March 11, 2020

Blackstone Bicycle Works

Weekly Bike Sale Every Saturday at 12pm Wide selection of refurbished bikes! (most bikes are between $120 & $250)

follow us at @blackstonebikes blackstonebikes.org

Blackstone Bicycle Works is a bustling community bike shop that each year empowers over 200 boys and girls from Chicago’s south side—teaching them mechanical skills, job skills, business literacy and how to become responsible community members. In our year-round ‘earn and learn’ youth program, participants earn bicycles and accessories for their work in the shop. In addition, our youths receive after-school tutoring, mentoring, internships and externships, college and career advising, and scholarships.

Hours Tuesday - Friday 1pm - 6pm 12pm - 5pm Saturday

773 241 5458 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637

A PROGRAM OF

SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY The South Side Weekly is an independent non-profit newspaper by and for the South Side of Chicago. We provide high-quality, critical arts and public interest coverage, and equip and develop journalists, photographers, artists, and mediamakers of all backgrounds.

Volume 7, Issue 13 Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline Serrato Managing Editors Martha Bayne Sam Joyce Sam Stecklow Deputy Editor Jasmine Mithani Senior Editors Julia Aizuss, Christian Belanger, Mari Cohen, Christopher Good, Rachel Kim, Emeline Posner, Adam Przybyl, Olivia Stovicek Politics Editor Jim Daley Education Editor Ashvini Kartik-Narayan, Michelle Anderson Music Editor Atavia Reed Literature Editor Davon Clark Stage & Screen Editor Nicole Bond Visual Arts Editor Rod Sawyer Nature Editor Sam Joyce Food & Land Editor Sarah Fineman Contributing Editors Mira Chauhan, Joshua Falk, Lucia Geng, Carly Graf, Robin Vaughan, Jocelyn Vega, Tammy Xu, Jade Yan Staff Writer

AV Benford

Data Editor Jasmine Mithani Radio Exec. Producer Erisa Apantaku Social Media Editors Grace Asiegbu, Arabella Breck, Maya Holt Director of Fact Checking: Tammy Xu Fact Checkers: Abigail Bazin, Susan Chun, Maria Maynez, Sam Joyce, Elizabeth Winkler Visuals Editor Mell Montezuma Deputy Visuals Editors Siena Fite,

Sofie Lie, Shane Tolentino Photo Editor Keeley Parenteau Staff Photographers: milo bosh, Jason Schumer Staff Illustrators: Siena Fite, Katherine Hill Interim Layout Editor J. Michael Eugenio Deputy Layout Editors Nick Lyon, Haley Tweedell Webmaster Managing Director

Pat Sier Jason Schumer

The Weekly is produced by a mostly all-volunteer editorial staff and seeks contributions from across the city. We distribute each Wednesday in the fall, winter, and spring.

Over the summer we publish every other week.

Send submissions, story ideas, comments, or questions to editor@southsideweekly.com or mail to: South Side Weekly 6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637

IN CHICAGO IN THIS A week’s worth of developing stories, odd events, and signs of the times, culled from the desks, inboxes, and wandering eyes of the editors

Cook County Jail detainees go to the polls for the first time Up to 20,000 pretrial detainees in Illinois jails are eligible to vote in the primary elections, thanks to a new law signed by governor J.B. Pritzker last year. Jail inmates had already been able to vote by mail, but historically, few have taken advantage of that process.

Inmates awaiting trial in Cook County can now register and cast a ballot, with the jail effectively functioning as its own polling precinct supervised by the Chicago Board of Elections, the Cook County Clerk's Office and the Cook County Sheriff 's Office. With a popular presidential campaign and the State’s Attorney race on the line, officials and advocates expect a surge in participation from incarcerated voters.

Chicago Democrats split over presidential nominee On Friday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot endorsed Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential primary, joining Secretary of State Jesse White, Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, six Illinois congresspeople, and a host of Chicago aldermen, state representatives, and suburban mayors. The next day, 4th District congressman Jesús “Chuy” Garcia broke with his colleagues to stand alongside Bernie Sanders in a crowded Grant Park, adding the weight of his political career to a movement already backed by ten progressive aldermen and still more state representatives. In 1988, Sanders was one of only a handful of white politicians to endorse the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s presidential bid; the day after Sanders’s rally last week, Jackson returned the favor, joining Sanders for a rally in Michigan. The fault line in the Democratic primary generally, if not always perfectly, maps on to the progressive-establishment fault lines in city politics. The CTU is officially neutral in the race, but president Jesse Sharkey and vice president Stacy Davis Gates personally back Sanders. On the sidelines still: Toni Preckwinkle and Gov. Pritzker.

CPS to decolonize Columbus Day Chicago Public Schools voted in February to give students the second Monday of October off to observe Indigenous Peoples Day, replacing Columbus Day. The decision comes on the heels of similar changes across the country, seeking to center the lives and legacies of Native peoples who lived on the continent before colonialism and genocide decimated countless tribes. The name change was met with ire from the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans and 38th Ward Alderman Nicholas Sposato, one of two Italian American City Council members, alleging that CPS didn’t follow the requirements of the Open Meetings Act, which states “that [Illinois] citizens shall be given advance notice of and the right to attend all meetings at which any business of a public body is discussed or acted upon in any way.” CPS insists the meeting complied with the law and that the vote was legal. At the core is the national debate over characterizing Columbus’s legacy: murderous rapist or daring explorer lost at sea? Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the city will continue to recognize the holiday as-is, despite a proposed ordinance in City Council and the decision of numerous other cities and states, including Michigan and Wisconsin, that have moved to “decolonize” the day.

ISSUE

south side election guide

south side weekly............................4 meet the candidates

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District south side weekly............................7 conway’s millions

Many of Bill Conway’s donors have ties to Chicago’s entrenched Democratic establishment kiran misra........................................9 meet the candidates

Bill Conway kiran misra and jim daley.............10 running for clean water

“Historically, the district has been a ready source of patronage jobs and inflated contracts.” sam joyce..........................................11 political cartoon

El Machete Illustrated eric j. garcía....................................13 keeping tabs on kim foxx

How well did the State’s Attorney keep her 2016 campaign promises? kiran misra......................................16 contention in the

1st

and

7th

districts

Longtime Black Congressmen go up against upstart challengers south side weekly..........................17 check your judges

Judicial Guide injustice watch..............................18 meet the candidates

Kim Foxx kiran misra and jim daley.............27 bulletin and calendars

Check southsideweekly.com

For advertising inquiries, contact: (773) 234-5388 or advertising@southsideweekly.com

Cover by Mell Montezuna MARCH 11, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 3

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South Side Election Guide

A look at other races on your ballot

BY SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 3RD U.S. HOUSE DISTRICT Activist Rush Darwish Mechanic Charles Hughes U.S. Representative Dan Lipinski Nonprofit executive Marie Newman

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econd time’s the charm? After coming within 2,500 votes of incumbent U.S. Representative Dan Lipinski in 2018, Marie Newman, a former small-business owner and nonprofit executive, is trying once again to win over the Democratic primary voters of the 3rd Congressional District, which includes Bridgeport, parts of Beverly and Mount Greenwood, and several southwest suburbs. On the surface, Lipinski makes an appealing target for any ambitious would-be congressman: one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, Lipinski’s votes against abortion rights, the DREAM Act, and the Affordable Care Act may win him support from anti-abortion groups, but also put him increasingly outside the Democratic mainstream. Newman, accordingly, has taken a similar progressive stance to her last campaign, advocating for Medicare For All and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

While local Democratic ward organizations, including Michael Madigan’s 13th Ward, continue to support Lipinski, he has become a high-profile target for a variety of national progressive groups supporting Newman.

Four major factors are different this time, two likely to help Newman, two to hurt her. The first: her near-success in 2018 made her campaign seem more credible, enticing national and local groups to support her both earlier and more aggressively. In 2018, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and EMILY’s List, two major pro-choice groups, didn’t endorse Newman until February, a month before the election. This time around, both endorsed Newman last May, and have been sending substantial resources to her campaign ever since. She’s won the endorsement of the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board, which endorsed Lipinski 4 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

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in 2018, and several local unions that either backed Lipinski or stayed neutral. Another factor working in Newman’s favor is the presidential primary between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, which might draw out more occasional voters with little loyalty to the ward organizations working on Lipinski’s behalf.

Unlike 2018, however, this year she won’t get a clean shot at Lipinski. Two other candidates, Rush Darwish and Charles Hughes, will also appear on the ballot. Darwish in particular is running a well-funded campaign that could pull anti-Lipinski voters away from Newman.

As a Palestinian American, he may draw strong support from the district’s substantial population of Arab American voters; Newman made substantial inroads with these voters in 2018. (Hughes, a former precinct captain for Lipinski’s father, is running a bare-bones campaign based on $21,000 in loans he made to it.)

The second factor working against Newman is a more complicated one: unlike in 2018, there is no high-profile contest on the Republican side of the ballot. Last cycle, a competitive gubernatorial primary between Bruce Rauner and Jeanne Ives preoccupied Republican voters; despite this, progressive think tank Data for Progress found that enough regular Republican voters crossed over to provide double Lipinski’s margin of victory. This election, with no gubernatorial contest to vote in, more conservatives who usually vote Republican may be tempted to pull a Democratic ballot in order to save their conservative congressman. (Sam Joyce) COOK COUNTY CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT Attorney and former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Michael Cabonargi State Senator Iris Martinez Attorney and activist Jacob Meister

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his year, for the first time this millenium, the Clerk of the Circuit Court seat is up for grabs, after longtime officeholder Dorothy Brown decided to step aside instead of seeking a sixth term. Under Brown, the office was notorious for its technological inefficiency—causing delays and confusion across the court system—and corruption, which earned it an FBI probe. But having a functional court clerk office is important: the office is responsible for legal records across all divisions of the court. Domestic violence victims seeking orders of protection; people seeking to expunge their criminal records; inmates filing wrongful conviction claims; journalists looking for court records; drivers paying traffic tickets—all of these categories of county residents, and many more, must engage with the clerk’s office. All four candidates running to replace Brown have pledged to improve customer service, increase transparency, update the office’s digital system, reduce the burden of fees on customers, and banish corruption. The question for voters, then, is who can best get it done.

With Brown out of the way, the Cook County Democratic Party—which sought to unseat her in 2016, endorsing 8th Ward Alderman Michelle Harris’s halfhearted campaign—choice for the seat is Michael Cabonargi: a commissioner on the county Board of Review, which considers property tax assessment appeals, and a former attorney for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Cabonargi, who also has the Sun-Times’s endorsement, says he’s best equipped to take on the job because of his experience converting to an all-digital system and translating materials into more languages on the Board of Review, but opponents complain he’d be part of the same party corruption, pointing to campaign money he used to receive from property tax appeals law firms before the county banned the practice.

Jacob Meister is mounting his second

campaign for the position; he challenged Brown in 2016 and received endorsements from the Sun-Times and Tribune then.

Meister, a practicing lawyer and founder of the LGBTQ advocacy organization Civil Rights Agenda, frames himself as a political outsider and has a plan to institute opportunities to e-file lawsuits at public libraries around the city. His campaign is largely self-funded. Former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin is also running; endorsed by the Tribune, he proudly celebrates his record of leading the opposition to the pop tax on the County Board and cites his experience growing up in Englewood as a reason he can relate to many of the clerk’s office’s customers.

Finally, Northwest Side state Senator Iris Y. Martinez is the only non-attorney running; she says her priority is to reform the office’s customer service at the front end. (Mari Cohen) 1ST STATE SENATE DISTRICT Educator Froylan “Froy” Jimenez State Senator Antonio “Tony” Muñoz State Senator Antonio "Tony" Muñoz has a viable challenger who is exposing his old ties to elected officials under investigation and to the machine-formed Hispanic Democratic Organization that is long dissolved. CPS teacher Froy Jimenez worked for U.S. Representative Jesús “Chuy” García when he was in the state senate, and claims to represent fresh new leadership—however, he could not secure an endorsement from progressives.

Muñoz has been in office twentytwo years, ever since ousting García with the help of the now-disgraced Hispanic Democratic Organization, and has maintained a relatively low-key public profile. He recently appeared in town halls addressing environmental justice and gun violence, although he skipped multiple candidate forums.

Last month, Muñoz pledged $500,000

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to fund anti-violence programs in a Pilsen meeting co-sponsored by the local CPD commander, 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, state Representative Theresa Mah, and Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya. The incumbent also supported the newly-formed Southwest Environmental Alliance that is holding the MAT Asphalt plant accountable to residents.

According to Jimenez, Muñoz is running a smear campaign, with mailers associating Jimenez with 12th ward Alderman George Cardenas. While Muñoz and Cardenas have a similar HDO-influenced history, they had a falling out at some point in their careers.

Recently, Cardenas was criticized for ushering through the MAT Asphalt plant near McKinley Park and for accepting donations from Novak Construction—the recent buyer of the immigrant-run Discount Mall in Little Village, which reportedly plans to bring in different tenants—through the 12th Ward Democrats PAC, a top Jimenez donor, records show.

Historically, Muñoz has received political support from former state senator Martin Sandoval (who recently pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges), the real estate industry, and clout-heavy corporations like People’s Energy, ComEd, Monsanto, and more recently, Amazon.

Jimenez was García’s chief-of-staff when he was in the state senate, but they, too, had a falling out. Jimenez wrote last year in a press release that he “has chosen to defy the old political establishment in Springfield and what is seen by some as the new Chuy García progressive machine.”

Jimenez’s platform is stressing an end to pay-to-play politics at the state level, local control of TIF funds, term limits, “no red tape” on small businesses, and affordable homeownership.

Democratic Socialist Sigcho-Lopez, whose name or likeness appears in campaign literature for both candidates, will make no endorsement. The district includes Pilsen, Chinatown, Bridgeport, McKinley Park, Gage Park, and Archer Heights. ( Jacqueline Serrato) 13TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT State Senator Robert Peters Attorney Ken Thomas

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ince he was appointed to the lakefront seat in 2019 to replace now-Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Robert Peters has quickly carved out a role as one of Springfield’s most progressive—and most

active—senators. In his first year in the State Senate, Peters was the chief co-sponsor of thirteen bills, all of which passed both chambers and were signed into law. He chairs the Senate’s Special Committee on Public Safety, and several of the co-sponsored bills he passed focus on criminal justice, including banning private detention centers in Illinois and bringing civics education into prisons. Other legislation he shepherded through the Senate include measures to help low-income college students access SNAP benefits, requiring CPS to publicly report their data on class sizes, and funding additional apprenticeships for youth.

Reflecting his progressive platform, Peters, the former political director of grassroots group Reclaim Chicago, has won endorsement from a wide range of labor and grassroots organizing groups, including the Chicago Teachers Union, Planned Parenthood Action Illinois, United Working Families, and the Chicago chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led environmental organization that advocates for the Green New Deal.

His opponent, attorney Ken Thomas, doesn’t take issue with many of Peters’s policy positions; like Peters, Thomas supports ending cash bail and passing the Clean Energy Jobs Act. Thomas has an impressive record of pro bono work, representing defendants in eviction court and at immigrants at O’Hare after Trump’s travel ban, and many of his proposed policies—requiring a verbatim record of all proceedings in eviction court, for instance— draw on this personal experience.

Where Thomas draws a contrast with Peters is their relationship to the political system. At a recent forum hosted by the League of Women Voters (LWV) at the Montgomery Place retirement community in Hyde Park, for instance, Thomas criticized Peters for the process by which he was appointed to the seat, as well as donations Peters received from corporations and special interests like AT&T, Comcast, and the Illinois Realtors Association.

Peters was appointed by the Democratic committeepeople whose wards overlap with the district, rather than elected through a special election to fill the remainder of Raoul’s term.

Peters, for his part, urges voters who might have doubts to evaluate him on his record in office. He notes that the vast majority of his fundraising is from unions and individual donors, and offers the progressive legislation he’s passed as evidence that he’s

not owned by corporate interests. At the LWV forum, he also mentioned that being appointed made him “feel I had to earn this seat,” citing his legislative work—both the bills he’s passed and the issues he wants to work on during his next term—as the primary reason voters should send him back to Springfield. (Sam Joyce) 1ST STATE HOUSE DISTRICT & 14TH WARD DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEEPERSON 14th Ward Alderman and Democratic Committeeperson Ed Burke State Representative Aarón Ortíz Former Burke intern and employee Alicia Elena Martinez

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n the 2018 Democratic primary, Aarón Ortíz ousted Daniel J. Burke—brother to infamous 14th Ward alderman Ed Burke—from the Illinois House of Representatives, where Burke had represented the 1st District, which wraps around Midway Airport on the Southwest Side, since 2013. Burke resigned his seat ten days before Ortiz was sworn in, walking away from the statehouse after nearly thirty years spent downstate (he represented the 23rd District from 1991 to 2013).

Ortíz, at the time of his election a twenty-six-year-old college and career coach at Back of the Yards High School, was backed by U.S. Representative Jesús “Chuy” García. García was once part of the coalition of aldermen who supported Mayor Harold Washington during the Council Wars of the 1980s, when a bloc of white aldermen led by Ed Burke gridlocked the city council rather than cede any power to the city’s first Black mayor. (García has more recently thrown his support behind unsuccessful Burke challenger Tanya Patiño, who is also Ortíz’s girlfriend.)

While in office, Ortíz successfully sponsored legislation that reinstated the right of noncitizen students at the University of Illinois to run for university office as student trustees. He has also sponsored bills that would establish rent control boards, protect undocumented immigrants from eviction based on immigration status, and create a task force to study gang databases.

Now, Ortíz has set his sights on Burke’s 14th Ward Democratic Committeeperson seat. When the Democratic machine was at the height of its power under Richard J. Daley, ward committeemen, as they were then known, were the patronage purveyors who pulled

the strings in all ward-level matters. Though their power has been diminished as the machine’s declined, ward committeepeople still help decide who the Cook County Democratic Party endorses, which gives them some political sway. Should he manage to oust Burke, Ortíz will have dealt a serious blow to what remains of the embattled alderman’s influence.

Ortíz is being challenged in both the congressional and committeeperson primaries by Alicia Elena Martinez— directly, for his state house seat, and indirectly, in what is a likely attempt to draw Latinx votes away from him in the committeeperson race. Martinez, a former intern in Burke’s ward office and former employee of the City Council Finance Committee, which the alderman controlled until he stepped down upon being indicted, also worked for Burke’s reelection campaign last year. Among her backers is Burke ally and 15th Ward Alderman Raymond Lopez, who chairs Martinez’s campaign committee.

Are her dual campaigns a last-gasp kingmaker’s play by Burke? Martinez told the Sun-Times the accusation, which Ortíz leveled at her, was “offensive.” ( Jim Daley) 2ND STATE HOUSE DISTRICT Former research gas specialist Kenneth Kozlar State Representative Theresa Mah Attorney Bobby Martinez Olson

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fter winning a contentious open primary for the state house district representing Chinatown, Pilsen, Bridgeport, and parts of the Southwest Side to become the first Asian-American legislator in the state, progressive Theresa Mah faced no opposition in her first bid for reelection. This time around, she faces two newcomers to electoral politics, as she was when she ran: Kenneth Kozlar, a retired research technician who does not have a campaign committee and told the SunTimes his recent civic work includes giving “gardening advice” and that a state historical figure he admires is former mayor Richard J. Daley—“a people person”; and Bobby Martinez Olson, a twenty-seven-year-old attorney.

Olson—whose platform includes support for the Universal Basic Income proposal championed by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, increased environmental protections, and a lock-emup law-and-order anti-crime plank—has been running an anti-corruption campaign against Mah, attacking her for, among other MARCH 11, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 5

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things, accepting donations from the state Democratic Party, which is controlled by Speaker of the House Michael Madigan.

It’s a tactic regularly used by anti-corruption candidates, often legitimately. The only problem is that Olson has a much more direct tie to Madigan: he was on the speaker’s legal staff for a few months in 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile. (Sam Stecklow) 9TH STATE HOUSE DISTRICT SEIU Healthcare organizer Lakesia Collins Political consultant Ty Cratic Maurice Edwards U.S. Representative Danny Davis aide Nikki Harvey 28th Ward Alderman Jason Ervin chief of staff Trina Mangrum Healthcare consultant Sandra “Sandi Schneller Illinois Housing Development Authority official Aaron Turner

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he retirement of state Representative Art Turner has resulted in a competitive primary in this district, which is based in North Lawndale but stretches to include parts of the West Loop and Lincoln Park. Turner was first elected in 2011, replacing his father, Art Turner Jr., who held the seat for nearly three decades.

Turner’s brother Aaron, who works for the Illinois Housing Development Authority, is running to succeed him. Aaron Turner has the advantage of name recognition and financial support from his brother’s campaign account, but a messy primary may upset any chance of a smooth family handoff. Most labor unions have coalesced behind SEIU Healthcare organizer Lakesia Collins, allowing her to raise more money than her opponents combined—though the manner in which money has flowed from union groups through progressive elected officials to Collins’s campaign account has raised questions.

Five other candidates have also jumped in: Ty Cratic, a political consultant and former aide to 28th Ward Alderman Jason Ervin, Ervin chief of staff Trina Mangrum, Danny Davis aide Nikki Harvey, healthcare consultant Sandra “Sandi” Schneller, and county employee Maurice Edwards. One major difference among the candidates, mentioned in a Block Club Chicago article that covered a candidate’s forum in North Lawndale, is charter schools: Harvey and Cratic advocated for parents to have more choice in deciding which schools their child attends (Cratic also advocated for an elected school board for CPS), while Collins, 6 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

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Mangrum, and Edwards criticized charter schools as a band-aid that fail to directly address the problem of underfunded schools.

They also differed on the best strategies to address gun violence: Mangrum promoted policing programs like CAPS, while Harvey and Turner focused on gun control measures and Collins prioritized investments in housing, schools, and mental health. (Sam Joyce) 31ST STATE HOUSE DISTRICT State Representative Mary Flowers Consultant Samantha Simpson

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ncumbent Mary Flowers, who represents large parts of Ashburn and Auburn Gresham out to Countryside, has been around longer than almost anyone else in Springfield. This year marks her thirty-fifth year of service in the General Assembly, a tenure bested only by Speaker Michael Madigan. But Flowers’s impressive record in Springfield goes beyond the length of her tenure; in its endorsement of her, the Chicago Tribune cited her critical oversight of the Department of Children and Family Services.

This time around, she faces a thirtyfive year-old challenger: former Deloitte consulting manager Samantha Simpson.

Simpson has a fairly lengthy record of public service in her own right, working for two years in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and six years with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where she helped write regulations to protect consumers from corporate abuse. Despite her work in DC and Ohio, she also boasts substantial ties to the South Side: she was born and raised in Englewood, earned a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago, and now owns a home in Auburn Gresham.

While her background is impressive, she faces an uphill battle against a long-serving and generally well-respected incumbent.

(Sam Joyce) 12TH WARD DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEEPERSON 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas State Senator and 12th Ward Democratic Committeeperson Antonio “Tony” Muñoz

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n a rematch of the 2016 election for the same office, 12th Ward committeeperson Antonio Muñoz, who serves as Assistant Majority Leader in the state Senate, faces a challenge from 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas. The

feud between the two extends beyond this election: Cardenas has also endorsed Froy Jimenez, who is attempting to kick Muñoz out of the Senate. Muñoz beat Cardenas 5347 in 2016, but now faces the added pressure of defending his Senate seat.

Both men have a background in the Hispanic Democratic Organization, a powerful political operation that helped elect pro-Daley candidates in the 1990s and early 2000s before a federal patronage investigation caused it to wither and eventually shut down. They fell out, however, over the 2015 mayoral election, when Muñoz backed now-U.S. Representative Jesús “Chuy” García—whom he ousted from the state senate in the late ‘90s—while Cardenas supported Rahm Emanuel. One critical issue in the ward: a new asphalt plant in McKinley Park, which has drawn criticism from environmental advocates.

Muñoz has seemed skeptical, holding town halls in the neighborhood and filing legislation that would require the state EPA to notify legislators about permit applications that could affect air quality in their district. Cardenas, on the other hand, has advocated for the new plant, citing the potential economic impact of new jobs and new tax revenue. Emails provided to the Weekly in January show that Cardenas had supported the plant for longer than he claims to have known about it; while Cardenas’s spokesperson claimed he was “surprised” by the development, the emails show that he had discussed the plant with its developer as long ago as February of 2017. (He has also received tens of thousands of dollars in donations from the developer of the plant.)

(Sam Joyce) 20TH WARD DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEEPERSON State Senator Mattie Hunter Police officer Jennifer Maddox This story was reprinted with the permission of the Hyde Park Herald, a weekly newspaper in Hyde Park. Originally published March 9.

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ast February, a month before former 20th Ward Alderman Willie Cochran entered a guilty plea in his corruption case, he predicted that one of his occasional rivals would soon follow him into the political afterlife.

“He’ll be giving up everything, including committeeman,” Cochran said in an interview with the Weekly and Hyde Park Herald. “He should be enjoying that.”

The “he” Cochran was referring to was Kevin Bailey, then the 20th Ward Democratic Committeeperson and viewed as a leading candidate for alderman. At that point, Bailey had already come under fire during the election for his conduct in office. The Reader reported that Bailey and his mother—elected as the Republican committeeperson a few years earlier—had packed the polls with their own handpicked, incompetent election judges, and threatened not to reappoint other longtime judges unless they agreed to circulate petitions for Bailey’s aldermanic campaign.

A year later, Cochran’s prediction has, more or less, come true—Kevin Bailey is not running for reelection as Democratic Committeeperson. (Cochran himself is in the middle of serving a year-long prison sentence for felony wire fraud.) Instead, two women are vying to take his place: state Senator Mattie Hunter and police officer and nonprofit worker Jennifer Maddox.

Each is vowing to clean up the Democratic party in a ward that has been plagued by allegations of corruption against its elected officials.

Both Maddox and Hunter say they would have deferred to current 20th Ward Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor, who beat Bailey, Maddox, and five other candidates in last year’s election. But Taylor decided not to run.

“I wasn't interested in the position because we really need to build a base of new voters, to get new people to vote,” she told the Herald ahead of the City Council meeting on February 19.

She also declined to pick a favorite.

"You've got two good candidates, and we'll see who the community chooses,” she said.

“I wish both of them well."

Of the two people running for the position, Maddox is the less conventional candidate: she’s never held any kind of elected office before. Outside of her work as a police officer, she runs Future Ties, a nonprofit that provides after-school programs for children.

Maddox ran for alderman last year, ending up with a little over six percent of the vote. In the time since then, she’s been growing Future Ties, training young people to know their rights when interacting with police officers and starting a parent-mentor program with the Southwest Organizing Project.

If elected, Maddox seems set on continuing in much the same vein as her community activism, focusing on voter

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outreach and education within the ward.

Maddox emphasized that, because people aren’t always sure who the more local officials up for election are, they only tend to vote for those offices that have the least effect on their everyday lives.

“In our community, we normally don’t vote for all those people or only vote for the ones who are high-profile—president, state’s attorney, senator, something like that,” she said. “After they reach the first three or four people, they’re done voting. And so then they lose out on the services that should be given to them within the ward. That’s why I’m running.”

Hunter, for her part, sees the fact she’s in office as a bonus—if elected, she says she would use the position to improve relationships between city and state officials for the betterment of the ward.

She said her own relationship with Taylor is good, but could be better: “I would like for her to put her guard down a little and begin to trust me.”

It’s not the first time Hunter has considered the position. Four years ago, a group of residents asked her to run. She deferred out of respect for Cochran.

Over the next few years, she said, people complained to her that Kevin Bailey, who ultimately took the seat, did not attend committeeperson meetings. Once she got confirmation that Taylor wouldn’t file, she decided to file for the office.

Hunter said she sees the position as a way to help improve conditions in the ward, and cited the example of former state legislator, city treasurer, and Cook County State’s Attorney Cecil Partee, who served as Democratic committeeman when the area was a “middle-class ward.”

“I am hoping that the alderman and I can work together, as well as the Cook County Commissioner and other elected officials throughout the district to improve the quality of life and to bring some economic development,” she said. “We need the person that can knock on the door, have a cup of coffee with community leaders to see if we can come together and pull some projects together … We don’t owe anybody there other than voters.” (Christian Belanger; Aaron Gettinger contributed reporting) Find coverage of the 10th, 29th, and 32nd state House races, and 10th and 15th Ward Democratic Committeeperson races, at southsideweekly.com

Meet the Candidates: MWRD

BY SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

The Weekly has interviewed eight of the candidates running for the Democratic nomination for three seats on the board of commissioners that governs the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). Four candidates—incumbent commissioner Frank Avila, Crestwood trustee Patricia Theresa Flynn, South Lyons Township Sanitary District trustee Michael Grace, and Hanover Park village clerk Eira Corral Sepúlveda—are featured here. You can find extended versions of these interviews, as well as interviews with incumbent commissioners Cam Davis and Kim DuBuclet, educator Mike Cashman, and water scientist Shundar Lin at southsideweekly.com. The remaining two Democratic candidates, Des Plaines clerk Heather Boyle and former Riverdale mayor Deyon Dean, did not respond to multiple requests for interviews. These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

FRANK AVILA MWRD Commissioner Frank Avila was first elected in 2002, won re-election in 2008 and 2014, and currently serves as the district’s Chairman of Finance. This time around, he’s running without the endorsement of the Cook County Democratic Party, which endorsed him in his last two elections. Prior to his service on the board, he worked as a civil engineer.

What are the accomplishments during your tenure that you're most proud of?

I passed the ordinance to not use any synthetic herbicides on our property, because toxicity tests show they pose a threat to human health and the environment. This serves as a model for the rest of Cook County to not use any synthetic herbicides on their property come spring. [Through] Space to Grow, we appropriate $15 million to work with schools. Space to Grow has picked about thirty schools in Chicago to put in a redesigned playground to reduce flooding and grow crops. We have given away over 70,000 oak saplings, and we encourage the

residents here in Cook County to plant these saplings to reduce climate change. We also gave out 130,000 rain barrels to encourage residents to help capture stormwater.

Why didn't you get the Democratic Party endorsement this August?

My main goal is providing service to the residents of Cook County and to take care of their health and welfare. For me to say why they didn’t endorse me, I don’t know, I can’t speak to the process. All I know is, in my years in service at the district, I provide a service to the public, not a service to myself.

