Circuit Court of Cook County Announces Shortlist for Associate Judge Finalists
The Circuit Court of Cook County officially announced the shortlist of candidates under consideration to fill seven associate judge vacancies. Out of 74 interviewees, the court Nominating Committee have approved 14 legal professionals for the shortlist.
Below are the names of the candidates considered:
Matthew J. Canna
Juanishá N. Dotson
Caroline K. Kwon
Tene McCoy Cummings
Daniel T. Madigan
Alexander D. Marks
Gregory T. Mitchell
Mona Naser
Ginger L. Odom
Nickolas G. Pappas
Julia B. Ramirez
Anthony Ruffin
Linda Sackey
Smith Spencer
The Nominating Committee, composed of Chief Judge Charles Beach and 10 judges across the county judiciary, unanimously approved the candidates.
For associate judges’ applications, the Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening conducted extensive and independent reviews for each application. The Alliance included the Arab American Bar Association of Illinois, Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area, Black Men Lawyers’ Association, Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Chicago Council of Lawyers, Cook County Bar Association, Decalogue Society of Lawyers, Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association, Puerto Rican Bar Association, and Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.
According to the Circuit Court press release, filling these judicial vacancies is imperative to addressing the county’s ongoing judge shortage. In the coming weeks, shortlisted candidates will meet with the circuit court to present their credentials as the next stage of the consideration process.
