Kerry M. Kennedy
Judge up for retention, on the Chicago ballot November 3, 2026. Incumbent.
Circuit Court of Cook County
Ratings
- Chicago Bar Association: Qualified
- Illinois State Bar Association: Yes
- Injustice Watch: Former public defender
- Injustice Watch: Notable reversals
Record
Elected to the Circuit Court in 2002; since 2021 the presiding judge of the Bridgeview courthouse, where he has spent most of his career hearing felony cases. Injustice Watch reports that in the past term the Illinois Appellate Court reversed his dismissals of two postconviction petitions from men convicted of murder, and in 2022 ordered him to hold a hearing in one of them, which is ongoing. It also reports that in a 2006 rape trial he said he might hold the victim in contempt if she did not watch a video of the assault on the witness stand, and said the next day he would not force her to. A judge stays on the bench with a yes from 60 percent of voters.
Background
Cook County assistant public defender at the Markham and Bridgeview courthouses (1979-2002). Law degree from Northern Illinois University (1978).
Compiled from public sources: