD from a 1-yard slant pass and the extra-point conversion pass put LT ahead 14-13 and started the momentum shift. “Their second-half adjustments really changed the whole thing,” Geovanes said. “They put a lot of pressure on us. We couldn’t hit our outsides. They played five across the middle. We’re built for a quick game and they took it away. They made adjustments and we didn’t.” After the Lions’ go-ahead TD, Alawode agreed the momentum began to change. In the first half, the Huskies’ defense included Kailee Robinson recording a sack
and Jenna Waisvisz and Alawode pulling flags for loss and Maya Davis and Alessandra Gerut breaking up passes. OPRF had one pull for loss in the second half. “I feel like (at times) we’re missing chemistry to make it a well-oiled machine. We need to continue to have that drive when we are down,” Alawode said. “Sometimes when there’s a bunch of missed tackles or an interception, we all kind of get down. I definitely feel we need to show our love for each other a little bit more and then that will show on the field as well.” The Huskies can do just that as the No.
Fenwick girls
BILL STONE
Nadia Vattana
nals. He also wants to see Sweeney advance to the state finals for the fourth consecutive season. “That would be a remarkable achievement,” he said. “She made state as a freshman and has then qualified and improved her standing in her sophomore and junior years. For her to make it again is my biggest priority beyond team success.” Trinity also competed in the GCAC North, finishing ninth with a team score of 526. Freshman Graciela Perez was the Blazers’ top golfer, tying for 16th with a 93. Freshmen Maeve Sheehy (52nd, 136) and Nola Basney (54th, 140), sophomore Yale Bashua (55th, 157), and freshman Ellie Bathrick (56th, 159) also competed.
OPRF boys The OPRF boys golf team finished fifth in the West Suburban Silver tournament at Prairie Bluff Golf Club in Crest Hill Sept. 22 with a team score of 305. Junior Liam Berg had the lowest round of the day for the Huskies, shooting an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for seventh. Senior Karsten Davis (T-11th, 74), junior Killian McGrath (T-24th, 78), senior Will Timchak (T-33rd, 81), junior Luke Simon (T-40th, 84), senior Patrick Reed (T-42nd, 85), junior Aaron Konecki (T-44th, 86), and senior Thomas McFarlin (T-46th, 88) also competed. OPRF, along with Fenwick, will compete in the Class 3A Jones Regional, Sept. 30, at George Dunne National Golf Course in Oak Forest.
2 seed in the OPRF Sectional behind Kenwood. Junior standout running back Nora Partin, who has been out three weeks with a knee injury, and multiple linebackers should be back for the postseason. OPRF also gets time off from game action before playing in the OPRF Regional semifinals, Oct. 5. “Our big picture right now is making a good playoff run so our Silver lining is we came out of the (LT) thing pretty healthy,” Geovanes said. “The week off will get us healthy for a good playoff run.”
34 Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026 HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI • Deadline: Monday at 5 p.m.
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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
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BY PHONE: (708) 613-3360 | BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG
PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE ADVERTISEMENT OF BIDDING Request of bids for the Oak Park Conservatory Green House Glass Replacement Project, 615 Garfield St., Oak Park 60302. Owner: Park District of Oak Park 218 Madison St, Oak Park, IL 60302 The Park District of Oak Park will accept sealed bids for the Oak Park Conservatory Green House Glass Replacement Project, 615 Garfield St., Oak Park. The project generally includes the removal and disposal of existing glazing and furnishing and installation of all glazing for the restoration of the Conservatory’s Citrus House, Tropical House and Desert House, including preparation of existing glazing bars, glass, aluminum bar caps, glazing hardware, glazing sealants (butyl rope bedding and top seal), and water test inspection upon completion of the project. The Park District of Oak Park will receive individual sealed Bids until 10:00 a.m. (Central time) on Wednesday, November 4th, at 218 Madison St., Oak Park, IL. The Conservatory is open to view Tues- Friday from 11am-3pm. A non-mandatory pre-bid walkthru is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14th, at 10am at the Conservatory at 615 Garfield St., Oak Park, IL 60304. Bid bonds will be required by bidding contractors. Copies of the bidding documents and specifications will be available as of 1pm on Thursday, October 1st, 2026, via the Demand Star website at: pdop.org/rfps-bids For additional information, contact Bill Hamilton at bill.hamilton@ pdop.org or (708) 725 2052. Only the bids prepared in compliance with the bidding documents will be considered. This project must adhere to the Prevailing Wage Act of 2022. The Park District of Oak Park encourages minority and women owned business firms to submit bids for this project. Park District of Oak Park By: Ade Onayemi, Treasurer Park District of Oak Park 218 Madison St. Oak Park, IL 60302 Published in Wednesday Journal September 30, 2026
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - CHANCERY DIVISION U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR MASTR ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGES TRUST 2007-1, MORTGAGE PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-1 Plaintiff, -v.WILLIAM D. EDGAR, TD BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, UNKNOWN OWNERS AND NONRECORD CLAIMANTS, AMY L. EDGAR, UNKNOWN HEIRS AND LEGATEES OF ELLEN M. RAVITZ, DAMON RITENHOUSE, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR ELLEN M. RAVITZ (DECEASED) Defendants 2025CH04362 123 S EUCLID AVE OAK PARK, IL 60302 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on July 21, 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 123 S EUCLID AVE, OAK PARK, IL 60302 Property Index No. 16-07-400-0160000 The real estate is improved with a residence. 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) 7949876 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. 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. 14-25-02688 Attorney ARDC No. 00468002 Attorney Code. 21762 Case Number: 2025CH04362 TJSC#: 46-1714 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 # 2025CH04362 I3294352
Let the sun shine in...
Public Notice: Your right to know...In print • Online
Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year OakPark.com•RBLandmark.com • ForestParkReview.com AustinWeeklyNews.com • PublicNoticeIllinois.com
REAL ESTATE FOR SALE
Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
OAKPARK.COM
Events
Submit events and see full calendar at oakpark.com/events
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Wednesday Journal, September 30, 2026
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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.”
INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026
3
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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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 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.
INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026
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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
INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026
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
O N LI N E
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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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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
INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026
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
O N LI N E
Read more of our judicial election guide Learn more about each candidate and create a customized report you can take to your polling station via our online judicial election guide. Just scan the QR code or visit injusticewatch.org/judges.
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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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.”
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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
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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.”
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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
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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.
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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.”
M O R E O N LI N E
Check out our comprehensive judicial election guide For more information about each candidate and to create a customized report you can take to your polling place, scan the QR code or visit injusticewatch.org/judges.
INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026
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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.
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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.”
M O R E O N LI N E
Check out our comprehensive judicial election guide For more information about each candidate and to create a customized report you can take to your polling place, scan the QR code or visit injusticewatch.org/judges.
INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026
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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.”
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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
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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)
O N LI N E Read more of our judicial election guide: Learn more about each candidate and create a customized report you can take to your polling station via our online judicial election guide. Just scan the QR code or visit injusticewatch.org/judges.
INJUSTICE WATCH JUDICIAL ELECTION GUIDE • 2026
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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)
O N LI N E Read more of our judicial election guide: Learn more about each candidate and create a customized report you can take to your polling station via our online judicial election guide. Just scan the QR code or visit injusticewatch.org/judges.
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