I'm the only engineer on the board, and the agency is an engineering type of agency. I'm chairman of finance, so when I pick a project for us to work on, I pick a project that’s gonna benefit the health and welfare of the public. I pick a project that we could afford to fund. I’m looking out for the taxpayer on the funding end of it, and I’m looking out for the taxpayer on what projects to fund to protect their health and welfare.

MICHAEL GRACE Michael Grace was elected in 2010 as the Vice President Trustee of the South Lyons Township Sanitary District, located in the southwest suburbs, where he is currently serving his third term. He owns a fire and water cleanup and restoration franchise in Des Plaines.

Why did you commissioner?

decide

to

run

for

The South Lyons Township Sanitary District covers all the sewers and manages flood control and storm situations for all of Countryside and La Grange. We are kind of a smaller version of the MWRD. The MWRD oversees all of these other districts, makes sure that things are running properly. When I was initially elected, our district was not in very good shape. We were running at a deficit, and we had infiltration and inflow problems throughout the entire

district—a lot of flooding, a lot of basement issues. I reviewed our budget and met with our engineers and superintendent, and we came up with a plan of action. It took about three years, but since then, we’ve replaced more than eighty percent of our entire infrastructure. I’m proud to say it’s fully paid for; the district is running at a surplus, and that includes a fully-funded pension.

The MWRD reached out to our office, and said, “Hey, we’re reviewing your district, and we see that you’re at a surplus, you've got a state-of-the-art system. What are you doing? How are you doing it?” At that point, I decided it was a logical step to go to the next level and hopefully bring the success that I’ve had to a larger scale.

If the MWRD is already learning from what you’ve done in South Lyons Township, what more should they be doing?

They have to be more fiscally responsible.

They have a $1.2 billion annual budget, and we still see portions, mostly on the South Side, that have outdated infrastructure.

Once we put in new sewers, those pipes age after a while. We can line those pipes, that gives them back a little bit of life. After you line them more than two times, then we're starting to have issues. MWRD has done this throughout; if they keep lining them instead of replacing them, we're losing circumference, and that water has to go somewhere. Because of that pressure, it will pop sewer caps and enter people’s basements, and that’s where we really do have a big issue. My biggest selling point is that we just need to focus on infrastructure. Obviously, we want to prevent runoff with green alternatives, such as rain barrels and green alleys and permeable pavers, but I think we really have to start with infrastructure.

PATRICIA THERESA FLYNN Patricia Theresa Flynn is currently serving her third term as a Trustee of the Village of MARCH 11, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 7

ELECTIONS

Crestwood in the Southwest suburbs. She previously worked in the MWRD’s pollution control operations, as well as in the laboratory at the MWRD’s Calumet Water Reclamation Plant.

How did your work with the Village of Crestwood lead you to run for this office?

It’s a very simple story. Running for office was never on my list of things to do, but when we were faced with a drinking water scandal over eleven years ago, I decided.

We loved our school, we liked our parish, we loved the community. We didn’t want to move. So my only choice was to dig my heels in and be part of change in the Village of Crestwood.

What happened in that water scandal?

We were using a well, along with Chicago water. Residents were not in the know about that issue. [Ed. note: The Village of Crestwood had been knowingly mixing water from Lake Michigan with water from a well contaminated with carcinogenic chemicals in order to save money.] It resulted in felony charges, and it resulted in laws changing in Springfield regarding tampering with water records. It also cost the Village millions in lawsuits— basically a lot of unrest and turmoil.

You received an early endorsement from IUOE Local 399, which represents district employees, as well as the Chicago Federation of Labor. How do you view the district’s relationship with organized labor?

Organized labor is critical. Organized labor has put food on my table all my life. My dad, an Irish immigrant, was a 399 engineer. My brothers are all 399 engineers. I have been a friend to labor for many years and support their initiative and feel confident about the work they're able to deliver on public projects.

EIRA CORRAL SEPÚLVEDA Eira Corral Sepúlveda is currently the Village Clerk of the Village of Hanover Park, a suburb west of O’Hare. Sepúlveda boasts a long list of endorsements, including the Cook County Democratic Party, U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, and the Chicago Tribune and the SunTimes.

BY GABY FEBLAND

8 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ MARCH 11, 2020

What were your biggest accomplishments during your decade in office?

I would say transparency and inclusive government. I’ve worked with the business community as well. Those are strengths that I seek to bring into the district. The staff is the one that really does the dayto-day operations of the district, and I have experience doing that because in my hometown, part of the district is not covered within the jurisdiction of MWRD. We have our own sewer treatment plant in Hanover Park, and I am familiar with the operations, maintenance, and the management of a sewer treatment plant.

I noticed your name on a palm card from House Speaker Michael Madigan’s ward organization. How do you negotiate getting the support of entities that some consider problematic while staying ethical?

That was as shocking to me as it was to everybody else. I didn’t have that conversation with him, so I can’t speak to why he did that. I’m not even going to try to pretend to know how Madigan works. I didn’t ask for his endorsement. If anything, it shows that I’m a winning candidate and we have good momentum. I don’t have any money from Madigan, I just want to make that very clear. I have not asked for his money, I have not asked for his endorsement or support.

What are the ideas you’d like to promote if elected to the board?

Green jobs training is an incredibly important way to address environmental justice. I’d like to see green infrastructure projects with equity prioritized, and I think we can work in partnership with major school districts like CPS. We want to make sure that we’re establishing boot camps, online platforms, and really emphasize hiring and preparing Black and brown youth for these jobs. ¬

ELECTIONS

Conway’s Millions

Bill Conway’s campaign for Cook County State’s Attorney has been funded by investment bankers in Washington, D.C. and political movers and shakers in Chicago

BY KIRAN MISRA

I

t’s no secret that Bill Conway’s father is the principal donor for his son’s campaign for Cook County State’s Attorney. Conway’s father, William E. Conway, Jr., injected half a million dollars into the race the day after his son declared his candidacy, and has donated $10.5 million in total to the campaign. For the uninitiated, William E. Conway Jr. is worth $3.1 billion (as of March 7), placing him among the richest people in the United States. His wealth has primarily come from the Carlyle Group, an investment firm he co-founded in 1987. It is one of the largest private equity firms in the world.

When asked about his father’s largesse in an interview with the Weekly, Conway doesn’t hide the fact that there’s pretty much no limit to how much the elder Conway will spend to back him in the race. He is quick to point out that he never worked for his father’s firm and says he is unfamiliar with Carlyle’s investments. “It's not that I'm afraid to talk about it,” Conway told the Weekly.

“I haven't been shy about the fact that I am going to dedicate significant resources to this race.” In an interview with WLS radio, Conway described a humble upbringing by his “single” mother, despite the fact that his parents are still married and appear to spend their money jointly—including on the tuition for Conway’s education at the Latin School of Chicago, a private elementary and secondary school he attended in the Gold Coast, and on multimillion-dollar homes scattered across the country.

For the Carlyle Group, political spending on such a large scale isn’t unusual, but donating these amounts to a Democratic candidate in a local race is. Since 1990, the firm has given $9 million to Republican political candidates and $6 million to Democrats. Companies owned or controlled

by Carlyle have donated $11.7 million to Republicans and $1.8 million to Democrats.

Allan Holt, the managing director of the Carlyle Group, is the second-largest contributor to Conway’s campaign, having given $200,000. Gregory S. Ledford, a senior advisor at the Carlyle Group, donated $50,000 in October 2019. Peter Clare, a

member of Carlyle’s board of directors, donated $30,000 in December. The Carlyle Group is based in Washington, D.C., where all three of these donors reside. On its face, that isn’t surprising; Chicago politics draws national attention and the goings-on in the city have national ramifications. But this level of cash influx from D.C. is unusual for downballot races.

Much has been written about Carlyle’s investments, which can be found not only in the war industry but in port facilities, industrial complexes, and oil refineries worldwide. The company also had close ties with former president George H.W. Bush—a former Carlyle advisor—many of the Bush administration’s top officials, and even the Bin Laden family, who invested heavily in the Carlyle Group both before and after September 11. During the Iraq War, Carlyle Group subsidiaries received billions of dollars from the defense industry, and in the aftermath of the invasion, Carlyle and its subsidiaries received millions of dollars in contracts to rebuild the country.

To this day, the group remains a company with significant investments in military and defense industries. Carlyle also owns a piece of Combined Systems Inc., which supplies tear gas and other protest-suppression materials to officials as far-ranging as the Ferguson, Missouri police and the Mubarak government during the 2011 Egytian uprising.

In his interview with the Weekly, Conway stressed that his father’s significant contributions to his campaign would make him independent of the local Democratic Party. “I am running against an entrenched political machine,” Conway said. “When I'm elected, I'm not going to owe anybody anything, and that's why I can promise there is going to be a public corruption reckoning when I am elected.” But it stands to reason that despite Conway’s claims, he would necessarily be accountable to his largest donor.

One of Conway’s recurring criticisms of incumbent State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is this: although Foxx returned campaign donations from 14th Ward Alderman Ed

Burke, who was federally indicted last year on fourteen counts of corruption, she didn’t return all the money given to her by other donors who attended a fundraiser at Burke’s home. “We're not just talking about some regular funder, but perhaps the largest favor trader in the history of Chicago politics,” Conway told the Weekly.

However, many of Conway’s own donors have ties to Burke and other members of Chicago’s “entrenched” Democratic establishment.

M. Jude Reyes and J. Christopher Reyes—brothers who own the food and beverage distribution company Reyes Holdings, which distributes Coca-Cola products throughout the Midwest and is the ninth-largest privately held company in the country—donated a combined $30,000 to Conway’s campaign. The Reyes have previously contributed to Burke’s reelection campaign, Michael Madigan’s reelection campaign, and Bill Daley’s mayoral campaign.

Conway’s campaign treasurer, Thomas Anselmo, is a lawyer who represents creditors and debt-collection agencies who have wreaked havoc on the lives of Black Chicagoans living primarily on Chicago’s South and West sides, “profiting off the debts of Cook County homeowners through foreclosure, eviction, and other default-related actions,” according to Tides Advocacy, a liberal advocacy group.

“Anselmo’s firm has been sued multiple times for violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which seeks to regulate abusive debt-collecting strategies.”

Liam Krehbiel, founder and CEO of the nonprofit venture philanthropy fund A Better Chicago, which works to improve education outcomes for low-income Chicago students, donated $50,000 to Conway.

Before his donations to Conway’s campaign, Krehbiel’s largest political donations were to Bill Daley’s mayoral campaign and Bruce Rauner’s gubernatorial campaign.

Both Conway and his campaign chair, Trisha Rooney Alden, serve on A Better Chicago’s board. Rooney Alden is closely tied to former Mayor Rahm

Emanuel, whom she previously fundraised for and donated to. And according to Tides Advocacy the Emanuel administration “wrote a loophole into the contribution ban for city contractors so that donors like Rooney Alden could contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Emanuel campaign even though her recordmanagement company, R4 Services, had a contract with the city.”

In a city where Democratic politicians reign supreme, even a relatively small $2,000 donation from Jim Thompson, a former Republican governor and Nixon-appointed U.S. attorney, and his wife, is notable. Conway said the former governor has known him since he was young. “When he found out I was running, he was kind enough to make a donation to my campaign,” he explained.

Another Conway donor, Donald Wilson, who donated $20,000 to the campaign, is the founder and chief executive officer of DRW, a Chicagobased proprietary trading firm with over eight hundred employees. Just a few years ago, Wilson was mired in a year-long investigation for allegedly manipulating interest-rate derivatives. U.S. Circuit Court Judge Richard Sullivan eventually ruled that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent federal agency that regulates derivatives markets, failed to prove that DRW had generated about $20 million of illegal profit.

Wilson isn’t the only one of Conway’s donors who has had a brush with the law. Businessman Lester Crown, whose family has owned large stakes in Hilton hotels, Maytag, the New York Yankees, the Chicago Bulls, Aspen Skiing Company, and Rockefeller Center, donated a combined $11,600 with his wife to the campaign.

Crown’s family also used to own what was then America's largest defense contractor, the General Dynamics Corporation. In the 1980s, the many bribery and embezzlement scandals Crown was involved in frequently made the business pages of the New York Times—including when he gave $23,000 in bribes to Illinois legislators for bills that would benefit his construction supply MARCH 11, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 9

business. Crown ultimately cooperated with a grand jury, and was granted immunity from prosecution. Conway said he “never heard about that,” and could not comment.

Rounding out the list of top donors are Thomas O'Reilly, who until last year was a portfolio manager on the high yield strategies fund at Neuberger Berman, and who donated $28,722.54; Howard Scott Silverman founder and CEO of the investment firm Agman, who made a $20,000 donation; and Raymond Ranelli, a senior advisor to the investment firm Welsh, Carson, Andersen and Stowe, who donated $15,000. Jeffrey Hecktman, who donated $20,000 to the campaign, is the chairman and CEO at Hilco Global, an American financial service holding company that is building a distribution center in Little Village on the site of a former coal plant.

Hecktman was described in a Crain’s Chicago Business article as a liquidator who “assembled a hard-edged, high-pressure financial conglomerate built on corporate calamity” and collaborated with Harvey Weinstein in 2007 to start a fashion line.

That Conway, who himself is a former investment banker, has received these donations from investment executives is not in and of itself remarkable. However, taken together, the donations show the campaign is almost entirely funded by what is hardly a representative cross-section of the ordinary Chicagoans Conway says he wants to advocate for.

A fundamental reality of any campaign is that candidates are beholden to their donors. And in a sound democracy, being beholden to a wider group of individuals provides a necessary layer of accountability for any candidate. “I certainly believe in campaign finance reform and believe that people should be transparent about where their donations are coming from,” Conway said. “In my case, there's no apparent conflict of interest between anything I'm doing and anything like that. I am very transparent about where I get my money from and go out of my way not to take it from places where there may be a conflict of interest.” Kiran Misra is a journalist and policy researcher. She last wrote for the Weekly about the Invisible Institute’s investigation of the CPD shooting of Harith Augustus.

10 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

Meet the Candidates: Bill Conway

The Weekly sits down with the former prosecutor running for Cook County State’s Attorney

BY KIRAN MISRA AND JIM DALEY

Bill Conway is one of three Democratic challengers to incumbent Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. He is running on his experience as a naval intelligence officer investigating the Taliban’s funding from narcotics sales, which he says will inform his efforts to remove illegal guns from Chicago’s streets. Conway, who was a prosecutor in the State’s Attorney’s Office for six years, is also trying to differentiate himself from Foxx by presenting a plan for rooting out public corruption across the city. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Given that not everyone in the system is a nonviolent offender, what is your plan to address the system as a whole, not just low-level offenses?

In total what I want to do is bring about balanced criminal justice reform. And when I say that, we have to remember what the purpose of jail is. Jail is a place for people that are a danger to the community. And if somebody is not a danger to the community, but they’re poor, or addicted, or mentally ill, jail is not a place for those folks. But by the same token, if somebody commits a violent crime or a crime with a gun, I think that person should go to jail.

What metrics or insights are you using to inform your decisions about who is a danger to the community?

We can use statistics and data in the criminal justice system. That’s certainly a good thing to combat things like systemic racism. But I would say we should look holistically at what the person is charged with in the current offense as well as their criminal background to determine if they’re a danger to society.

¬ MARCH 11, 2020

SHANE TOLENTINO

How will your service as a naval intelligence officer inform your approach to gun interdiction here in Illinois?

