Illinois Supreme Court elections
From Judgepedia
Contents |
Illinois Supreme Court justices are chosen in partisan elections for ten-year terms on the bench. The justices are elected or chosen from one of the five Supreme Court judicial districts in the state. The First District, which is Cook County, elects three of the state's justices. The four remaining districts each choose one justice.
The seven justices are elected to subsequent terms, if they wish to remain on the court, in uncontested, non-partisan retention elections; in these retention elections they must win at least 60% of the vote in order to be retained.
If a justice of the court was originally appointed to his or her position in order to fill a between-elections vacancy, that justice must run for a full term at the next general election that is more than sixty days after the appointment.[1]
Of the seven justices currrently serving on the Illinois Supreme Court, four were elected on the Democratic ticket and three on the Republican ticket.
2008
Anne Burke, a Democrat who was first appointed to her position on the court in 2006 to fill the seat vacated by Mary Ann McMorrow, ran unopposed. She won this election with 1,521,306 votes from Cook County.[2]
2004
The 2004 race for a seat on the Illinois Supreme Court was one of the most expensive state Supreme Court elections ever held. Illinois Appellate Judge Gordon Maag and his opponent Lloyd Karmeier combined to raise $9.3 million in political contributions. This was nearly double the previous national record for a state judicial election.[3]
External links
References
- ↑ American Judicature Society: Judicial selection in the states: Illinois
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections vote total for Anne Burke
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice Blog, "The True Cost of Expensive Court Seats", March 6, 2006
