Judges up for retention
A yes-or-no vote on every sitting judge whose term is ending.
On the Chicago ballot November 3, 2026.
Every Cook County judge up for retention needs a yes from 60 percent of voters to keep the job. Bar associations screen each one; Injustice Watch reports on their records. Injustice Watch judicial guide, Chicago Bar Association evaluations.
Each judge shows the Chicago Bar Association's and the Illinois State Bar Association's findings for this election, every No from the other members of the Alliance of Bar Associations, and the flags from Injustice Watch's November 2026 guide (former prosecutor, former public defender, notable controversy, notable reversals); tap a rating to read it. Four judges drew a No from at least one bar association and are marked in red. John J. Mahoney withdrew in September: Injustice Watch reports that his name will still appear on the ballot but votes for or against him will not be counted, and the Chicago Board of Elections candidate list does not include him.
Judges
- Abbey Fishman Romanek (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2014 from the 9th Subcircuit; hears cases in the Domestic Relations Division. Injustice Watch reports that a 2024 federal lawsuit said she barred Connor Paris, an adult whose parents had a…
- Andrea M. Buford (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2013 and elected in 2014; presiding judge of the Child Protection Division, where she has spent most of her career hearing child abuse and neglect cases. Injustice Watch reports that as…
- Anjana M.J. Hansen (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court from the 9th Subcircuit in 2014; a deputy presiding judge at the Skokie courthouse, where she hears felony cases after earlier hearing misdemeanor and traffic cases. Injustice Watch reports…
- Anthony C. "Tony" Kyriakopoulos (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2010 and elected in 2014; since 2011 assigned to the Chancery Division at the Daley Center, handling mortgage foreclosure and mechanic's lien cases. Injustice Watch, citing the Chicago…
- Bertina E. Lampkin (Incumbent): Appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court in 2009 and elected in 2016, after 22 years as a Cook County associate and circuit judge, including 12 as a supervising judge in the Criminal Division; she sits in the third…
- Bridget Anne Mitchell (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2014; serves in the Law Division, presiding over civil bench and jury trials, after earlier handling foreclosures in the Chancery Division. Injustice Watch reports that she is the sister…
- Caroline Kate Moreland (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2010 and elected in 2014; serves in the Chancery Division, handling class actions, business disputes, injunctions, and public records requests. Injustice Watch reports that in a 2016…
- Celestia L. Mays (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in January 2019 and elected in 2020; hears misdemeanor and traffic cases at the Maywood Courthouse. Injustice Watch reports that she oversaw the misdemeanor battery case against social…
- Chris Stacey (Incumbent): Elected countywide in 2020 as the Democratic Party's pick; hears civil jury cases, including evictions, personal injury, and property damage lawsuits, in the First Municipal District. Injustice Watch reports that the…
- Daniel Edward Maloney (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2019 and elected in 2020; handles felony preliminary hearings at the Markham courthouse and presides over three specialty courts for veterans and people with substance abuse or mental…
- Diana L. Kenworthy (Incumbent): A Circuit Court judge since 2008, handling 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…
- Edward A. Arce (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2008 and elected later that year from the 14th Subcircuit; hears cases in the Domestic Relations Division. Injustice Watch reports that he presides over a 2019 parentage case seeking to…
- Eileen Marie O'Connor (Incumbent): Elected from the 6th Subcircuit in 2020; serves in the trial section of the Law Division, handling civil lawsuits seeking more than $30,000. A judge stays on the bench with a yes from 60 percent of voters.
- Elizabeth Anne Walsh (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2020; serves in the Law Division's motion section, handling pretrial filings in civil cases seeking more than $30,000. A judge stays on the bench with a yes from 60 percent of voters.
- Erin Haggerty Antonietti (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2019 and elected in 2020; serves as a floating judge at the Markham courthouse, filling in for other judges, after hearing traffic, eviction, and other civil cases at the Daley Center. A…
- Gerardo Tristan, Jr. (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in January 2019 and elected in 2020; hears civil jury cases, including evictions, personal injury, and small claims, in the First Municipal District. Injustice Watch reports that in 2023…
- James P. Pieczonka (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2014 from the 12th Subcircuit as a Republican; presides over civil matters, including evictions and consumer debt, in the Third Municipal District in Rolling Meadows. Injustice Watch…
- Jamie Guerra Dickler (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2020; serves in the Probate Division, handling guardianship of minors. A judge stays on the bench with a yes from 60 percent of voters.