The job I was given as head of the Afghan mission team was figuring out where does the Taliban get its money from. We wanted to find that out so we could attack those money sources so they couldn’t buy weapons to attack us. And that required us to work not only across various branches of the military, but also across agencies to bring together the resources of the federal government to do that. [In Illinois] it’s really the focus on getting after and disrupting the supply chain.

A 2017 gun trace report found that two of every five guns used in crimes and recovered by CPD that year came from dealers in suburban Cook County. Do you have a plan to go after legal gun dealers who are the source of these straw purchases?

To the extent that anyone is enabling straw purchases that allow our neighborhoods to be flooded with guns, yes. If they’re not following the law, we’re going to go after them criminally or civilly.

Given your emphasis on your military background, how would you address community concerns about the implications of taking a militaristic approach to law enforcement?

I’m not talking about weaponizing anybody.

I’m talking about a real focus on tracking the money and suppliers, so we can get to the real gun traffickers who bring all these guns into our neighborhoods. I think we all know the people that bring these guns

into our neighborhoods are not from the neighborhoods. As somebody who has spent time in Afghanistan, it’s a war-torn nation. Certainly we have our challenges in Chicago, but it is a beautiful and vibrant city.

What is your plan for bail reform—what parts of the system would you be interested in overhauling, and what parts would you want to keep?

In general, I think bond reform is a good thing to the extent that we’re not putting people in jail who are not a danger to the community. Drug possession is much more of a public health issue than one that can be handled in the criminal justice system. We know that Cook County jail is the largest mental health clinic in Illinois, and maybe the nation. Clearly there’s something wrong in our community when that’s the case. But I also think if someone commits a crime with a gun, if somebody commits a violent crime, I think that person should go to jail.

And the state's attorney's office can do a lot better job in advocating for that.

Do you support the abolition of cash bail?

Yes. I am for ending cash bail because it makes no sense to me that if two people commit the same crime, one person can buy their way out of jail and the other can’t.

That’s not right. The criminal justice system is supposed to be blind to that. Kiran Misra is a journalist and policy researcher.

She last wrote for the Weekly about the Invisible Institute’s investigation of the CPD shooting of Harith Augustus. Jim Daley is the Weekly’s politics editor. He last interviewed candidates for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District.

ELECTIONS

Running for Clean Water

Who’s who, and who’s backing them, in the race for the once (and still?) ethically murky Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board of commissioners

BY SAM JOYCE

B

efore last August, this year’s election for the three open seats on the board of commissioners that governs the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) looked like it’d be a rather uninteresting affair. The district, which is responsible for wastewater treatment and stormwater management in Cook County, has historically been controlled by the Democratic Party; with three incumbent Democrats seeking reelection, the outcome seemed all but settled.

Those three incumbents—Cam Davis, Kim Du Buclet, and Frank Avila— each appeared heavily favored to win reelection. Davis had just won his seat on the board, filling the two remaining years of deceased Commissioner Tim Bradford’s term, through one of the largest write-in campaigns in Illinois history. Du Buclet faced no opponents in the 2018 primary to fill the remaining two years of Cynthia Santos’s term, who had been appointed to the Illinois Pollution Control Board by then-Governor Bruce Rauner, and won seventy-seven percent of the vote in the general against a Green Party opponent.

Avila, for his part, had comfortably won reelection in 2014 and 2008 and seemed likely to coast into his fourth term on the board.

The Cook County Democratic Party’s slate-making session in August, however, produced an unexpected outcome. Avila, who was endorsed by the party in 2014 and 2008, was unceremoniously dumped from the party’s slate and replaced with northwest suburban Hanover Park Village Clerk Eira Corral Sepúlveda. The reason why remains unclear: the Daily Line reported that the party’s Latino Caucus “spearheaded” the move, while its reporter Alex Nitkin tweeted out an acrimonious exchange between Avila and 41st Ward Democratic Committeeperson Tim Heneghan. When the Weekly asked Avila what happened, he professed ignorance, saying that he “can’t

speak to the process” and didn’t know why he didn’t win the endorsement.

Avila, who won his first term in 2002 without the party’s endorsement, wasn’t going to go quietly. He put together a slate, teaming up with Deyon Dean, the former mayor of south suburban Riverdale, and northwest suburban Des Plaines municipal employee Heather Boyle to create a ticket with the racial, gender, and geographic diversity to win votes across the county.

Although Avila hasn’t directly attacked the other candidates, his son (also named Frank) has been active on Twitter, criticizing the county party’s slate as “puppets.” Avila’s campaign has also endorsed a handful of other candidates challenging the party committeepeople who, though we don’t know the exact vote breakdown, may have voted to endorse Sepúlveda over him. He’s backing Yessenia Carreon in the 10th Ward against Alderwoman Susan Sadlowski

district, which has a budget of $1.2 billion and 2,000 employees, is doing pretty well (which makes sense, since both slates feature at least one incumbent commissioner).

With six candidates now splitting the vote, Avila’s slate also creates an opportunity for candidates not affiliated with either slate to sneak into the top three. Southwest suburban Crestwood Village Trustee Patricia Theresa Flynn, for example, has built up a strong base with labor unions, winning the support of the Chicago Federation of Labor.

In a split field, having a strong appeal to a particular constituency might be enough to win.

Michael Grace, vice president of the South Lyons Township Sanitary District in the southwest suburbs, appears to be pursuing a similar strategy. Grace, who has largely self-funded his campaign, has announced endorsements from the mayors of Indian Head Park, Elmwood Park, Melrose

“Historically, the district has been a ready source of patronage jobs and inflated contracts for politicallyconnected engineering firms.”

Garza and Bill Morton in the 49th Ward against state Representative Kelly Cassidy.

The slates don’t seem to disagree on much—all the candidates the Weekly has spoken with professed a desire to tackle urban flooding and reduce the district’s carbon emissions, and all of them seem happy that the district finally has an inspector general, through a contract with the county Office of the Independent Inspector General, to provide independent oversight of the district—historically a bastion of patronage.

The general sentiment seems to be that the

Park, and Countryside, as well as state Senator Bill Cunningham, who represents Beverly and the southwest suburbs. Grace also commands the first line on the ballot, an important factor in low-profile elections like this one. If he can gather enough votes from suburban communities, or just from voters who punch the first name on the ballot, he might be able to win.

Two other candidates, Mike Cashman and Shundar Lin, are campaigning on their experience. Cashman, a social studies teacher and championship-winning water

polo coach, is running on a platform that emphasizes education, saying that the district needs to do a better job of educating the public on issues like the overuse of road salts. Lin, who has a PhD in sanitary engineering and an impressive academic résumé—including a stint as an appointee of then-Governor Rod Blagojevich to the Illinois Pollution Control Board—believes that the district could use someone with his expertise in wastewater resources.

Who’s Funding Who? Frank Avila: Being dropped from the Democratic slate doesn’t seem to have substantially hampered Avila’s fundraising prowess. Since being dumped in August, he’s raked in a few thousand from a diverse array of MWRD contractors: $350 from Daniel Jedrzejak, an engineer with MWRD contractor Chastain & Associates; $175 from Chetan Kale of KaleTech; $250 from Baxter & Woodman; $300 from Engineering Resource Associates; $300 from Burns & McDonnell Engineering; $500 from American Surveying and Engineering, $300 from Burke Engineering; $500 from Interra; $500 from Rubinos and Mesia Engineers; $500 from Wynndalco Enterprise, and $300 from Manhard Consulting. Notably, only Christopher Burke Engineering has donated to both Avila and Sepúlveda; contractors appear to be choosing a side.

Some of his biggest checks, however, have come from labor, including $2,500 from IBEW Local 134, $5,000 from a PAC controlled by IUOE Local 150, and smaller donations from Painters District Council 14, Plumbers Local 130, and IAM Lodge 126. He has far fewer donations from politicians than Sepúlveda, but the handful he’s collected are notable names: former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson, 26th Ward Alderman Roberto Maldonado, and MWRD board president Kari Steele. He MARCH 11, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 11

ELECTIONS

has also loaned himself nearly $23,000.

Heather Boyle: Her only reported donation is $1,000 from Archon Construction, an Addison-based construction firm with several district contracts.

Mike Cashman: Cashman has recorded around $13,000 in donations, mostly from individuals, as well as loaning $3,500 to himself. One notable donor: John Doerrer, the former head of Richard M. Daley’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, who chipped in $250.

Cam Davis: Davis has mostly recorded contributions from individuals, many from the environmental movement. Some notable names include Howard Learner, the executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center; Dr. Marc Gaden, communications director for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission; Debbie Chizewer, who leads Earthjustice’s Midwest office; and Stephanie Comer, president of the Comer Family Foundation, a major donor to environmental research. He’s also won support from a variety of Democratic politicians, including former Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl and fellow commissioners Debra Shore, Josina Morita, and Kari Steele, as well as a usual lineup of labor unions: the Chicago Federation of Labor, IBEW Local 134, SEIU Local 1, Sheet Metal Workers Local 73, Pipefitters Local 597, IUOE Locals 150 and 399, Teamsters Joint Council 25, and the Chicago Laborers District Council.

Missing from the list: any engineering firms with contracts with the district, traditionally one of the more lucrative sources of campaign contributions for incumbent commissioners. Davis pledged to not take those donations; campaign finance data shows that he’s kept his word.

Deyon Dean: Dean has only recorded a couple thousand in fundraising, primarily from his wife Janisse, who also serves as the chair and treasurer of his campaign committee.

Kim Du Buclet: While Du Buclet has raised her fair share of money from civil engineering firms and other district contractors, with at least $9,500 from eight contractors, her largest support by far has been from labor unions. Since November 2018, her campaign has posted eye-popping fundraising reports: $5,000 from SEIU 12 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ MARCH 11, 2020

Local 1, $7,500 from IBEW Local 134, nearly $10,000 from IUOE Local 399, $16,500 from the Chicago Laborers District Council, and a total of $20,000 from IUOE Local 150 and an associated PAC. In total, Du Buclet has recorded contributions from nineteen different union locals over the course of this campaign season.

As far as other contributions, Du Buclet has also recorded donations from a variety of Black politicians, including U.S. Representative Robin Kelly, Secretary of State Jesse White, MWRD board president Kari Steele, and Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough. She’s also received contributions from other candidates on the ballot: Justice P. Scott Neville Jr., who is running to keep his appointed seat on the Illinois Supreme Court, and Appellate Judge Michael Hyman have both given to her campaign.

Three other donors—all developers— merit a brief note. The campaign received $500 from DL3 Realty, the firm that developed the new Jewel-Osco in Woodlawn, as well as $5,000 from former Cook County Housing Authority head Elzie Higginbottom. The Rev. Leon Finney Jr., a Woodlawn pastor who managed thousands of public housing units before his Woodlawn Community Development Corp. experienced a dramatic bankruptcy last year, also chipped in $250, while Lincoln South Central, a Woodlawn strip mall with ties to Finney, gave another $400.

Patricia Theresa Flynn: Flynn has recorded substantial contributions from labor unions: she’s collected $62,800 from Local 399 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, which represents the MWRD’s operating engineers, along with smaller checks from the IBEW (Local 134), the Painters (DC 14), the Sprinkler Fitters (Local 281), and the Pipe Fitters (Local 597). She’s also recorded contributions from south suburban Crestwood Mayor Lou Presta and from the Farnsworth Group, an engineering firm.

Michael Grace: Grace has largely selffunded, loaning his campaign $119,000.

Shundar Lin: Has not reported any fundraising.

Eira Corral Sepúlveda: Sepúlveda has drawn significant financial support from engineering firms with MWRD contracts.

She’s raised $2,000 from 2iM Group, $1,000 from CSI 3000, $500 from ESI

BY SAM JOYCE

Consultants, and $250 from Christopher Burke Engineering, all firms that have been awarded district contracts. She’s also received $300 from Purple PAC, a political action committee that has received contributions from multiple MWRD contractors, including Reliable Asphalt Corporation, Bluff City Materials, Knight Partners, and 2IM Group, and caused a controversy in last year’s 25th Ward aldermanic election for its ties to the owners of a now-closed Pilsen metal shredder.

Sepúlveda has drawn substantial support from current and former Latinx officeholders, recording contributions from 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 12th Ward Alderman George Cardenas, and 22nd Ward Alderman Michael Rodríguez, as well as Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya, U.S. Representative Jesús “Chuy” García, and state Senator Celina Villanueva. She’s also won support from labor unions, recording contributions from Painters District Council 14, the SEIU Illinois State Council, and the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, as well as a donation from Arnoldo Fabela, director of field mobilization for the Illinois Federation of Teachers.

Who’s Watching the MWRD? Last April, after 130 years, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) finally got an independent watchdog. Historically, the district has been a ready source of patronage jobs and inflated contracts for politically-

connected engineering firms, each seeking their piece of the MWRD’s $1.2 billion budget. The Tribune’s editorial board applauded the move, a long-time priority of Commissioner Debra Shore, as putting the commissioners who unanimously approved it “on the right side of history.”

Commissioners Kim Du Buclet and Cam Davis, seeking re-election this year, both mentioned that decision as votes that they were proud to cast during their past two years on the board.

The MWRD did not create its own inspector general; instead, through a threeyear intergovernmental agreement with Cook County, the county Office of the Independent Inspector General (OIIG) also handles cases that arise from the district. This kind of agreement is not without precedent: the Forest Preserve District of Cook County has a similar agreement with the OIIG. This partnership meant the MWRD, which agreed to pay $600,000 annually for this service, would not have to go through the lengthy and expensive process of creating its own investigative oversight agency. As Shore explained in a newsletter to constituents, titled simply “Why You Sent Me,” the agreement gave the district “access to more resources for less money and a quicker start.”

Shore is right—since inking the intergovernmental agreement, the inspector general has already issued three quarterly reports. The office received nineteen complaints during the second quarter of 2019, twenty-three during the third quarter, and sixteen during the fourth quarter. While

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TICKETS AND INFORMATION: HOWARDBROWN.ORG/CHIQ2020

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Sam Joyce is the nature editor and a managing editor of the Weekly. He last covered the closure of Pullman café bakery ‘Laine’s Bake Shop and an exhibit of macro-photography at a Kenwood church for the Weekly’s Arts Issue.

Howard Brown Health invites the LGBTQ community and allies to support services for lesbians, bisexual women, and trans and gender nonconforming people with an evening of dancing, entertainment, full open bar, light bites, and community.

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Board in January.

The MWRD has long been known for its questionable financial practices and overall lack of transparency; the highestprofile example was the resignation two years ago of executive director David St. Pierre, who received a $95,000 payout as part of an investigation that is still not public; the Weekly is currently in the process of an appeal of the MWRD’s denial of a public records request relating to St. Pierre’s firing. With the new independent inspector general—and a new ethics ordinance as a result—the MWRD is finally taking a few steps to change that reputation. ¬

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written response outlining “additional safeguards” they were implementing to avoid this in the future.

In accordance with the county ordinance that established the OIIG, the report does not identify the four commissioners, but Davis and Mariyana Spyropoulos both told WGN that they were not among the commissioners mentioned. A MWRD spokeswoman also told WGN that the commissioners will not face consequences for the lapse.

Two additional investigations were concluded in the fourth quarter. One complaint suggested that the MWRD’s director of information technology had improperly failed to address a technical vulnerability in the district’s servers. The OIIG, however, found that the director had installed recommended software security patches and had responded appropriately to the vulnerabilities.

