In addition to casting a ballot for candidates in heated races, such as the Cook County State’s Attorney and Circuit Court Clerk contests, voters will be tasked with electing Cook County Circuit Court judges during Tuesday's primary.

Why is this important? Judges make lots of decisions that impact voters’ lives on topics such as education, health care, housing, employment, discrimination and civil rights.

To help voters navigate the dozens of candidates running, Chicago and state bar associations screened and ranked candidates based on their qualifications. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, “16 of the 80 candidates got a thumbs-down from the Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Council of Lawyers, which publish the most thorough recommendations.” Among that group, 13 received a thumbs down by all 12 bar associations (see list below).

Listed below are the "recommended" or "qualified" candidates, as well as the "not recommended" or "not qualified" candidates, as determined by 12 local bar associations. It should be noted that the ranking standards and protocols vary among the associations.

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

Ranked 'Recommended,' 'Qualified' or higher by all 12 local bar associations

Aleksandra “Alex” Gillespie – Cook County Circuit Court, Howlett vacancyThomas M. Cushing - Cook County Circuit Court, Howlett vacancyMark A. Lyon – Cook County Circuit Court, Johnson vacancyCarolyn J. Gallagher – Cook County Circuit Court, Johnson vacancyMary Kathleen McHugh – Cook County Circuit Court, Karnezis vacancy Devlin J. Schoop – Cook County Circuit Court, Karnezis vacancy Pat Heneghan – Cook County Circuit Court, Palmer vacancySusan L. Ortiz – Cook County Circuit Court, Palmer vacancyPatrick Joseph Powers – Cook County Circuit Court, Walsh vacancyFredrick H. Bates – Cook County Circuit Court, Walsh vacancyMaryam Ahmad – 1st Subcircuit, Brim vacancyAnthony E. Simpkins – 1st Subcircuit, Hopkins vacancyTravis Richardson – 2nd Subcircuit, Savage vacancyLeonard Murray – 5th Subcircuit, Daniels vacancyAnna Loftus – 6th Subcircuit, Additional Judgeship AEdward J. Underhill – 6th Subcircuit, Additional Judgeship APatricia “Pat” S. Spratt – 7th Subcircuit, Rivkin-Carothers vacancyRosa Silva – 7th Subcircuit, Rivkin-Carothers vacancyJerry Esrig – 9th Subcircuit, Berman vacancyColleen Reardon Daly – 10th Subcircuit, Howard vacancyEve Marie Reilly – 10th Subcircuit, Howard vacancyMichael John Malatesta – 10th Subcircuit, Howard vacancyRichard “Rick” Carter – 10th Subcircuit, Howard vacancyMarc Martin – 11th Subcircuit, Kelly vacancy Louis George Apostol – 12th Subcircuit, Kazmierski vacancyMarguerite Anne Quinn – 12th Subcircuit, Kazmierski vacancyJennifer E. Bae – 12th Subcircuit, Kazmierski vacancyFrank J. Andreou – 12th Subcircuit, Kazmierski vacancyJames Leonard Allegretti – 12th Subcircuit, Mathein vacancyJames E. Hanlon, Jr. – 12th Subcircuit, Additional Judgeship ASteven A. Kozicki – 12th Subcircuit, Additional Judgeship AKetki “Kay” Steffen – 13th Subcircuit, Fecarotta vacancy

Ranked 'Not recommended' or 'Not qualified' by all 12 local bar associations

Gregory R. LaPapa– Cook County Circuit Court, Johnson vacancyBonnie Carol McGrath – Cook County Circuit Court, Johnson vacancyBrian J. O’Hara – Cook County Circuit Court, Karnezis vacancyMonica M. Torres-Linares – Cook County Circuit Court, Grussel vacancyRhonda Crawford – 1st Subcircuit, Hopkins vacancyD. Renee Jackson – 2nd Subcircuit, Savage vacancy Jameika Mangum – 5th Subcircuit, Daniels vacancyCarlos Claudio – 6th Subcircuit, Additional Judgeship AJennifer Ballard – 7th Subcircuit, Rivkin-Carothers vacancyMable Taylor – 7th Subcircuit, Rivkin-Carothers vacancyJames DiChristofano – 11th Subcircuit, Kelly vacancyAlex Kaplan – 12th Subcircuit, Additional Judgeship AMatthew Link – 14th Subcircuit, Murphy vacancy

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