- Jill Rose Quinn (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court countywide in 2020; since 2023 in the Domestic Relations Division, hearing divorce, parentage, and child support cases, after three years in traffic court. A judge stays on the bench with a…
- Joan E. Powell (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2006 and elected in 2008; sits in the Law Division, presiding over civil trials. Injustice Watch reports that in 2025 the appellate court vacated a $43.8 million jury verdict in a car…
- John G. Mulroe (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2019 and elected in 2020; serves in the Juvenile Justice Division, hearing delinquency cases from the 3rd police district on the southeast and South Side. A judge stays on the bench with…
- John Michael Allegretti (Incumbent): A Circuit Court judge since 2014, hearing civil cases including consumer debt, personal injury, and contract disputes in the First Municipal District. Injustice Watch reports that in 2012 he was involved in an…
- Jonathan Clark Green (Incumbent): Elected from the 8th Subcircuit in 2020; serves in the Law Division after an assignment in the Domestic Violence Division. Injustice Watch reports that he was a senior attorney and supervisor in the Chicago Law…
- Judith C. Rice (Incumbent): A Circuit Court judge since 2014 and presiding judge of the Domestic Violence Division since 2021; she previously heard divorce, domestic abuse, and eviction cases. Injustice Watch reports that she is also running…
- Julie Bess Aimen (Incumbent): Elected from the 9th Subcircuit in 2020; assigned to the Domestic Relations Division. Injustice Watch reports that at a July 2025 Cook County Board hearing, two women whose divorce cases she was hearing criticized her…
- Kerry M. Kennedy (Incumbent): 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…
- Krista D. Butler (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2020; assigned to the civil jury section of the First Municipal District, hearing lawsuits seeking $30,000 or less, after hearing eviction cases. Injustice Watch reports that she ran…
- Kristal R. Rivers (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2014; hears misdemeanor and traffic cases at the Bridgeview courthouse, where she moved at her request in 2021 after seven years in the Juvenile Justice Division. Injustice Watch reports…
- Kristyna Colleen Ryan (Incumbent): A Circuit Court judge since 2008, hearing civil, misdemeanor, and felony cases in the Fourth Municipal District in Maywood, where she also presides over the mental health and veterans treatment courts. She previously…
- Laura Ayala-Gonzalez (Incumbent): A judge since 2020; hears criminal cases at the George Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago after handling traffic and eviction cases. Injustice Watch reports that in 2024 she presided over the trial of former Chicago…
- Levander Smith, Jr. (Incumbent): 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…
- Lewis Nixon (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2001 and elected in 2002; since 2008 the supervising judge of the mortgage foreclosure and mechanic's lien section of the Chancery Division at the Daley Center. Injustice Watch reports…
- Lorraine Mary Murphy (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2020; hears felony cases and presides over the drug treatment court program at the Skokie courthouse. A judge stays on the bench with a yes from 60 percent of voters.
- Lynn Weaver Boyle (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2019 and elected in 2020; serves in the Chancery Division, handling contract disputes, injunctions, insurance claims, and public records requests. A judge stays on the bench with a yes…
- Marie Aileen Dempsey (Incumbent): Elected from the 10th Subcircuit in 2020; handles pretrial motions in the Law Division at the Daley Center. A judge stays on the bench with a yes from 60 percent of voters.
- Maritza Martinez (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court countywide in 2014; serves in the Domestic Relations Division at the Daley Center, after earlier hearing civil and criminal cases in the First Municipal District. Injustice Watch reports that…
- Mary Catherine Marubio (Incumbent): Selected as an associate judge in 2016 and elected a circuit judge in 2020; now presiding judge of the Second Municipal District in Skokie and deputy chief judge of first appearance court operations, after serving as…
- Maura McMahon Zeller (Incumbent): Elected countywide in 2020; hears cases in the Domestic Relations Division. A judge stays on the bench with a yes from 60 percent of voters.