The second investigation related to an incident where an engineer fell into a channel of untreated sewage at the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant and was pulled out by another employee.

While the complaint claimed the accident had not been documented or investigated, the OIIG investigation found that the MWRD “conducted a prompt and comprehensive investigation” and produced a “very thorough” report on the incident.

Additionally, the complaint alleged that the employees were not disciplined for the incident, but the OIIG found that “appropriate disciplinary action was imposed on [the employees] and to their supervisors.”

As well as those three completed investigations, the OIIG also collaborated with the MWRD’s Law Department to refine and update the district’s Ethics Ordinance. An amended version of the ordinance was adopted unanimously by the

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a handful of those have been declined, most produced an official inspector general case inquiry, the vast majority of which are still pending. Two of those inquiries have found enough corroborating evidence that they have been upgraded to official investigations, while one has been referred to another agency.

By the fourth quarter, a handful of investigations initiated by the OIIG had come to fruition. One review investigated whether commissioners had used MWRD email accounts for political purposes. Five commissioners, it turns out, were playing by the rules: two did not use their political email accounts to send any emails to any MWRD email accounts, while three more had only sent non-political emails.

Four commissioners, however, were a bit more active. One sent invitations to a fundraiser, with ticket prices between $250 and $2,500, to the official emails of ten different MWRD employees. Another sent fundraising emails to two employees, a third sent emails requesting employees join the commissioner at political events like a post swearing-in celebration, and a fourth sent emails requesting staff to add political events to the commissioner’s calendar and people to the commissioner’s newsletter.

One particularly notable email from the fourth commissioner talked to a staffer about collecting petition signatures for another elected official.

These emails, as the report explained, “involve the use of MWRD technology for political purpose,” and “may cause employees to feel pressured to contribute to the Commissioner’s political causes in order to keep their jobs [or advance in the workplace.” The report mentions that several commissioners have verbally committed to asking their political organizations to not contact district employees through their MWRD email addresses, and one sent a

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Cook County State's Attorney What is a State's Attorney?

The State's Attorney is the lawyer that represents the interests of the state in legal proceedings. They are the head law enforcement in Cook County that holds police accountable for their actions. The Cook County State's Attorney also has the power to determine independent prosecutors and commends sentencing lengths.

This voter guide was populated with responses to the 2020 Chicago Votes Cook County State's Attorney Questionnaire. Candidate's full responses can be viewed at www.chicagovotes.com. Please note that candidates Donna More and Bob Fioretti did not respond to the questionnaire.

Kim Foxx

Bill Conway

Kim Foxx is the current Cook County State's Attorney.

Before becoming Cook County's first Black woman to hold a the office of State's Attorney, she was the Chief of Staff to the Cook County Board President. Kim received both her Bachelor's and Law Degree from Southern Illinois University.

Bill Conway is a US Navy veteran. He attended The Wharton School for undergrad, received his MBA from the University of Chicago, and his law degree from Georgetown. He is currently an adjunct professor at DePaul University and previously worked as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney.

INCUMBENT

Do you support:

KIM FOXX

CANDIDATE

BILL CONWAY

Stopping the prosecution of low level, non-violent drug offenses?

"We prioritize violent crime and keeping our communities safe, rather than using resources to prosecute nonviolent, low-level offenders."

"If elected State's Attorney, I plan to significantly increase the use of drug courts and diversion programs so that w e are putting our resources towards rehabilitating these individuals and strengthening our communities. "

Closing Homan Square Detention Center?

"I don't believe that having facilities that deny the accused access to counsel, or engage in unconstitutional police practices should exist."

"Homan Square absolutely should be shut down for its practices, but that isn't enough- we need to make sure we never let another "black site" fester in our community."

Bringing criminal charges against police officers who falsify or file misleading official reports?

"Yes, police officers should be investigated and prosecuted in the same way that all defendants are prosecuted."

"Why wouldn't we hold our own police to the laws they enforce? As Assistant State's Attorney, I prosecuted corrupt police officers who broke the public trust and i will continue to live that value as State's Attorney."

Reinstating a parole system for Illinois residents?

"I support reinstating parole time to allow an opportunity to assess inmates ability to re-enter the community and be released."

"I support the state's move last year to reinstate discretionary parole options for young offenders, and I am open to expanding that further."

Ending the incarceration of youth (25 and under)?

"Incarceration should be used as a measure of last resort for "youthful offenders" (under 25)."

"There are some case where incarceration of young criminals may be a necessary outcome, but it should never be the default."

Paid for by Chicago Votes Action Fund

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2020 Judicial Voter Guide SCAN ME

*Information provided by VoteForJudges.org and Chicago Appleseed.

Evaluations based on the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening & the Chicago Bar Association.

Graphic By: Tessa Gillett

Paid for by Chicago Votes Action Fund

MARCH 11, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 15

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Keeping Tabs on Kim Foxx

How well has the State’s Attorney kept her 2016 campaign promises during her first term?

BY KIRAN MISRA Promise: Reducing the prosecution of low-level nonviolent felonies Foxx directed her office to stop prosecuting shoplifting cases under $1,000 as felonies and to dismiss many drug cases in favor of alternative prosecution programs. Overall, Foxx declined to prosecute more than 5,000 cases that would have been pursued had the prosecution rates under Anita Alvarez held.

According to a 2019 report released by the State’s Attorney’s Office, alternatives to prosecution, such as community-based services and treatment, rose about eight percent during Foxx’s first two years in office. A report by The People’s Lobby found that the number of people sentenced to incarcerations dropped from 12,262 in 2017 to 9,941 in 2018.

Rating: Kept Promise: Dealing more aggressively with police misconduct In her campaign, Foxx stated that she wanted to assign an independent prosecutor to every police shooting case. After winning the Demoratic primary, Foxx reiterated in an interview with the Chicago Reader that she wanted a special prosecutor on "all policeinvolved shootings,” and proposed the creation of a division of special investigators in the state legislature to be responsible for charging an officer in the first place. Foxx, whose office has not appointed any special prosecutors, told the Weekly that she does not have the authority to do so, and that the presiding judge of the Cook County Criminal Court is the only one with such authority.

In 2017, Foxx supported the Special Prosecutor Act, which gave the Illinois Office of the State’s Attorney Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) jurisdiction over the State’s Attorney’s Office for the first time.

Foxx told the weekly that now, if the State’s Attorney’s Office rejects charges for a police officer in an officer-involved shooting case, all documents are sent to ILSAAP for review.

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Foxx prosecuted CPD Officer Lowell Houser and Amtrak Police Officer LaRoyce Tankson for shootings each was separately involved in. She declined to bring charges against CPD Officer Khalil Muhammad, who shot and wounded Ricky Hayes in 2017.

Rating: Mostly Kept Promise: Addressing wrongful convictions Cook County’s Conviction Integrity Unit was created under Anita Alvarez’s leadership, but has grown considerably on Foxx’s watch.

Foxx overturned ninety-five convictions linked to the corrupt CPD Sergeant Ronald Watts alone.

Foxx announced plans to expand the unit even further by adding ten new positions in order to give similar scrutiny to cases tied to former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge. Foxx also expunged one thousand marijuana convictions last year.

Rating: Kept Promise: Increasing transparency between the State’s Attorney’s Office and the public In 2018, Foxx released over six years of felony criminal case data on the Cook County Open Data Portal.

Pursuant to the Special Prosecutor Act, when both the State’s Attorney’s Office and the Illinois State Appellate Prosecutors Association agree that a police officer who shoots and kills a civilian should not be charged, the declination, documentation, and decision-making materials are posted on the Office’s Law Enforcement Accountability Unit’s website.

Despite the increase in data release, many members of the public still find the office to be opaque, especially when it comes to decisions made in high-profile cases or rationales for decisions to not prosecute certain cases.

Rating: Mostly Kept

Promise: Reforming Chicago’s bail system.

Foxx campaigned largely on the promise of reducing the use of cash bond to detain people pretrial and to stop the use of wealth as an indicator of public safety risk in the Cook County criminal justice system.

In 2017, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans issued a general order requiring Chicago judges to stop using unaffordable money bonds to detain people pretrial, a change that, according to many defense attorneys, “would have had much less impact without the cooperation of the State’s Attorney’s Office.”

Foxx testified in Springfield in support of bail reform legislation, something the Illinois State’s Attorneys’ Association opposed. In an interview with the Weekly, Foxx stated that her office is once again working with the state legislature and governor to support additional bail reform legislation.

Foxx announced that her office would no longer oppose the granting of I-bonds to detainees charged with nonviolent crimes who were to post $1,000 or less in bail but could not afford to. This allowed these defendants to remain free pretrial and return to trial on their own recognizance. Later, Foxx instructed her prosecutors to start actually recommending to judges that defendants in lower-level cases be given I-bonds, a change from previous policy in which prosecutors did not usually recommend a particular bail amount.

However, The People’s Lobby and other advocates found in 2019 that Assistant State’s Attorneys still largely observe “older, more punitive conceptions of how bond should be set,” which are often outside the realm of affordability for those facing detention pretrial, and that twenty-one percent of individuals who were issued money bonds in the prior two years remain solely in custody because they were unable to afford their bail, many for amounts less than $1,000.

Rating: Partially Kept

Promise: Reducing racial disparities in Cook County’s criminal justice system.

Foxx has stated that her office’s creation of an open data portal has constituted an effort to address racial disparities in the county’s criminal justice system, as compiling and making felony case data public has allowed prosecutors in the office to identify areas where charges for similar crimes vary across racial groups.

The State’s Attorney’s March 2019 Two Year Report outlined steps that they have taken to reduce implicit bias in their prosecutorial decisions, including trainings conducted by external experts on “the role of implicit bias, the history of racism in policing, intergenerational and community trauma, and the idea of equitable justice in the context of an unequal society.” The Weekly has found no evidence to further the claim that these trainings have led to a reduction in racial bias in the office.

Rating: Minimally Kept Kiran Misra is a journalist and policy researcher.

She last wrote for the Weekly about the Invisible Institute’s investigation of the CPD shooting of Harith Augustus.

SHANE TOLENTINO

ELECTIONS

Contention in the 1st and 7th Districts Longtime Black Congressmen go up against upstart challengers

BY SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

Find full coverage of the 1st and 7th Congressional District races on southsideweekly. com.

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his year, three challengers are running against long-term incumbent Bobby Rush in the primary race to represent Illinois’ 1st Congressional District. Rush has been in office for over twenty years, and beaten his fair share of competitors. In the fourteen elections he has won, his support has only dipped below seventy percent once—in 2000, when he defeated future President Barack Obama.

The challengers—non-profit manager and activist Robert Emmons Jr., law student Sarah Gad, and community activist Ameena Nuur Matthews—are all broadly left of Rush on key issues.

At twenty-seven, Emmons is the youngest challenger, and perhaps the one with the best change to beat Rush. Emmons entered politics after losing his best friend to gun violence, and has placed the issue at the center of his campaign. He argues that policies like the Green New Deal and Medicare for All can target the “root causes” of gun violence. He was endorsed, perhaps unexpectedly, by the Tribune’s traditionally conservative editorial board, as well as the climate activist group Sunrise Movement.

Challenger Sarah Gad is a University of Chicago law student. Gad’s policy positions are rooted in her own struggles with opioid addiction and imprisonment for a nonviolent drug offense, which gave her experience with the criminal justice and health systems that she says are both failing community members.

Ameena Nuur Matthews is a community activist whose platform emphasizes improving criminal justice and mental health systems. Matthews, the daughter of

Jeff Fort, co-founder of the Almighty Black P. Stone Nation street gang, has based her career on anti-violence activism.

All three challengers contend that Bobby Rush is out of touch with the district’s residents. They point to how pre-existing problems such as systemic poverty and gun violence have continued to plague the district during the congressman’s twentyyear tenure. “My district has looked exactly the same for twenty years,” said Emmons. “I don’t think that’s progress.”

In 2019, Rush raised $14,000 from oil and gas PACs, who are listed by research group OpenSecrets as one of the “top industries” donating to his campaign. The energy industry has been rewarded by Rush’s decision-making in Congress. At a public forum in January, Rush called the Green New Deal a “pipe dream.”

According to Matthews, Rush failed to vote for bills that enhance public safety, support criminal justice reform and protect women's rights. Emmons and Gad criticized his 1994 vote in favor of the “tough-on-crime” Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which has disproportionately harmed minority communities. Rush has since said he regrets his vote, admitting in 2016 that he is “ashamed.”

Rush’s recent endorsements are also a signal, challengers say, that he is out of touch. In 2019, he endorsed the corporateconnected Bill Daley for mayor. Most recently, Rush briefly served as campaign co-chair for Michael Bloomberg, who has since dropped out of the presidential race. His endorsement of Bloomberg drew criticism due in part to the billionaire’s implementation of the racial-profiling program known as “Stop and Frisk” while mayor of New York City. “[Rush] has been very disrespectful to the 1st district,” said Matthews. “The first

district is a unique jewel, and it needs to be taken care of by someone who knows it.” ( Jade Yan and Gabe Levine-Drizin) 7TH DISTRICT

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anny Davis, the 7th District’s incumbent congressman, was first elected to Congress in 1996. Before that, he was the 29th Ward Alderman for eleven years, and served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners for two consecutive terms.

In an interview with the Sun-Times editorial board, Davis said he has been a longtime proponent of a Green New Deal and Medicare for All. He said he is also dedicated to implementing fair, equal and progressive taxes, protecting social security, and pro-choice.

Still, Davis faces three young and progressive challengers this year: thirtyseven-year-old Oak Park high school teacher and activist Anthony Clark, twentyeight-year-old Austin healthcare advocate Kina Collins, and thirty-two-year-old Streeterville attorney Kristine Schanbacher.

“I thank Danny Davis for his service, but it is impossible to say that he cares about the people in our district,” Anthony Clark told the Weekly. “He sits back and places party first.There is divestment in communities in which young individuals are not voting.”

Top priorities for Clark include ending gun and police violence, reforming the criminal justice system, improving housing and advocating for Medicare for all, as well as ending the war on drugs and legalizing cannabis. Clark also wants to abolish ICE; he pointed out that Davis recently voted for Trump’s budget that allocated $9 billion to ICE, and $20 billion to border protection.

Kina Collins cites Davis’s corporate donors as her main impetus for running

1ST DISTRICT BY SHANE TOLENTINO

against him. “When I found out that Congressman Davis was taking hundreds of thousands of dollars of corporate money from pharmaceutical companies and private insurance companies, I decided...that I was going to mount a primary challenge against him,” Collins told the Weekly. Before announcing her bid for office, Collins was a national organizer for Physicians for a National Health Program, which advocates for Medicare for All. Kristine Schanbacher says she believes that connecting different groups in the district is important. “The community is not being actively brought together, so that those jobs are not being connected with the job providers,” Schanbcher said. “First and foremost is making sure that we have economic opportunities for all.”

Schanbacher also supports ending the war on drugs, and combating the prison-industrial complex. “Approximately 2.3 million people are nonviolent drug offenders, and there are six times more Black and brown men being put in prison than white men,” she said. “The war on drugs is a failure. We need to focus on uplifting people and not putting people down for crimes of poverty.” (Yiwen Lu) ¬

MARCH 11, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 17

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Check Your Judges

Your voting guide to Cook County’s 2020 judicial primary elections

CANDIDATE FLAGS Former Public Defender Democratic Party Pick Past Controversy Former State's Attorney Appointed Judge Negative Ratings

INJUSTICE WATCH STAFF Injustice Watch is a non-partisan, not-forprofit, multimedia journalism organization that conducts in-depth research exposing institutional failures that obstruct justice and equality.

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n March 17, voters in Cook County will vote in the primary election.

In addition to the well-covered presidential contest and other countywide races, there are thirty-seven judicial vacancies on the ballot this year, including a Supreme Court seat and two Appellate Court seats.

With the exception of a few suburban subcircuit contests, winning the Democratic primary amounts to securing the judicial post, as most Democratic candidates will face no Republican opposition in the November general election.

Judges have the power to make decisions about guilt and innocence, to take away someone's freedom, to interpret or overturn state laws, and to correct or perpetuate injustices. Yet there are few places to get information about the people running for judge. That's why we've created this election guide.

For months our team has scoured the public record to collect information about the candidates, their past employment, campaign contributions, and disciplinary records. Unless otherwise noted, all candidates have received positive ratings from local bar associations. And we've noted endorsements from labor groups, including the Chicago Federation of Labor, the Fraternal Order of Police, AFSCME, and Personal PAC, a pro-choice group.

Here's everything you need to be an informed voter. For issues of space, we did not include races that only featured one candidate, nor did we include subcircuit races that do not cover part of the South Side. For the full Judicial Voter Guide, visit injusticewatch.org.

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SUPREME COURT (FREEMAN VACANCY)

Nathaniel Roosevelt Howse Personal PAC endorsement Nathaniel R. Howse Jr., was first elected to the Cook County Circuit Court in 1998, and retained in 2004. He received a temporary appointment to the Illinois Appellate Court in 2009, and won election to the seat in 2012. Before being elected to the bench, Howse was an attorney in private practice; his work included fighting to keep candidates of the Harold Washington Party, who ran against the Democratic party slated candidates, on the ballot. Howse was also, for a time, law partners with P. Scott Neville Jr., whom he is now running to unseat.

Howse’s family migrated to Chicago from Tennessee, and he speaks of the impact of his childhood in a segregated community.

He has also noted his efforts to eliminate any backlog of cases.

Notable: While Neville won the Democratic party endorsement for the seat, Howse enjoys the support of, among others, U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.

Daniel Epstein Personal PAC endorsement Epstein is the youngest candidate in the race, and also the most unorthodox.

He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 2015, and is the only candidate who has no judicial experience. He was an associate at the Chicago law firm Jenner & Block, where he handled several cases pro bono, until he began his run for office. Epstein has focused his campaign not on the legal opinions that the state high court delivers, but on the potential for the court to

accomplish reform by enacting new court rules, such as expanding the discovery available to defendants and reforming cash bail throughout the state.

Notable: Epstein was ineligible to receive favorable recommendations from the various bar associations, which all set a minimum number of years practicing law that Epstein lacks.

Margaret McBride Stanton Personal PAC endorsement Margaret McBride has been a judge for more than thirty years. McBride was elected by Cook County circuit judges as an associate judge in 1987, and three years later was elected to the circuit court. McBride was retained in 2006 and then, two years later, was first elected to the appellate court. Since 2016 she has also served as an appellate court representative on the sixteen-member Illinois Courts Commission, the body that imposes discipline for judicial misconduct.

Before becoming a judge, McBride was an assistant state’s attorney for ten years.

Notable: As a Circuit Court judge, McBride was appointed the first-ever domestic violence coordinator for the Circuit Court, helping to make domestic courts more child-friendly.

Cynthia Cobbs Cynthia Cobbs has been serving as an Illinois Appellate Court judge by assignment of the Illinois Supreme Court since 2015. Cobbs is seeking the Supreme Court seat long held by her mentor, retired justice Charles Freeman.

Cobbs was a social worker in Maryland before moving to Illinois, attending law school and being admitted to the Illinois bar in 1988. Cobbs went to work as a law clerk

for Freeman, a position she held for years; she then worked as an attorney for the state courts until, in 2002, she was named director of the state courts.

In 2011, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Cobbs to a vacancy on the Cook County Circuit Court, a position that legal experts questioned because Cobbs was then living in Will County. She moved to Cook County, and won election to the circuit court seat in 2014. The following year Cobbs was assigned to the appellate court.

Notable: Cobbs, Howse and Neville all are seeking to become, after Freeman, the second Black elected Supreme Court justice in Illinois history.

Shelly A. Harris Personal PAC endorsement Shelly Harris has been a judge since 2000, when he was appointed to a vacancy on the Cook County Circuit Court. Harris had previously been a lawyer in private practice. In 2002, Harris was defeated when he sought election to a full term on the court, with one major bar association citing concerns regarding his temperament.

The Illinois Supreme Court reappointed Harris to another Circuit Court vacancy in 2005. In 2010 the supreme court appointed Harris to serve on the Illinois Appellate Court, and then gave him another appellate appointment in 2013. In 2014 Harris ran for and won a full term, defeating two other candidates in the March primary.

Notable: State records show Harris has loaned his campaign $2 million, an amount that dwarfs his opponents. Money has been an issue in Harris’s past races. In 2002, the Tribune reported that Harris’s two adult sons had each given $25,000 to support the campaign of Lisa Madigan in her race for state attorney general, among the largest individual donations she had received.

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Madigan’s father, Illinois House Speaker and Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan, had supported Harris’s election effort, and Harris ran with party support.

Harris told the Tribune then that his sons gave the money independently of him.

P. Scott Neville Jr. AFSCME Council 31 endorsement CFL endorsement Neville was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court in 2018, following the retirement of Charles Freeman, the only person of color ever to win election to a seat on the state’s highest court. Neville was first appointed to the Cook County Circuit Court in 1999 and elected the following year. In 2004, he was appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court, and he won election to that seat in 2012. Prior to becoming a judge, Neville spent years in private practice, and for several years one of his partners was Nathaniel Howse, now a competitor for the Supreme Court seat.

Last year Neville authored the opinion for a unanimous state Supreme Court ruling that sentences of more than forty years for juveniles are effectively life sentences, triggering additional protections for youth.

Notable: As a Supreme Court justice, Neville has taken an active role to ensure all courtrooms provide a means to transcribe proceedings and in protecting the rights of litigants who are in court without a lawyer.

Jesse G Reyes Personal PAC endorsement FOP endorsement Reyes first became a judge in 1997, when he won election by the Cook County Circuit judges as an associate judge. Before that, Reyes served as an attorney for the City of Chicago and then for the Chicago Board of Education. After a decade as associate judge, Reyes won election to the Circuit Court in 2008, and then to his current position on the Illinois Appellate Court in 2012. At public forums, Reyes has told audiences that he is a public servant, emphasizing his community work beyond the bench.

Notable: Reyes is the first Latinx man on the Illinois Appellate Court and, if successful, would become the first Latinx man on the state Supreme Court.

APPELLATE COURT (NEVILLE VACANCY)

Michael B. Hyman AFSCME Council 31 endorsement CFL endorsement Michael Hyman has been a Cook County Circuit judge since 2006 and, since 2013, has served by assignment as an Illinois Appellate Court judge. Hyman spent years in private practice, and has served as president of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association. He is the editor-in-chief of the bar association magazine, the CBA Record, for which he regularly writes.

Notable: Hyman has often divided with colleagues in opinions in criminal cases, writing opinions in support of the rights of the accused for split majorities or in dissent. Last October he dissented when an appellate panel ruled that a Cook County judge could order the detention of a thirteen-year old, despite a county ordinance that forbade such detentions.

In the past year, Hyman has authored opinions for divided courts striking down a conviction that followed a lineup made suspect by the defendant’s clothing; a gun conviction that followed a police search that lacked sufficient cause; and challenged the constitutionality of Chicago police arrests based on “investigative alerts.”

Sandra Gisela Ramos Personal PAC endorsement Sandra Ramos was elected to the Cook County Circuit Court in 2010, and retained in 2016. That year, she ran unsuccessfully as one of two challengers who sought to unseat Timothy C. Evans as Circuit Court chief judge. She currently is assigned to the law division, handling civil cases. Before joining the bench, Ramos worked for eight years for the Cook County State’s Attorney, and then worked in private practice specializing in criminal defense.

Notable: If elected, she would be the first Latinx woman Appellate Court judge in Illinois. Jesse Reyes was the first Latinx person elected to the Illinois Appellate Court bench in 2012.

The CBA said Ramos is an “experienced trial judge” and is regarded for her knowledge, ability and diligence. The CCL called her a “capable trial judge” but raised concerns about her limited experience “presiding over complex legal matters.” The ISBA said she doesn’t yet have enough experience, despite finding her “even keeled and diligent.”

Carolyn J. Gallagher Personal PAC endorsement Carolyn Gallagher became a Cook County Circuit Court judge after winning election in 2016. Before becoming a judge, Gallagher spent several years in private practice, where she gained substantial commercial litigation experience. She also had worked as a legal writing instructor.

Gallagher first ran for a seat on the circuit court in 2014, and finished second among four candidates. She ran again in 2016 and won, defeating the slated candidate and three others. She is assigned to a courtroom in the probate division, which handles wills and administers the estates of the deceased, disabled people and minors.

Notable: Gallagher caused a bit of a stir last year when she circulated a letter challenging statements by a Democratic party consultant.

The CBA praised Gallagher’s knowledge, legal ability, and strong legal writing. The CCL noted her “good temperament with a calm and respectful demeanor on the bench.” But the ISBA cited Gallagher’s lack of judicial experience, saying, “In her relatively brief time on the bench, she has not yet presided over matters of sufficient variety and complexity to enable her to acquire the knowledge and experience needed for advancement to the Appellate Court.”

Maureen Patricia O’Leary Maureen Patricia O’Leary worked as a nurse before earning her law degree at John Marshall Law School. She has worked since 2002 as a licensed attorney. Early in her legal career, she spent a brief four months in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

Since then, O’Leary has focused her career on medical and nursing home litigation, currently working as a vice president of claims and litigation at Aperion Care, Inc.,

a chain of assisted living facilities. O’Leary is the only candidate for the seat without judicial experience.

Notable: O’Leary has reported no outside donations or expenditures and, until late January, did not have a campaign committee or website. Campaign consultants and experts told Injustice Watch that O’Leary is likely a “sham candidate,” in the race not to win but to siphon votes in order to help another candidate. O’Leary did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The bar associations cited O’Leary’s lack of experience to be an appellate judge. The ISBA said she “lacks litigation experience and has no experience appearing before the Appellate Court.” The CCL said it is “concerned” that O’Leary is running for the Appellate Court and that she “lacks both litigation experience in complex matters and demonstrated substantial published writing.”

APPELLATE COURT (SIMON VACANCY)

Sharon O. Johnson Sharon Johnson was first elected as a Cook County Circuit Court judge in 2010, beating a five-person field in the primary from the 1st subcircuit. Johnson is assigned to the domestic relations division at the Markham Courthouse, which handles divorce, child custody and support matters.

Previously, she worked for more than a decade in private practice, focusing on real estate, corporate and family law. Johnson ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Illinois Appellate Court in 2014.

Notable: In her first years on the bench, Johnson received negative ratings from bar associations, which cited issues with her temperament and court management. But by the time she successfully ran for retention in 2016 Johnson’s ratings improved, with praise for both her work ethic, legal ability, and thoroughness of her preparation.

John Griffin AFSCME Council 31 endorsement CFL endorsement John

C. Griffin

has

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ELECTIONS

appointment on the Illinois Appellate Court since 2018. He worked for years in a law firm co-founded by his father, James L. Griffin, specializing in property law.

He was appointed to fill a Circuit Court vacancy in 2008 and first was elected to a full term in 2010; he then won retention in 2016. Griffin spent years in the court’s law division, serving as a supervising judge in large commercial cases. He won praise there for being hard-working and knowledgeable.

Notable: In 2018 Griffin wrote the opinion for a unanimous panel ordering former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, the former Cook County Democratic party chairman, to make public records showing how homes were valued for tax purposes.

County millions of dollars in unpaid amusement taxes.

Tiesha L. Smith [former public defender flag, negative bar ratings flag] Tiesha L. Smith has worked in the Cook County Public Defender’s Office since 2010. Before that, she practiced in insurance defense litigation and foreclosure mediation and worked as an attorney for Chicago Public Schools. Smith ran unsuccessfully for the Cook County Circuit Court 2nd subcircuit in 2018.

Smith was rated not recommended by the bar associations because she did not participate in the evaluation process.

CIRCUIT COURT CIRCUIT COURT

(BELLOWS VACANCY)

(COGHLAN VACANCY)

Kerrie Maloney Laytin CFL endorsement Personal PAC endorsement

James T. Derico Jr.

Judge Kerrie Maloney Laytin presides over municipal cases in Chicago. She was appointed to fill a Cook County Circuit Court vacancy in late 2018. Prior to her appointment, she was a longtime attorney for the City of Chicago, working in the Law Department appeals division. She has also represented the city in several high profile cases, including an Illinois Supreme Court case about the constitutionality of Chicago’s red light camera enforcement program.

Earlier in her career, she worked briefly as a staff attorney for the Legal Assistance Foundation, and had a short stint as a civil trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Cristin Keely McDonald Duffy FOP endorsement Cristin McDonald Duffy is deputy supervisor of the real estate tax division at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

She previously worked for fourteen years in the office’s criminal division. Duffy has practiced law for twenty-three years.

Notable: In 2014, Duffy won a civil verdict against the Chicago Bears that required the sports team to pay Cook 20 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

¬ MARCH 11, 2020

James Derico was appointed to the Cook County Circuit Court in December 2018, and serves in the Municipal Division.

Prior to his appointment, he spent much of his career in private practice, where he specialized in business, real estate and tax law. Derico also previously volunteered for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, an organization that offers pro bono legal representation to low-income clients in the Chicago area.

Elizabeth “Beth” Ryan CFL endorsement Personal PAC endorsement Elizabeth Ryan is currently an attorney at the law office of Elizabeth C. Ryan, specializing in personal injury law. She has been a practicing attorney since 2006.

She previously worked at Newman Boyer & Statham and clerked for Cook County Circuit Court Judge Martin Agran.

Notable: Ryan has filed a notice of selffunding, and she and her husband, Clancy, have contributed over $150,000 to her campaign.

Aileen Bhandari

review unit.

Aileen Bhandari has been a Cook County assistant state’s attorney for the past sixteen years. She currently serves in the felony trial division, where she has prosecuted a wide range of felony cases including violent and white-collar crimes.

According to her campaign site, Bhandari has held leadership roles in several legal organizations, including the South Asian Bar Association and the Filipino Lawyers Association of Chicago.

U. O’Neal

Kelly Marie McCarthy Kelly McCarthy has spent nearly all of her legal career in the Cook County Public Defender’s Office and currently heads the division specializing in appeals and other post-conviction matters. She has worked in several different areas during her time there, including the civil division, the felony trial division and the homicide task force.

COOK COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (FORD VACANCY)

John O’Meara John O’Meara is currently an administrative law judge for the Illinois Department of Labor. He was appointed as a Circuit Court judge in the 4th subcircuit in 2016, but he was unseated in the 2018 Democratic primary. After graduating from law school, O’Meara worked as an assistant corporation counsel for the City of Chicago.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, O’Meara worked as an attorney in private practice for nearly two decades, where he specialized in civil litigation.

