2012 Illinois judicial elections

2012 Illinois judicial elections

November 6, 2012

The 2012 Illinois judicial elections consisted of both partisan and retention elections, including those one seat of the Supreme Court of Illinois for ten seats in the Illinois Appellate Court.[1] Primary elections were held on March 20, 2012, and general elections were held on November 6, 2012.[1] These elections were part of the 2012 Illinois elections.

Supreme Court of Illinois

Justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois are elected by district. One seat held a partisan election, while another held a retention election.

The court has seven seats total separated into five districts. The first district, representing Cook County, contains three seats, making it a multi-member district, while other four districts are single-member districts.[2] Justices hold ten year terms.[2]

1st district

In October 2010, Democrat Mary Jane Theis was appointed by the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald.[3] Theis successfully ran for election to fill this seat for a full term.

Democratic primary

Supreme Court of Illinois 1st district Democratic primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Jane Theis (incumbent)	193,863	48.37
	Democratic	Joy Cunningham	91,639	22.87
	Democratic	Aurelia Marie Pucinski	85,554	21.35
	Democratic	Thomas W. Flannigan	29,708	7.41
Total votes			537,239	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the primary for the Republican nomination. Republicans ultimately nominated James Gerard Riley.[4]

General election

Supreme Court of Illinois 1st district election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Jane Theis (incumbent)	1,333,122	74.72
	Republican	James Gerard Riley	451,039	25.28
Total votes			1,784,161	100

The court has seven seats total separated into five districts. The first district contains three seats (making it a multi-member district), while other four districts are single-member districts.[2] Justices hold ten year terms.[2]

Retention elections

To be retained, judges were required to have 60% of their vote be "yes".

District	Incumbent					Vote[5]		Cite
	Party		Name	In office since	Previous years elected/retained	Yes (Retain)	No (Remove)
3rd		Republican	Rita B. Garman	February 1, 2001	2002 (elected)	389,891 (82.81%)	80,929 (17.19%)	[6][7]

Illinois Appellate Court

Illinois Appellate Court justices hold ten-year terms.[2]

1st district (Cahill vacancy)

A vacancy was created by the death of Robert Cahill.[8] Matthias William Delort was elected to fill the judgeship.[9] This was a regular election, as Cahill's term would have ended in 2012.[8]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Matthias William Delort, Cook County Circuit Court judge[9]
• Mary Brigid Hayes, member of the Village of La Grange Park Police Commission[10]
• Kay Marie Hanlon, Northfield Township trustee[11]
• Pamela E. Hill-Veal, Cook County Circuit Court judge[12]
• James Michael McGing, 1992 Democratic nominee for Illinois State Senate 7th district[13][14]
• Laura Marie Sullivan, Cook County Circuit Court judge[15]

Results

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Cahill vacancy) Democratic primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matthias William Delort	90,855	24.82
	Democratic	Pamela E. Hill-Veal	83,463	22.80
	Democratic	Laura Marie Sullivan	65,293	17.84
	Democratic	Mary Brigid Hayes	57,909	15.82
	Democratic	James Michael McGing	34,353	9.38
	Democratic	Kay Marie Hanlon	34,215	9.35
Total votes			366,088	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the primary for the Republican nomination.[4]

General election

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Cahill vacancy) election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matthias William Delort	1,381,611	100
Total votes			1,381,611	100

1st district (Coleman vacancy)

A vacancy was created when Sharon Johnson Coleman stepped down in order to accept a position on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.[16][17] Nathaniel Roosevelt Howse, Jr. was elected to fill the judgeship.[16] Before being elected to this judgeship, Howse had already been serving on the Appellate Court, having been appointed to a different 1st district judgeship in August 2009, after the retirement of Denise M. O'Malley.[18] This was a regular election, as Coleman's term would have ended in 2012.

Democratic primary

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Coleman vacancy) Democratic primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nathaniel Roosevelt Howse, Jr.	242,772	100
Total votes			242,772	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the primary for the Republican nomination.[4]

General election

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Coleman vacancy) election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Nathaniel Roosevelt Howse, Jr.	1,334,521	100
Total votes			1,334,521	100

1st district (Gallagher vacancy)

A vacancy was created when Michael Gallagher retired.[19][20] P. Scott Neville Jr. was elected to fill the judgeship.[16] Before being elected to this judgeship, Neville had already been serving on the Appellate Court, having been served as an appointed member of the first district since 2004.[19][21]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• P. Scott Neville Jr., Illinois Appellate Court judge
• Marguerite Quinn, Cook County Circuit Court judge[22]
• Patrick J. Sherlock, Cook County Circuit Court judge[23]

Results

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Gallagher vacancy) Democratic primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	P. Scott Neville, Jr.	159,170	44.30
	Democratic	Marguerite Quinn	119,865	33.36
	Democratic	Patrick J. Sherlock	80,256	22.34
Total votes			359,291	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the primary for the Republican nomination.[4]

General election

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Gallagher vacancy) election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	P. Scott Neville, Jr.	1,306,485	100
Total votes			1,306,485	100

1st district (O'Brien vacancy)

A vacancy was created when Sheila O'Brien retired in 2011.[24][25] Jesse G. Reyes was elected to fill the judgeship.[24]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• William Stewart Boyd, Cook County Circuit Court judge[26]
• Ellen L. Flannigan, Cook County Circuit Court judge[27]
• Rodolfo "Rudy" Garcia, Illinois Appellate Court judge[28]
• Jesse G. Reyes, Cook County Circuit Court judge[29]
• Don R. Sampen, former Illinois assistant attorney general[30]

Results

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (O'Brien vacancy) Democratic primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jesse G. Reyes	120,390	33.04
	Democratic	William Stewart Boyd	93,912	25.77
	Democratic	Ellen L. Flannigan	80,668	22.14
	Democratic	Rodolfo "Rudy" Garcia	45,539	12.5
	Democratic	Don R. Sampen	23,873	6.55
Total votes			364,382	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the primary for the Republican nomination.[4]

General election

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (O'Brien vacancy) election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jesse G. Reyes	1,317,266	100
Total votes			1,317,266	100

1st district (Theis vacancy)

A vacancy was created when Mary Jane Theis was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court in 2010.[31] Maureen Connors, who had been appointed in October 2010 to fill the judgeship until a permanent occupant would be elected in 2012, was elected to permanently fill the judgeship.[32]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Maureen Connors, incumbent occupant of the judgeship[32]

Results

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Theis vacancy) Democratic primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maureen Elizabeth Connors (incumbent)	325,268	100
Total votes			325,268	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the primary for the Republican nomination.[4]

General election

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Theis vacancy) election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maureen Elizabeth Connors (incumbent)	1,316,225	100
Total votes			1,316,225	100

1st district (Tully vacancy)

A vacancy was created when John Tully retired on December 31, 2009.[33][34] Terrance J. Lavin, who had been appointed on February 1, 2010, to fill the judgeship until a permanent occupant would be elected in 2012, was elected to permanently fill the judgeship.[34]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Terrence J. Lavin, incumbent occupant of the judgeship[32]

Results

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Tully vacancy) Democratic primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Terrence J. Lavin (incumbent)	319,241	100
Total votes			319,241	100

Republican primary

No candidates ran in the primary for the Republican nomination.[4]

General election

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Tully vacancy) election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Terrence J. Lavin (incumbent)	1,280,939	100
Total votes			1,280,939	100

2nd district (O'Malley vacancy)

A vacancy was created when Jack O'Malley retired on December 3, 2010.[35] Joseph Birkett, who had been appointed on fill the judgeship until a permanent occupant would be elected in 2012, was elected to permanently fill the judgeship.[36]

Democratic primary

No candidates ran in the primary for the Democratic nomination.[4]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Joseph Birkett, incumbent occupant of the judgeship[36]

Results

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (O'Malley vacancy) Republican primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Birkett (incumbent)	259,025	100
Total votes			259,025	100

General election

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (O'Malley vacancy) election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joe Birkett (incumbent)	946,823	100
Total votes			946,823	100

4th district (Myerscough vacancy)

A vacancy was created when Sue E. Myerscough left her judgeship in the Illinois Appellate Court's 4th district to become a judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois in February 2010.[37] Carol Pope was elected to fill the judgeship.[38] Before being elected to this judgeship, Pope had already been serving on the Illinois Appellate Court's, having been appointed to a different 4th district judgeship in December 2008.[38]

Democratic primary

No candidates ran in the primary for the Democratic nomination.[4]

Republican primary

Candidates

• Carol Pope, Illinois Appellate Court judge[38]

Results

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Myerscough vacancy) Republican primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Carol Pope	115,826	100
Total votes			115,826	100

General election

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Myerscough vacancy) election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Carol Pope	428,665	100
Total votes			428,665	100

5th district (Donovan vacancy)

A vacancy was created when James Donovan retired on December 2, 2012.[39] Judy Cates was elected to fill the judgeship.[40]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Judy Cates, attorney and former St. Clair County state's attorney[40]

Results

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Donovan vacancy) Democratic primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Judy Cates	52,050	100
Total votes			52,050	100

Republican primary

Candidates

• Stephen P. McGlynn, Illinois 20th Judicial Circuit judge and former Illinois Appellate Court judge[41]

Results

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Donovan vacancy) Republican primary[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stephen McGlynn	79,925	100
Total votes			79,925	100

General election

Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (Donovan vacancy) election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Judy Cates	283,926	52.09
	Republican	Stephen McGlynn	261,170	47.91
Total votes			545,096	100

Retention elections

To be retained, judges were required to have 60% of their vote be "yes".