- Maureen Ward Kirby (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2007 and elected in 2008; since 2023 the presiding judge of the County Division, where she has heard cases since 2009, after earlier hearing orders of protection in the Domestic…
- Megan Elizabeth Goldish (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2014 from the 9th Subcircuit; serves in the Domestic Violence Division, handling criminal cases and orders of protection. Injustice Watch reports that as a felony review prosecutor she…
- Michael A. Forti (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2016 and again in 2018 after losing an election, selected as an associate judge in 2019, and elected a circuit judge in 2020; hears cases in the Domestic Relations Division. Injustice…
- Nichole C. Patton (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2018 and elected in 2020; assigned to the Law Division, presiding over civil trials including medical malpractice and commercial litigation, after earlier serving in the County Division…
- Pamela Reaves-Harris (Incumbent): 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…
- Patricia Maria Fallon (Incumbent): Appointed a judge in 2019 and elected from the 12th Subcircuit in 2020; assigned to the Domestic Relations Division at the Daley Center after hearing civil cases in the First Municipal District. Injustice Watch reports…
- Patricia O'Brien Sheahan (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2014; assigned to the Law Division, hearing civil trials including personal injury, medical malpractice, and products liability cases. Injustice Watch reports that her father-in-law is…
- Patrick Kevin Coughlin (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2014; hears felony cases at the Markham courthouse, where he has spent most of his judicial career. Injustice Watch reports that the appellate court overturned his 38-year sentence for…
- Perla Tirado (Incumbent): Elected in 2020; hears civil jury cases, including evictions and personal injury lawsuits, in the First Municipal District after hearing consumer debt cases in the Early Resolution Program and eviction cases. Injustice…
- Regina A. Mescall (Incumbent): Elected in 2020; hears domestic relations cases at the Bridgeview courthouse after hearing eviction cases and felony preliminary hearings in the First Municipal District. Injustice Watch reports that in 2025 the Illinois…
- Robert D. Kuzas (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2014 from the 7th Subcircuit; hears felony preliminary hearings in branch 44 on Chicago's West Side, after earlier hearing misdemeanor cases in the same courthouse. Injustice Watch reports…
- Sheree D. Henry (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2019 and elected in 2020; hears misdemeanor, traffic, and felony cases at the Maywood Courthouse and has presided over the mental health and veterans treatment courts. A judge stays on…
- Sondra N. Denmark (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2018 and elected in 2020; now a supervising judge in the civil jury section of the First Municipal District, hearing civil lawsuits seeking $30,000 or less. A judge stays on the bench…
- Steven G. Watkins (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2014; a supervising judge in the Criminal Division at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. Injustice Watch reports that Illinois State Police arrested him on a drunken driving…
- Teresa Molina-Gonzalez (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2019 and elected in 2020; hears felony, misdemeanor, and traffic cases at the Maywood Courthouse after hearing small claims and eviction cases in the First Municipal District. Injustice…
- Terrence J. McGuire (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2014; serves in the Probate Division, hearing cases involving the estates and wills of people who have died. A judge stays on the bench with a yes from 60 percent of voters.
- Thomas J. Byrne (Incumbent): A Circuit Court judge since 2008, hearing criminal cases at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago after earlier handling misdemeanor cases. Injustice Watch reports that the Illinois Appellate Court overturned his…
- Thomas J. Carroll (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2011 and elected in 2014; a supervising judge in the misdemeanor section at the Markham courthouse. Injustice Watch reports that he was one of three judges who withdrew from 2012 primary…
- Thomas M. Cushing (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2019 and elected to a full term in 2020; handles civil jury trials in the Law Division after serving in the Domestic Violence Division. Injustice Watch reports that in 2022 the Illinois…
- Tiesha L. Smith (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court countywide in 2020, defeating two candidates including appointed Judge Kerrie Maloney Laytin, the Democratic Party's slated candidate; serves in the Juvenile Justice Division, mainly ruling…
- Tyria B. Walton (Incumbent): Appointed to the Circuit Court in 2019 and elected in 2020; hears criminal cases at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago after handling criminal and traffic cases in Chicago and Maywood. Injustice Watch reports…
- Ursula Walowski (Incumbent): Elected to the Circuit Court in 2008; hears felony cases in the Criminal Division at the George Leighton Criminal Courthouse, after presiding over misdemeanor and felony cases in the Domestic Violence Division. Injustice…