Pamela Reaves-Harris
Judge up for retention, on the Chicago ballot November 3, 2026. Incumbent.
Circuit Court of Cook County
Ratings
Record
Elected from the 7th Subcircuit in 2020; hears small claims cases in the First Municipal District after an assignment in the housing section. Injustice Watch reports that in 2019 she spoke out against Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke's appointment of a white woman to a vacant seat in the majority-Black 7th Subcircuit, after Burke said the Chicago Bar Association had not recommended Reaves-Harris because of limited practice and court experience. By the 2020 primary the association had found her qualified, the appointee did not run, and she won a five-way race for the seat. A judge stays on the bench with a yes from 60 percent of voters.
Background
Special assistant for legal affairs at the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development (2017-2020); Illinois state representative for the 10th District on Chicago's West Side (2015-2017); solo practitioner in real estate, child support, divorce, and estate planning, and an administrative law judge for Chicago and several suburbs (1995-2017); assistant vice president and compliance officer at CitiBank (1993-1995). Law degree from IIT Chicago-Kent (1992).
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