Races to see who sits on the bench in circuit courts and appellate courts for DuPage and Will counties will be on the ballot come Nov. 5.
Check out which judges are running and where they hope to dole out legal decisions in this ballot recap below.
Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court: DuPage County
Judgeships within the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit in DuPage County are converting to being elected by districts based on residency. So voters — depending on where they live — will see a race for the 1st, 2nd or 3rd subcircuit on their ballot. The 2nd and 3rd subcircuits encompass parts of Naperville, while the 1st is located in the northern part of DuPage County.
In the 2nd Subcircuit, the appointment of Judge Linda E. Davenport to the Third District Appellate Court created a vacancy that two candidates are vying to fill. Jennifer Barron of Naperville, already appointed to serve as a judge in the Eighteenth Circuit, seeks election as a Democrat to the 2nd Subcircuit role. Jae Kwon, an Aurora Republican, is campaigning to win election to the seat. He currently works as a senior assistant state’s attorney in Kane County.
The 3rd Subcircuit vacancy occurred after the retirement of Judge John J. Kinsella in early 2023. Leah Danielle Setzen, a Naperville Democrat, was appointed in 2023 to serve as a judge in the Eighteenth Circuit; she now is running to be elected to the 3rd Subcircuit seat as a Democrat. Hope F. Mercado, a Downers Grove Republican and attorney, also is seeking the seat.
The 1st Subcircuit election will fill a vacancy created by the election of Judge Liam C. Brennan to the Third District Appellate Court. Judge Chantelle Porter is running as a Democrat for the seat. She already was appointed to serve as a judge in the Eighteenth Circuit and now is seeking election to the 1st Subcircuit role. Porter is running unopposed.
Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court: Will County
Will County voters will see an at-large judgeship for the Twelfth Circuit on their ballots to fill the vacancy created by the retirement in July 2023 of Judge Susan O’Leary. Candidates for the seat include Democrat Colette Safford and Republican Art Smigielski.
Judicial retention questions, asking whether a specific judge should continue in his role, also will be on Will County residents’ ballots. Voters can say yes or no to if judges William E. Holdridge, Vincent F. Cornelius and David Garcia should keep their positions. Holdridge serves as an appellate judge in the Third District, and both Cornelius and Garcia are circuit court judges in the Twelfth Circuit.
Third District Appellate Court
Races for three of the seven seats on the the Third District Appellate Court will be on ballots this fall. The Third District is one of five appellate courts in Illinois. Located in Ottawa, the Third District’s region includes DuPage and Will counties as well as five others outside the collar counties.
To fill the vacancy of Judge Tom M. Lytton, two local circuit court judges — Democrat John Anderson of Will County’s Twelfth Circuit and Republican Kenton Skarin of DuPage County’s Eighteenth Circuit — are competing.
Candidates running to fill the vacancy of Judge Mary K. O’Brien include Judge Linda Davenport, a Wheaton Democrat who is running to keep the seat to which she was appointed in December 2022, and Republican Jason Helland, who has served as Grundy County State’s Attorney since 2012.
The final appellate court race is to fill a vacancy of Judge Daniel L. Schmidt. Lance Peterson of Morris, who was appointed to a Third District Appellate seat in August 2022, is running as a Democrat to keep his position, against a challenge from Republican John F. Costello, Jr.
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