Levander Smith, Jr.
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 prosecutor
- Injustice Watch: Notable reversals
Record
Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2019, selected as an associate judge later that year, and elected in 2020; hears child abuse and neglect cases in the Child Protection Division after an assignment in the Domestic Violence Division. Injustice Watch reports that in 2022 the Illinois Appellate Court reversed his decision to remove an incarcerated mother from a Zoom hearing in which he ruled she was unable and unwilling to care for her child, while noting Zoom hearings were new and saying it intended no criticism of the trial court. He told Injustice Watch he did not know then that Zoom let the host mute all participants and would handle it differently now. A judge stays on the bench with a yes from 60 percent of voters.
Background
Attorney for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, including as a supervisor in St. Clair County (2011-2019, 1993-2000); Missouri assistant attorney general in the labor division (2006-2011); Cook County assistant state's attorney in the child protection division (2003-2004). Law degree from University of Kansas (1991).
Compiled from public sources: