2020 Illinois judicial elections

The 2020 Illinois judicial elections consists of both partisan and retention elections, including those for three seats on the Supreme Court of Illinois and 10 seats in the Illinois Appellate Court.[1][2] Primary elections were held on March 17, 2020, and general elections will be held on November 3, 2020. These elections are part of the 2020 Illinois elections.

2020 Illinois judicial elections
November 3, 2020
Elections in Illinois

Supreme Court of Illinois

Justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois are elected by district. Two seats will be holding partisan elections, while another will be holding a retention election. On the Supreme Court of Illinois, seats occupied by previously-elected justices will see retention elections, while races with justices not previously elected (whether the seat is vacant or filled by an appointee) will see competitive partisan elections.

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.[3] Justices hold ten year terms.[3]

1st district

One of the three seats from the 1st district is up for a partisan election. Incumbent P. Scott Neville Jr. was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2018 to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Charles E. Freeman. This is a regularly-scheduled election (Freeman's term would have ended in December 2020).

Democratic primary
Supreme Court of Illinois 1st district Democratic primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic P. Scott Neville Jr. (incumbent) 214,066 26.25
Democratic Jesse G. Reyes 165,344 20.27
Democratic Shelly A. Harris 123,166 15.10
Democratic Cynthia Y. Cobbs 103,497 12.69
Democratic Margaret Stanton McBride 101,475 12.44
Democratic Daniel Epstein 66,762 8.19
Democratic Nathaniel R. Howse 41,205 5.05
Total votes 815,515

Republican primary

No candidates were included on the ballot in the Republican primary. While an official write-in candidate did run, he did not receive a sufficient number of votes to win nomination.

Results
Supreme Court of Illinois 1st district Republican primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Write-in Richard Mayers 22 100
Total votes 22 100

General election
Supreme Court of Illinois 1st district election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic P. Scott Neville Jr. (incumbent)
Total votes

5th district

Lloyd Karmeier, a Republican, retired on December 6, 2019, leaving the seat vacant until the election. This is a regularly-scheduled election (Karmeier's term would have ended in December 2020). Three members of the Illinois Appellate Court from the 5th district chose to run; John B. Barberis, Jr, Judy Cates, and David K. Overstreet.[5]

Democratic primary
Supreme Court of Illinois 5th district Democratic primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Judy Cates 85,117 100
Total votes 85,117 100

Republican primary
Supreme Court of Illinois 5th district Republican primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican David K. Overstreet 77,438 76.51
Republican John B. Barberis Jr. 23,777 23.49
Total votes 101,215

General election
Supreme Court of Illinois 5th district election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Judy Cates
Republican David K. Overstreet
Total votes

Retention elections

The 3rd district seat is held by Thomas L. Kilbride, a Democrat first elected to the Supreme Court in 2000.

In the 2nd district, Robert R. Thomas, a Republican, was scheduled to have retention election. However, he retired February 29, 2020. On March 1, 2020, Michael J. Burke assumed his seat, and will hold it until a special election in 2022.[1][6]

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

District Incumbent Vote
Party Name In office since Previous years elected/retained Yes
(Retain)		 No
(Remove)
3rd Democratic Thomas L. Kilbride December 4, 2000 2000 (elected), 2010 (retained)

Illinois Appellate Court

Illinois Appellate Court justices hold ten-year terms.[3]

1st district (1st division)

Incumbent John C. Griffin was appointed in May 2018 following the retirement of John B. Simon.[7] This is a special election for a four-year term, as Simon's term would not have ended until 2024.[7] Griffin ran for reelection, but was unseated in the Democratic primary by Sharon Oden-Johnson.

Democratic primary
Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (1st division) Democratic primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sharon Oden-Johnson 395,022 52.44
Democratic John C. Griffin (incumbent) 358,226 47.56
Total votes 753,248 100

Republican primary

The Republican primary was cancelled.[2] No candidates had filed.

General election
Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (1st division) election[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sharon Oden-Johnson
Total votes

1st district (3rd division)

Incumbent Michael Hyman was appointed in 2018 to fill the vacancy left when P. Scott Neville Jr. resigned this seat to assume a seat on the Supreme Court of Illinois.

Democratic primary
Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (3rd division) Democratic primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael B. Hyman (incumbent) 273,898 35.51
Democratic Sandra Gisela Ramos 207,989 26.96
Democratic Maureen Patricia O'Leary 159,423 20.67
Democratic Carolyn Gallagher 130,067 16.86
Total votes 771,377 100

Republican primary

No candidates were included on the ballot in the Republican primary. While an official write-in candidate did run, he did not receive a sufficient number of votes to win nomination.

Results
Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (3rd division) Republican primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Write-in Richard Mayers 21 100
Total votes 21 100

General election
Illinois Appellate Court 1st district (3rd division) election[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael Hyman (incumbent)
Total votes

5th district

Incumbent Mark M. Boie was appointed in May 1, 2019.

Democratic primary
Illinois Appellate Court 5th district Democratic primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sarah Smith 84,509 100
Total votes 84,509 100

Republican primary
Illinois Appellate Court 5th district Republican primary[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark M. Boie (incumbent) 52,619 54.4
Republican Katherine Ruocco 44,011 45.55
Total votes 96,630

General election
Illinois Appellate Court 5th district election[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark M. Boie (incumbent)
Democratic Sarah Smith
Total votes

Retention elections

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

District Incumbent Vote Cite
Party Name In office since Previous years elected/retained Yes
(Retain)		 No
(Remove)
1st Democratic Shelvin Louise Marie Hall February 2, 1999 2000 (elected), 2010 (retained) [8][9][10]
Democratic Aurelia Marie Pucinski December 6, 2010 2010 (elected) [11][12][13]
Democratic Mary Katherine Rochford December 6, 2010 2010 (elected) [12][13][14]
2nd Republican Ann B. Jorgensen July 2008 2010 (elected) [12][13][15][16]
Republican Mary Seminara-Schostok August 2008 2010 (elected) [12][13][17][18]
3rd Democratic Mary McDade December 4, 2000 2000 (elected), 2010 (retained) [9][10][19]
5th Republican Thomas Welch December 1, 1980 1980 (elected), 1990, 2000, 2010 (retained) [20][21]

Lower courts
See also: 2020 Cook County, Illinois elections § Judicial elections

Lower courts will also see judicial elections.

References
  1. "Illinois Supreme Court elections, 2020". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  2. "Illinois intermediate appellate court elections, 2020". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  3. "Illinois Constitution - Article VI". www.ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  4. "Election Results 2020 GENERAL PRIMARY". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  5. White, Jesse (ed.). "Appellate Court Judges". Illinois Blue Book 2019-2020 (PDF). Illinois Secretary of States. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  6. Eggert, Timmothy (28 February 2020). "Illinois Supreme Court's history picking of its own replacements". Chicago Law Bulletin. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  7. Thomas, David (18 April 2018). "Griffin to fill retiring Simon's seat on 1st District Appellate Court". Chicago Law Bulletin. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  8. "Shelvin Louise Marie Hall". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  9. "Election Results 2000 GENERAL PRIMARY". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  10. "Election Results 2000 GENERAL ELECTION". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  11. "Aurelia Pucinski". www.illinoiscourts.gov. Illinois Courts. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  12. "Election Results 2010 GENERAL PRIMARY". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  13. "Election Results 2010 GENERAL ELECTION". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  14. "Mary K. Rochford". www.illinoiscourts.gov. Illinois Courts. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  15. "Ann B. Jorgensen". illinoiscourts.gov. Illinois Courts. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  16. "Ann B. Jorgensen". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  17. "Mary Seminara-Schostok". www.illinoiscourts.gov. Illinois Courts. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  18. "Mary Seminara-Schostok". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  19. "Mary McDade". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  20. "Thomas M. Welch". www.illinoiscourts.gov. Illinois Courts. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  21. Tybor, Joseph R. (26 October 1988). "GOP CANDIDATE FOR HIGH COURT TAKES HIS OWN TRAIL". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
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