Laura Ayala-Gonzalez CFL endorsement Personal PAC endorsement FOP endorsement Laura Ayala-Gonzalez currently works as an superving assistant state's attorney in the felony trial unit of the Cook County State’s Attorney's office. She has spent her entire sixteen-year legal career in the office, where she has served in the juvenile justice bureau, the gangs and complex homicide unit, and as a deputy supervisor in the felony

U. O’Neal has worked as an attorney and principal partner in his own law firm since 1993. He has practiced in a range of different areas of law, including corporate, criminal defense and civil rights. O’Neal is also a certified mandatory arbitrator for the circuit courts of Cook County. He previously ran as Ubi O’Neal in the 2018 Democratic primary for Cook County’s 2nd subcircuit and lost. When he was admitted to the Illinois bar, O’Neal was known as Ubochi Osuji.

Notable: O’Neal was censured for legal misconduct by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1999, after he directed someone to fraudulently endorse a settlement check so that he could be paid for his work. The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission chose censure over more severe remedies, noting that “his improper conduct is attributable to lack of experience and poor judgment rather than an intent to deny any party a share of the settlement proceeds.”

O’Neal was rated not recommended by the bar associations because he did not participate in the evaluation process.

CIRCUIT COURT (FUNDERBUNK VACANCY)

Celestia L. Mays CFL Personal PAC endorsement Celestia Mays was appointed to a vacancy on the Cook County Circuit Court at the end of 2018 and began hearing cases in the Municipal Division in January 2019.

She served in this position until late last year, when she was elected by the Circuit Court judges to serve as an associate judge. That vote left the Circuit Court seat open until the election; Mays is guaranteed to either remain an associate judge or, if elected, return to the Circuit Court.

Prior to her appointment, she focused on family and estate law as an attorney in private practice. Mays also previously served as the president of the Cook County Bar Association. She was a finalist for an associate judgeship in 2018, but she was not selected.

ELECTIONS

Mary Therese Quinn Mary Quinn spent over two decades in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, where she prosecuted a wide variety of felony cases. She currently works in private practice as a criminal defense attorney. Quinn ran three previous times for a Cook County Circuit Court seat in the 15th subcircuit but failed to win the Democratic primary on each occasion.

Daniel L. Collins Daniel Collins works in private practice, specializing in worker compensation and other business and employment litigation.

He started his career as an assistant state’s attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. Collins previously ran in the 2018 Democratic primary for the Cook County Circuit Court 4th subcircuit under the name Danny Collins. He was elected in 2019 to the Board of Commissioners of the Park District of La Grange.

Jacqueline Marie Griffin FOP endorsement Jacqueline Griffin has been a Cook County assistant state’s attorney since she became a lawyer in 2005. For the past two years, Jacqueline has been a trial specialist in the sexual assault and domestic violence unit of the felony trial division.

CIRCUIT COURT (LARSEN VACANCY)

Megan Kathleen Mulay FOP endorsement Megan Mulay has spent her career as an assistant state’s attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. She is currently assigned to the criminal prosecutions bureau in the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.

Mulay currently oversees the prosecution and management of over 300 active felony cases.

Suzanne Therese McNeely Suzanne McEneely has spent her career as public defender, having joined the office

soon after becoming authorized to practice law in 2002. She has worked in a variety of roles within the Public Defender’s office, including the abuse and neglect division, the domestic violence division, and now the criminal division. She currently works at the Skokie Courthouse.

Chicago. This is his third run for the bench after losing the Democratic primaries in subcircuit races in 2000 and 2010.

Notable: McEneely has filed for a notice of self-funding for her campaign.

Her family has donated over $150,000 for the purposes of her election.

The CBA rated Chico as qualified, complementing his legal knowledge, ability, and demeanor.The CCL said “his career lacks substantial litigation experience in more complex matters,” while still complementing his legal ability and temperament. The ISBA also noted Chico’s “limited experience in jury trials and complex legal matters.”

Levander “Van” Smith Jr. CFL Personal PAC endorsement Levander Smith was appointed to a Cook County Circuit Court vacancy in early 2019 and currently oversees cases in the domestic violence division. Late last year, Smith was elected by the Circuit Court judges to serve as an associate judge. That vote left the Circuit Court seat open until the election; Smith is guaranteed to either remain an associate judge or, if elected, return to the Circuit Court.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, he had two stints as an attorney with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, first in the 1990s and then again from 2011 to 2019. In between, he spent four years as a prosecutor, first in St. Louis County and then in Cook County.

He was also an assistant attorney general in Missouri, where he worked on worker’s compensation cases.

Notable: His campaign is mostly selffunded. He had loaned his campaign over $60,000 as of Dec. 31, 2019. He is the Democratic party’s slated candidate and he has donated $30,000 to the Cook County Democractic Party.

CIRCUIT COURT (MASON VACANCY)

Joseph Chico Joseph Chico has worked in private practice throughout his career. He practices in a wide range of areas, including family, personal injury, and criminal defense law.

He also works as a hearing officer with the Chicago Housing Authority and as an administrative law judge with the City of

Notable: Joseph Chico is cousins with Gery Chico, who ran for mayor of Chicago in 2011 and 2019.

Joy E. Tolbert Nelson FOP endorsement Nelson has worked as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney since 1999.

She is currently assigned as lead attorney in the felony trial division in the Maywood Courthouse.

The CBA rated her not recommended despite her “excellent temperament,” citing concerns about her “legal knowledge and legal ability” stemming from her lack of civil practice experience. The CCL praised her litigation experience and temperament. The ISBA said attorneys reported she is “diligent and trustworthy.”

Chris Stacey Personal PAC endorsement Chris Stacey has worked in private practice throughout his legal career, primarily in the areas of tort and commercial litigation. Stacey has run for judge once before, in 1998, when he highlighted his musical background. He has served on the board of Cabrini Green Legal Aid. Notable: Stacey is the Democratic party’s slated candidate. He has loaned his campaign more than $170,000 and has donated more than $40,000 to the Cook County Democratic Party.

Jennifer Patricia Callahan CFL endorsement Jennifer Callahan practices in the areas of criminal defense and transactional work

as an attorney in private practice. After graduating from law school, she worked as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney, serving in the first municipal division, the narcotics prosecutions bureau, and the alternative prosecutions unit. Callahan has also worked as an administrative law judge and as retained counsel for an inhouse insurance defense firm defending employment claims.

Notable: Callahan has filed a notice of self-funding and has loaned her campaign $100,000.

Bonnie Carol McGrath Personal PAC endorsement Bonnie McGrath has worked in private practice throughout her legal career. According to a written statement to Injustice Watch in 2018, she has “prosecuted municipal violations” for Cook County and practiced in all areas of the Cook County Circuit Court. She also writes a personal blog about politics and other topics of interest. This is McGrath’s fifth run for the bench.

Notable: McGrath was identified to Injustice Watch by people involved in judicial races as having run in the past as a “sham candidate,” intended to siphon votes from one candidate to help another judicial hopeful. Until January, McGrath had reported raising no money, was not appearing at candidate events and had no campaign website. In a statement to Injustice Watch, McGrath said she is “running for judge to become a judge!”

McGrath was rated not recommended by the bar associations because she did not participate in the evaluation process.

Arthur D. Sutton Arthur Sutton is an attorney in private practice, where he practices civil litigation and criminal defense. He has previously worked in a variety of roles in the Department of Corrections, including time as a correctional officer. He began his legal career as a Cook County public defender in the mid-1990s. He previously ran for judge in 2006.

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ELECTIONS

Notable: Sutton resigned from his position as Deputy Director of the Parole Division of the Illinois Department of Corrections in February 2015 after failing to secure his government-issued gun on two occasions. The first came in 2014 when his son, then seventeen, took the gun and shot himself in the ankle, and the second happened in February 2015 when his son once again took the gun and used it in an armed robbery in which someone was shot in the leg.

In 2003, Sutton received a ninetyday stayed suspension from the Illinois Supreme Court. The Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission concluded that Sutton had violated multiple ethical policies by improperly managing settlement money and mixing his personal funds with settlement funds.

The CBA raised “concerns about his diligence, attention to detail, and depth and breadth of practice experience.” The ISBA and CCL complemented his legal ability and temperament.

CIRCUIT COURT (MCCARTHY VACANCY)

Michael O’Malley FOP endorsement Michael O’Malley has served as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney for the past fourteen years. He currently works in the office’s civil rights and torts division. He previously worked in the special prosecutions bureau, where he prosecuted public corruption, and has prosecuted child sex crimes. Prior to becoming a lawyer, O’Malley was a financial analyst for JPMorgan Chase. O’Malley ran unsuccessfully for judge in 2016 and 2018.

First Municipal Division, where she oversees traffic cases. Prior to her appointment, she led real estate prosecutions at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. For the first fifteen years of her legal career, Molina was a Cook County assistant state’s attorney, where she worked in the felony trial division, the grand jury unit, and the felony review unit.

claimed she had occasionally been “abrasive with opposing counsel.” The ISBA also said, “opinions on her diligence and temperament were also divided” and questioned her experience in complex matters. The CBA rated her qualified due to her “legal knowledge and experience.”

CIRCUIT COURT

Dan Walsh has worked as an assistant Cook County public defender for most of his career. He represents defendants in felony cases at the Maywood Courthouse.

Walsh, who was admitted to the bar in 2001, earlier worked for the State Appellate Defender.

(MURPHY GORMAN VACANCY)

Keely Patricia Hillison Keely Hillison has been an attorney for thirty years, first at Parrillo Weiss LLC, a Chicago law firm, where she was a partner, and now for her own firm. At Parrillo Weiss, Hillison supervised the firm’s insurance law and appellate practices. Since 2000, she has also served as an arbitrator in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Hillison ran unsuccessfully for a circuit court seat in 2018.

The CBA rated Hillison qualified due to her legal experience, knowledge, calm demeanor, and diligence. The CCL also rated Hillison qualified, but noted that early in her career her firm was “accused of filing frivolous claims.” The ISBA expressed concerns over the extent of her experience, saying, “much of her practice consists of high-volume, simpler cases.”

Amanda “Mandy” Pillsbury FOP endorsement Amanda Pillsbury has worked as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney for her entire fifteen-year legal career. She currently serves in the felony trial division.

Teresa Molina CFL endorsement Personal PAC endorsement

Notable: Pillsbury unsuccessfully ran for a circuit court seat in 2018. In that election, multiple bar associations made a mention of her temperament. The ISBA found opinions on her diligence and temperament were “divided,” and the CCL said she could be “abrasive with opposing counsel.” Both these organizations found her not qualified in 2018.

Teresa Molina was appointed to a vacancy on the Cook County Circuit Court in July 2019, and she currently works in the

The CCL rated Pillsbury not qualified again this year after some respondents questioned her diligence, and once again

Notable: O’Malley’s campaign is largely self-funded. He has loaned his campaign committee more than $68,000.

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Dan Walsh

Walsh was rated not recommended by the bar associations because he did not participate in the evaluation process.

Sheree Desiree Henry CFL Personal PAC endorsement Sheree Henry was appointed to the Cook County Circuit Court in July 2019.

Prior to her appointment, Henry worked as an assistant public defender for two decades. Before that, she spent four years as an assistant public guardian, representing children in abuse and neglect cases. Henry currently oversees traffic cases at the Daley Center.

Notable: Henry served in the Illinois Army National Guard for eight years.

CIRCUIT COURT (O’BRIEN VACANCY)

Heather Anne Kent FOP endorsement Heather Kent has spent her career as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney.

Kent, who was admitted to the Illinois bar in 2006, is currently assigned to the felony trial division, after previously trying cases in both misdemeanor and child protection courtrooms.

Lloyd James Brooks Personal PAC endorsment Lloyd Brooks was appointed to the Circuit Court in November 2018. Prior to his appointment, Brooks worked in private practice, specializing in consumer protection and mortgage foreclosure defense. Brooks also practiced in insurance law and commercial litigation. He currently oversees cases in the Municipal Division at the Daley Center.

Notable: Brooks’ campaign is mostly self-funded. He has loaned his campaign $90,000. Brooks is the Democratic Party’s slated candidate, and has donated $40,000 to the Cook County Democratic Party.

Elizabeth Anne Walsh CFL Elizabeth Walsh has worked as a trial attorney in private practice throughout her career. She focuses on civil law and has defended individuals and businesses facing lawsuits in civil court.

CIRCUIT COURT (ROTI VACANCY)

Araceli Reyes De La Cruz Personal PAC endorsement Araceli De La Cruz is general counsel for the Acero Charter School Network.

Prior to that, she worked for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation as the chief of general prosecutions and for the Chicago Transit Authority as a chief compliance officer and deputy chief of staff. De La Cruz started her career as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney. Over the course of a decade at the State’s Attorney’s office, she served in six different divisions, including the juvenile justice bureau, the sex crimes division, and the felony review division.

Notable: De La Cruz is the Democratic Party’s slated candidate for this race and her campaign is mostly self-funded. She loaned more than $70,000 to her campaign and has donated $30,000 to the Cook County Democractic Party.

ELECTIONS

James Patrick Crawley Personal PAC endorsement Crawley works at Kennedy and Associates, P.C., a Chicago law firm, where he specializes in wrongful death and product liability litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants. This is Crawley’s second judicial run after an unsuccessful bid in 2014.

Notable: Crawley has been an active member of the LGBTQ community. Among other positions, he was previously on the LGBT Citizens Advisory Committee for the Chicago Police Department.

Lorraine Mary Murphy CFL FOP endorsements Lorraine Murphy has spent much of her career at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, where she has prosecuted a variety of different types of cases in the felony trial division. Prior to her legal career, she worked in broadcast journalism. This is Murphy’s second run for the bench after an unsuccessful bid for a 10th subcircuit seat in 2018.

CIRCUIT COURT (SHEEHAN, C. VACANCY)

Russell W. Hartigan FOP endorsement Russell Hartigan served as a judge from 2010, when he was appointed to a Cook County Circuit Court vacancy, to 2017. He won election to the seat in 2012, but stepped down in 2017 citing family health issues.

During his tenure as a judge, Hartigan presided over civil cases in the Daley Center.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Hartigan worked in private practice for over 30 years, specializing in civil litigation including casualty and municipal defense, workers compensation and personal injury.

He also served in several elected and appointed government roles in the suburbs of Berwyn, Lyons, and Western Springs.

Since stepping down from the bench, he served for a year as the president of the Illinois State Bar Association.

Maura McMahon Zeller CFL Personal PAC endorsement

has been licensed to practice in Illinois since 2007 and practiced in Colorado in the early 1990s.

Maura Zeller has been an attorney in Cook County for over 26 years, primarily in the area of child welfare and guardianship litigation. She currently represents children in child custody cases as an appointed child representative and guardian ad litem. Before that, she worked for a decade in the Office of the Public Guardian as an assistant public guardian and child representative. Zeller is the board chair of the Thrive Counseling Center in Oak Park.

Notable: DeLoach was given a 30 day suspension in Colorado in 1997 for representing a client in a murder case when she had previously represented a codefendant in a separate matter. She used that relationship to visit the co-defendant several times in jail without his lawyer’s knowledge or approval.

