Voters in Madison and St. Clair counties and beyond will pick judicial candidates who have received good marks from the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) and from lawyers who rated them in the association's advisory poll.
The ISBA released its findings on Thursday.
In the race for Supreme Court in southern Illinois' Fifth Judical District, Justices Judy Cates and David Overstreet were both "highly recommended" in the ISBA's judicial evaluation process.
Cates, Democrat, and Overstreet, Republican, are seated at the Fifth District Appellate Court. They seek to fill the vacancy being created by the upcoming retirement of Justice Lloyd Karmeier.
Cates was first elected to the Fifth District in 2012. Overstreet was elected to the Fifth District in 2018, but also served there by appointment from February 2017 on, and was a circuit judge in the Second Judicial Circuit since 2007.
In the race for Fifth District Appellate Court to fill the vacancy of retired Justice Melissa Chapman, candidates Mark Boie and Sarah Smith also were highly recommended.
Boie, Republican, has served at the Fifth District by appointment since May 2019, and before then was a Union County circuit judge first elected in 2000. Smith is a Madison County circuit judge first elected in 2018.
Fifth District Appellate Court Justice Thomas Welch, 81, who has served there since 1980 is seeking retention to a fifth 10-year term. Welch, a Republican, received a "yes" recommendation in the ISBA judicial evaluation.
According to the ISBA, the evaulation process for election or retention to the supreme and appellate courts includes a detailed background investigation by members of the ISBA Judicial Evaluations Committee, an in-person interview of candidates, followed by a rating that also includes options of "recommended" and "not recommended" in races for vacancies. For judges seeking retention, the ISBA issues a "yes" or "no" on recommendation.
All judicial candidates, whether they're seeking higher office, retention or office for the first time, are evaluated in an advisory poll conducted electronically and by mail. Ballots are sent to all ISBA members in the circuit or district from which a candidate seeks election (aside from Cook County). Attorneys who are not ISBA members or any Illinois licensed attorney outside the circuit or district may also request a ballot.
In the advisory poll candidates are rated as "recommended" or "not recommended" based on whether attorney evaluators agree that the candidate meets acceptable requirements for the office. Candidates who receive at least 65 percent "yes" responses to the "meets requirement" question are recommended. The percentage is calculated by the number of yes responses to each question, according to the ISBA. "No opinion" responses are not included in the calculation.
All judges or candidates for circuit court judge were recommended in advisory polls.
Two races are competitive in Madison County, situated in the Third Judicial Circuit which also includes Bond County.
Associate Judge Stephen Stobbs, Republican, faces Glen Carbon attorney Leslie Ann Wood, Democrat, for the vacancy created by the retirement of resident circuit judge Andreas Matoesian.
State's Attorney Tom Gibbons, Democrat, faces attorney Amy Maher, Republican, for the vacancy created by the retirement of resident circuit judge Dave Hylla.
On the ballot for retention in the Third Judicial Circuit are circuit judges Dennis Ruth and Richard Tognarelli, both seeking their third six-year terms.
In the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, Monroe County State's Attorney Chris Hitzemann, Republican, is running unopposed for the vacancy created by the retirement of circuit judge Dennis Doyle.
For retention are resident circuit judges Stephen McGlynn of St. Clair County and James Campanella of Perry County.
McGlynn, Republican, awaits Senate confirmation of his nomination by President Trump to serve at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
To see how the judges seeking higher office, retention, or the bench for first time were rated, click here.