The Illinois Civil Justice League (ICJL) released its list of voter recommendations, which it calls its “judicial scorecard,” for the 2020 primary races.
In the race to fill the Illinois Supreme Court seat being vacated by the retiring Justice Lloyd Karmeier, the ICJL rated Justice David Overstreet 'highly recommended" and Justice John Barberis "recommended."
The two Republicans serve at the Fifth District Appellate Court and face one another in the March 17 primary.
The winner will go on to challenge Justice Judy Cates, a Democrat, in the November General Election. She was not rated by the ICJL.
"While both judges (Overstreet and Barberis) have served well on the Appellate Court and support a strict constructionist view of the law, we believe Judge Overstreet has distinguished himself and has earned a highly recommended rating because of the universal respect he has earned from attorneys in the Fifth District," ICJL president John Pastuovic said in prepared statement.
The scorecard evaluates candidates on a number of criteria and offers recommendations to voters on which candidates they should feel comfortable supporting.
For candidates running for the vacancy created by the retirement of Fifth District Appellate Court Justice Melissa Chapman, the ICJL rated Appellate Justice Mark Boie, a Republican, and Circuit Judge Sarah Smith, a Democrat, as "highly recommended."
The ICJL did not rate attorney Katherine Ruocco, a Republican who will square off against Boie in next week's primary.
In a Madison County Circuit Court race for a vacancy left by the retirement of judge Dave Hylla, the ICJL rated Republican candidate Amy Maher "highly recommended."
It did not rate State's Attorney Tom Gibbons, a Democrat.
In its press release, the ICJL says that it "strictly does not factor partisanship into its ratings, but does research factors relating to external influences from special interests on the civil justice system."
It notes that it reserves the right to take "no position" on a candidate or judge who has returned a questionnaire. A "not recommended" is given to candidates or judges who have campaigns or judicial records "that have left the ICJL with questions about the integrity, impartiality, fairness, or conduct of the candidate, judge, or their campaign."
On its website, the ICJL also includes results of the Illinois State Bar Association recommendations in Illinois judicial races.
The ISBA judicial evaluation rated Overstreet and Cates "highly recommended," and Barberis "not recommended."
It rated Boie and Smith "highly recommended" and Ruocco "not recommended."
In the race for the Hylla vacancy, the ISBA poll rated Maher and Gibbons "recommended."