District	Incumbent					Vote[5]		Cite
	Party		Name	In office since	Previous years elected/retained	Yes (Retain)	No (Remove)
1st		Democratic	James Fitzgerald Smith	December 2, 2002	2002 (elected)	1,058,999 (79.81%)	267,955 (20.19%)	[4][42]
3rd		Democratic	Tom M. Lytton	December 7, 1992	1992 (elected), 2002 (retained)	521,146 (79.72%)	132,560 (20.28%)	[14][43]
3rd		Republican	Daniel L. Schmidt	December 2002	2002 (elected)	524,061 (80.40%)	127,776 (19.60%)	[4][44]
4th		Republican	John Turner	June 2001	2002 (elected)	377,311 (82.10%)	82,273 (17.90%)	[4][45]
5th		Democratic	Melissa Ann Chapman	September 2001	2002 (elected)	370,011 (73.76%)	131,601 (26.24%)	[46]

Lower courts

See also: 2012 Cook County, Illinois elections § Judicial elections

Lower courts also saw judicial elections.

References

1. "Illinois judicial elections, 2012". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
2. "Illinois Constitution - Article VI". www.ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
3. "JUSTICE MARY JANE THEIS TO BECOME NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT" (PDF). Illinois Courts. October 25, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
4. "Election Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
5. "GE2012Tot_637565023638040551". State of Illinois. 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
6. "Judicial candidates Anderson, Glenn endorsed". Charleston Times-Courier. October 30, 1998 – via NewsBank.
7. "Rita Garman". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
8. "Robert Cahill (Illinois)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
9. "Mathias W. Delort". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
10. "Mary Brigid Hayes -- 1st Appellate - Cahill Vacancy -- Chicago Tribune editorial board questionnaire". primaries2012.elections.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
11. "Kay Marie Hanlon -- 1st Appellate - Cahill Vacancy -- Chicago Tribune editorial board questionnaire". primaries2012.elections.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
12. "Pamela Hill-Veal". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
13. "James Michael McGing -- 1st Appellate - Cahill Vacancy -- Chicago Tribune editorial board questionnaire". primaries2012.elections.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
14. "State of Illinois official vote cast at the general election ." Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
15. "Laura Sullivan". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
16. "Nathaniel R. Howse". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
17. "Sharon Coleman". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
18. "M.R.1062" (PDF). State of Illinois Supreme Court. May 11, 2009. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
19. "P. Scott Neville". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
20. "Michael Gallagher". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
21. "Appellate Court gets Hartigan replacement". Chicago Tribune. June 11, 2004. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
22. "Marguerite Quinn: Candidate Profile". Daily Herald. January 31, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
23. "Patrick J. Sherlock". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
24. "Jesse G. Reyes". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
25. "Sheila O'Brien". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
26. "William Stewart Boyd -- 1st Appellate - O'Brien Vacancy -- Chicago Tribune editorial board questionnaire". primaries2012.elections.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
27. "Ellen L. Flannigan -- 1st Appellate - O'Brien Vacancy -- Chicago Tribune editorial board questionnaire". primaries2012.elections.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
28. "Rodolfo (Rudy) Garcia -- 1st Appellate - O'Brien Vacancy -- Chicago Tribune editorial board questionnaire". primaries2012.elections.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
29. "Judge Jesse G. Reyes for Illinois First District Appellate Court in Illinois". trellis.law. Trellis. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
30. "Don R. Sampen -- 1st Appellate - O'Brien Vacancy -- Chicago Tribune editorial board questionnaire". primaries2012.elections.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
31. "Mary Jane Theis". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
32. "Maureen Connors". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
33. "John Tully". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
34. "Terrence J. Lavin". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
35. "Jack O'Malley (Illinois)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
36. "Joseph Birkett". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
37. "Sue Myerscough". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
38. "Carol Pope". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
39. "James Donovan". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
40. "Judy Cates". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
41. "Stephen P. McGlynn". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
42. "James Fitzgerald Smith". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
43. "Tom Lytton". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
44. "Daniel Schmidt". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
45. "John W. Turner". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
46. "Melissa Chapman". Ballotpedia. Retrieved May 13, 2021.