Next month, voters will be tasked with electing Cook County Circuit Judges in addition to casting a ballot in the general election, including the heated gubernatorial race.

Why is this important? Judges make decisions on topics that affect people’s daily lives, including education, health care, housing, employment, discrimination and civil rights.

“Judges have an enormous amount of power. Think about the types of cases they preside over,” said Gerry Saltarelli, who chaired the judicial evaluation committee of the Chicago Bar Association. “They make decisions that are very important. They should be good people and voters should exercise some intelligence when voting.”

There are 61 judges running for retention, including one for the Illinois Supreme Court and one for the Illinois Appellate Court. Judges who are elected to the Cook County Circuit court have to stand for retention every six years.

In order to be retained, a judge must receive at least 60 percent of the vote. If a judge does not receive 60 percent of the vote he or she will be out of a position, said Saltarelli. “Although, I don’t know if that’s ever happened.”

To help voters navigate the options, the Chicago Bar Association, Chicago Council of Lawyers and Illinois State Bar Association have evaluated whether sitting judges seeking retention within Cook County should remain in his or her present office. All of those judges received unanimous support from the bar associations except for the following circuit court judges:

Kathy M. FlanaganJames M. VargasMaura Slattery BoyleMatthew E. CoghlanAndrea M. SchleiferLionel Jean-BaptisteLisa Ann Marino

The three bar associationshave also screened and ranked each of the 44 judicial candidates.Those who receive the most votes in their respective races will be elected.

The Chicago Bar Association evaluated judges based on integrity, legal knowledge, legal ability, professional experience, judicial temperament, diligence, punctuality and health factors. Candidates were ranked as “highly qualified,” “qualified,” or “not recommended.”

The Chicago Council of Lawyers evaluated a candidate’s ability to serve on the relevant court in the following categories: fairness (including sensitivity to diversity and bias), legal knowledge and skills (competence), integrity, experience, diligence, impartiality, judicial temperament, respect for the rule of law, independence from political and institutional influences, professional conduct, character and community service.

Based on CCL evaluations, candidates were rated as “qualified,” “well qualified,” “highly qualified” and “not qualified.” Candidates who did not participate in the evaluation process were rated as “not recommended.”

The Illinois State Bar Association conducted a detailed background investigation and an in-person interview of each candidate. Candidates were rated “qualified,” “highly qualified” or “not qualified.”

(Get a printer-friendly version of the list here.)

Note: Some judges received mixed ratings. Not all judges who are running are listed.

Ranked ‘Not Qualified’ or‘Not Recommended’...

... byall three bar associations:

Shannon P. O'Malley –13thSubcircuit, Lawrence vacancyBeatriz A. Frausto-Sandoval –14thSubcircuit, Garcia vacancy

... byany of the three bar associations:

Peter Michael Gonzalez – Cook County Circuit Court, McGinnis vacancyArthur Wesley Willis – 2nd Subcircuit, Turner vacancyMarian Emily Perkins – 5th Subcircuit, Jones vacancyLinda Perez – 6th Subcircuit, Cepero vacancyDaniel Patrick Fitzgerald – 13th Subcircuit, Lawrence vacancyChristine Svenson – 13th Subcircuit, O'Donnell vacancyKarla Marie Fiaoni – 15th Subcircuit, Zelezinski vacancy

Ranked ‘Qualified’ or higher by all three bar associations:

Kathryn Maloney Vahey –Cook County Circuit Court, Brewer vacancyKathleen Theresa Lanahan –Cook County Circuit Court, Clay vacancyTom Sam Sianis –Cook County Circuit Court, Dooling vacancyRosa Maria Silva–Cook County Circuit Court, Egan vacancyThomas F. McGuire –Cook County Circuit Court, Dunford vacancyPreston Jones Jr. –Cook County Circuit Court, Flanagan vacancyCecilia Anne Horan –Cook County Circuit Court, Hartigan vacancyClare Quish–Cook County Circuit Court, Jordan vacancyJohn Joseph "Jack" Hagerty–Cook County Circuit Court, Rooney vacancyErika Orr–1st Subcircuit, Hambright, Jr. vacancyTiana Ellis Blakely– 2ndSubcircuit, Lampkin vacancyAdrienne Elaine Davis– 2ndSubcircuit, Laws vacancyToya T. Harvey– 2ndSubcircuit, Rhodes vacancyIeshia Gray– 2ndSubcircuit, Turner Jr. vacancyDebra A. Seaton– 2ndSubcircuit, Willis vacancyKevin Patrick Cunningham– 3rdSubcircuit, Delehanty vacancyDavid R. Navarro– 4thSubcircuit, Davy vacancyElizabeth Ciaccia-Lezza– 4thSubcircuit, Riley vacancyH. Yvonne Coleman– 5thSubcircuit, Banks vacancyRobert Harris– 5thSubcircuit, Washington, II vacancyKent Delgado – 6thSubcircuit, Chevere vacancyAndrea Michelle Webber – 6thSubcircuit, Cooke vacancyJames "Jamie" Shapiro –8thSubcircuit, Fabri vacancyLindsay Huge –8thSubcircuit, Liu vacancyJeanne Marie Wrenn –8thSubcircuit, Pethers vacancyStephanie Saltouros – 10thSubcircuit, O'Neill Burke vacancyColleen Reardon Daly –10thSubcircuit, Suriano vacancyJoanne F. Rosado –11thSubcircuit, Kennedy vacancyDavid Studenroth –12thSubcircuit, Maki vacancyJoel Chupack –12thSubcircuit, Maki vacancyGary W. Seyring –13thSubcircuit, Crane vacancyKetki "Kay" Steffen –13thSubcircuit, Crane vacancySamuel J. Betar III –13thSubcircuit, O'Donnell vacancyMichael B. Barrett –15thSubcircuit, Scully Jr.vacancyScott McKenna –15thSubcircuit, Zelezinski vacancy

​Note: This story was first published Oct. 15, 2018. It has been updated.

Related stories:

2018 Voters’ Guide to the General Election

AARP Illinois Survey Shows Voter Anger Over State Fiscal Crisis

Trump Finds Kanye West ‘Impressive’ at White House Lunch