Deidre Baumann Personal PAC endorsement Baumann runs her own practice, where she specializes in civil rights litigation, personal injury and employment discrimination. She started her career in a boutique law firm that specialized in First Amendment law. She previously worked as an arbitrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Notable: Baumann has been heavily involved in the LGBTQ community throughout her career. According to her campaign site, she is currently on the board of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago and serves as vice chair of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee of the Illinois State Bar Association.

Ratings for Baumann were mixed.

The CBA mentioned “significant concerns” raised to them of Baumann’s professionalism, organizational skills, and knowledge of the law. The CCL said Baumann was reported to be a “respected attorney with substantial litigation experience” and the ISBA noted, “she is considered diligent and professional with strong writing skills.”

CIRCUIT COURT (SHEEHAN, K. VACANCY)

Wendelin “Wendi” DeLoach Wendelin DeLoach is an attorney in private practice, where she works in a wide range of legal areas, including criminal defense, family law and personal injury. She

Steve Demitro Steve Demitro has worked in private practice throughout his career, focusing on personal injury law. He previously served as chairman of the Education Funding Advisory Board for the state of Illinois.

Demitro has done arbitration work for the Circuit Court of Cook County. He ran unsuccessfully for the Circuit Court in 2012.

DeLoach was rated not recommended by the bar associations because she did not participate in the evaluation process.

Notable: Demitro, the son of immigrants, dropped out of high school, but—after a chance meeting with a lawyer— completed his GED, graduated from college and law school, and passed the bar.

James Samuel Worley FOP endorsement

Demitro was rated not recommended by the bar associations because he did not participate in the evaluation process.

James Samuel Worley is an attorney at Gottreich, Grace & Thompson, where he specializes in family law and DUI criminal defense. Before joining his current firm, he ran his own firm, J. Samuel Worley, LLC. Worley began his legal career as an assistant state’s attorney, and he is currently also an attorney for the Fraternal Order of Police.

Jill Rose Quinn CFL Personal PAC endorsement Jill Quinn is an attorney in private practice, working in a wide range of areas of law, including bankruptcy, family law, and criminal defense. Before running her own practice, Quinn worked for the Village Attorney of Glen Ellyn and as an arbitrator in both DuPage and Cook counties. She ran unsuccessfully for a Cook County Circuit Court 10th subcircuit seat in 2018.

Notable: If elected, Quinn would become the first transgender judge in Illinois.

CIRCUIT COURT

(14TH SUBCIRCUIT, BERTUCCI VACANCY)

14th Subcircuit: Covers much of the Southwest Side of Chicago, including Bridgeport, Back of the Yards, Little Village, Brighton Park, and Gage Park, and the suburb of Cicero. It is home to the Leighton Criminal Courthouse and the Cook County Jail at 26th and California.

Gerardo Tristan Jr. CFL endorsement Gerardo Tristan Jr. was appointed to a Cook County Circuit Court 14th subcircuit seat in November 2018 and currently oversees traffic cases at the Daley Center.

Prior to his appointment, he worked as an assistant state’s attorney for fifteen years.

Tristan had worked briefly upon graduating law school in private practice and for the Chicago Board of Education.

CIRCUIT COURT

(14TH SUBCIRCUIT, LACY VACANCY)

Perla Tirado Perla Tirado began her career with the Cook County Public Defender’s office, where she defended cases related to traffic violations and domestic violence. She then went into private practice, specializing in criminal defense and immigration law.

Tirado currently works as a supervising attorney at Beyond Legal Aid, a non-profit legal aid organization for underserved communities.

The CCL said Tirado has a good temperament and “substantial litigation experience in a variety of areas.” But the CBA and ISBA raised concerns about her lack of experience with complex litigation.

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ELECTIONS

Daniel O. Tiernan FOP CFL endorsement

“litigation experience in a variety of matters in both state and federal courts.”

Daniel O. Tiernan was appointed to the Cook County Circuit Court 14th subcircuit in February 2019 and oversaw traffic cases at the Daley Center until late last year, when he was elected by the Circuit Court to serve as an associate judge. That vote left the 14th subcircuit seat open until the election; Tiernan is guaranteed to either remain an associate judge or, if elected, return to the Circuit Court.

He previously worked as an investigator for the Cook County Independent Inspector General. Tiernan also spent over a decade as an assistant state’s attorney before working as a private attorney in criminal defense.

Felicia H. Simmons-Stovall

Tiernan’s appointment sparked outrage from activists and elected officials. They were upset that Tiernan, who is white, was appointed in a district that is largely Latinx.

The CCL noted Simmon-Stovall’s “variety of legal experiences” and praised her “professional demeanor.” The CBA and ISBA raised concerns about the “depth and breadth” of her legal experience, noting that she has substantial administrative law experience but limited trial experience.

CIRCUIT COURT (2ND SUBCIRCUIT, A VACANCY)

2nd Subcircuit: Roseland, Pullman, and several south suburbs, including Dolton, Riverdale, Dixmoor, Harvey and Homewood. It is home to the court's Markham Courthouse.

Chelsey R. Robinson Chelsey Robinson has worked as a private attorney for her law firm Owens & Robinson since she was admitted to the bar in 1996. Her firm specializes in cases related to bankruptcy, domestic relations, criminal defense, personal injury and worker's compensation. She previously ran unsuccessfully the 2016 Democratic primary for a 2nd subcircuit Cook County Circuit Court vacancy.

Notable: Robinson has defended low-income clients who police allegedly subjected to controversial “stop-and-frisk” searches. Her law firm’s website says that the firm provides legal consultation to “The Judge Mathis Show.”

The CBA wrote that Robinson “has a wide range of practice experience and is well regarded for her knowledge of the law and diligence.” However, the ISBA expressed concerns about her “limited jury and bench trial activities and limited experience with complex matters.” CCL said she has 24 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY

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Felicia H. Simmons-Stovall has worked as an enforcement attorney at the Illinois Securities Department for over a decade.

On her campaign website, she describes her role as representing the Illinois Secretary of State against “unscrupulous individuals” who commit financial fraud. In addition to her work in consumer protection, SimmonsStovall has served as an administrative hearing officer for the Illinois Secretary of State. She has previously run twice for alderman in Chicago’s 15th Ward, and lost both times.

Sondra Nicole Denmark CFL Personal PAC endorsement Sondra Denmark was appointed to the 2nd subcircuit in December of 2018, and currently oversees municipal cases at the Daley Center. She previously worked as an assistant state’s attorney for 13 years, ten of those years in Will County and three in Cook County. Denmark ran unsuccessfully for a 15th subcircuit vacancy in 2014.

of sometimes losing his temper in court proceedings. In a 2016 Injustice Watch article, he strongly denied these accusations and said, “I’ve always been professional to any State’s Attorney or any judge.”

The CBA wrote that Lipinski “has criminal practice experience” but there were “concerns about his diligence and temperament.” The CCL said there were “several reports that Mr. Lipinski can be abrasive and lack courtesy.” The ISBA noted that he received “mixed comments regarding temperament” but praised his trial experience and legal knowledge.

Brad S. Telander Brad Telander works in private practice as a criminal defense attorney. From 1983 to 1991, he was a Cook County assistant state's attorney, prosecuting gang crimes and other felony and misdemeanor cases.

Thomas J. Condon Jr. Thomas J. Condon Jr. is a lawyer in private practice at the Chicago-based firm of Peterson, Johnson & Murray, where he has specialized in personal injury law and business litigation for the past four years.

Condon worked for a number of firms previously, and has a combined seventeen years of legal experience, including four years as assistant department counsel for the Chicago Department of Buildings.

James John Knibbs

Scott Edward Lipinski has been a Cook County assistant public defender since shortly after being admitted to the bar in 2002. Lipinski has defended clients in jury and non jury trials at the Bridgeview courthouse. He has previously run unsuccessfully for multiple judicial positions, most recently in 2016.

James J. Knibbs is a private attorney who practices across a wide range of legal areas, including commercial litigation, civil rights defense and white-collar criminal defense. Knibbs serves of counsel to the law firm Foran Glennon Palandech Ponzi & Rudloff. From 1985 to 1989, he was an assistant Cook County state's attorney. He then spent more than a decade in private practice before returning to the State's Attorney's office from 2002 to 2008 in various roles that included supervisor of Public Corruption and Financial Crimes Unit. He also taught trial advocacy at Loyola Law School from 2003 to 2009.

Notable: Lipinski has received poor bar ratings after other lawyers accused him

Notable: Knibbs has represented “over 60 Chicago police officers in federal lawsuits,”

CIRCUIT COURT (3RD SUBCIRCUIT, FLYNN VACANCY)

Scott Edward Lipinski

according to his campaign website. He also helped prosecute a case against several CPD officers in 2006. Knibbs and former State’s Attorney Richard Devine worked together in private practice for several years after they left government, as partners at Meckler Bulger Tilson.

Regina Ann Mescall Regina Ann Mescall has worked as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney since 2007. She currently oversees cases as a first chair felony trial assistant, responsible for the active murder cases in Cook County.

Mescall began her career as an assistant district attorney in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she prosecuted crimes against children for over five years.

David A. Bonoma CFL Personal PAC endorsements David A. Bonoma is a partner in the Chicago office of Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, one of the country’s biggest government debt collectors. From 1997 to 2003, Bonoma served as chief of staff to then-Cook County State’s Attorney Dick Devine. In 2005, Bonoma and Victor Reyes, the longtime Richard M. Daley aide and Hispanic Democratic Organization founder, founded Reyes & Bonoma Ltd., a lobbying and legal firm. Bonoma was appointed to the Illinois Employment Security Board of Review in 2010 by then-Governor Pat Quinn. He also had a brief stint as an external affairs director for ComEd in 2012 and 2013.

Notable: In addition to being Victor Reyes’s partner in their lobbying firm, Bonoma worked as a registered lobbyist with Reyes’s Roosevelt Group from 2005 to 2007. During his time as a lobbyist, Bonoma advocated on behalf of Chicago Aviation Partners, a firm with close ties to Daley, and H.W. Lochner, a construction engineering firm that has received large contracts from the City of Chicago. Bonoma and his wife have contributed $14,000 to political campaigns since 2005, and his firms contributed more than $52,000 in that time.

In an email to Injustice Watch, Bonoma emphasized that it has been almost a decade since he worked with Reyes. “I can’t remember the last time I saw him or spoke

ELECTIONS

with him,” he wrote.

The CBA and CCL both praised Bonoma’s wide-ranging legal experience and his strong work ethic, but they also expressed concerns about his limited trial experience. The ISBA raised concerns over his “lack of jury and bench trial experience.”

Lauren Brougham Glennon FOP endorsement Lauren Brougham Glennon has worked in private practice since 2006, in law firms and then, since 2017, in solo practice. Her practice has covered a number of legal areas, including property tax law. She began her career as an assistant corporation counsel in the Chicago Law Department. She previously ran in and lost the 2014 race for the 3rd subcircuit.

The CCL praised Glennon’s experience in “a variety of legal areas.” However, the CBA wrote that “at this stage of her career she does not possess the requisite depth and breadth of legal experience to effectively serve as a Circuit Court Judge.” The ISBA also raised concerns about her lack of jury trial and courtroom litigation experience.

CIRCUIT COURT

(3RD SUBCIRCUIT, MURPHY VACANCY)

3rd Subcircuit: Parts of the Southwest Side, including Midway, Marquette Park, Beverly and Mt. Greenwood. It also includes the southwest suburbs of Burbank, Hometown, and Evergreen Park, and the northeast corner of Oak Lawn.

Thomas G. O’Brien Thomas G. O’Brien began his legal career as an assistant attorney general for Illinois before entering private practice in 2003. He spent several years as an environmental scientist before he began law school, working on projects with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. O’Brien previously ran unsuccessfully for a Cook County Circuit Court 3rd subcircuit seat in the 2010 Democratic primary.

O’Brien was rated not recommended by the bar associations because he did not participate in the evaluation process.

Erin Haggerty Antonietti CFL FOP endorsement Erin Antonietti worked as an assistant state’s attorney for over two decades before her June 2019 appointment to a Cook County Circuit Court vacancy. She currently hears traffic cases in the First Municipal Division. As state’s attorney, Antonietti prosecuted a wide range of cases, including violent felonies, domestic violence cases and traffic violations. Antonietti has also been an adjunct professor in the criminal justice program at Prairie State College.

Notable: Antonietti has loaned over $100,000 to her own campaign committee.

Circuit Court (7th Subcircuit, Jackson vacancy) 7th Subcircuit: West along the Eisenhower Expressway from the West Loop to the west suburbs of Berwyn, Forest Park and River Forest (but does not include Oak Park). It includes the West Side neighborhoods of Garfield Park, North Lawndale, Homan Square, Austin and part of West Humboldt Park.

Kristen Marie Lyons FOP endorsement Kristen Lyons is a solo practitioner focusing on civil law, including family and personal injury law. She has also represented workers before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. According to her campaign’s Facebook page, Lyons began her legal career in 2004 with the Chicago Police Department, where she helped review policies, procedures and law materials used to instruct police recruits.

Lyons was rated not recommended

by CCL and ISBA because she did not participate in their evaluation process.

The CBA praised her “extensive litigation experience in both defense and plaintiff cases.”

Mable Taylor Mable Taylor is a private attorney who has worked on both civil and criminal cases throughout her career. She has previously taught classes at several law schools and served as an arbitrator for Cook County.

Taylor is running for a judicial seat for the fourth time in the last ten years.

Notable: Taylor worked on behalf of the failed effort by Cook County Clerk of Court Dorothy Brown to run for mayor of Chicago last year even while her office was under federal investigation. Taylor represented Brown in a petition challenge brought by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle that caused Brown to be kicked off the ballot over the validity of her signatures.

Taylor was rated not recommended by the bar associations because she did not participate in the evaluation process.

that she was married for a time to Raymond Nimrod. It’s unclear where Conway and O’Brien comes from.

Owens “Joe” Shelby Owens “Joe” Shelby has been an assistant state’s attorney in Cook County for the past eleven years. He previously served as assistant counsel to the Office of the Speaker in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Shelby says his service to his community is exemplified by his membership on the boards of multiple westside organizations, including the National Black Prosecutors’ Association, the NAACP Westside Chapter, and the Better Boys Foundation.

Pamela Reaves-Harris Pamela Reaves-Harris works for the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development as a special assistant for legal affairs. She served as a state representative for the 10th District in the Illinois General Assembly from 2015 to 2017. Prior to her time as a legislator, she worked as a private attorney and as an administrative law judge.

Notable: This seat on the 7th subcircuit is being temporarily filled by Cook County Sheriff ’s policy director Cara Smith, who was appointed to the seat by the Supreme Court. Smith decided not to run for the seat after Reaves-Harris, among others, labeled Smith’s appointment a snub, because Smith is white and the 7th subcircuit is “a majority-minority district,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Reaves-Harris praised Smith’s decision not to run, saying that “this seat was created with the intent to give African Americans in that community representation in the judicial system.”

Marcia O’Brien Conway Marcia O’Brien Conway has spent most of her career as an assistant state’s attorney in Cook County. She currently works in the Real Estate Tax Division and previously worked on corporate transactions.

Prior to joining the State’s Attorney’s Office, Conway focused on real estate issues in private practice.

Notable: Marcia O’Brien Conway was originally Marcia Marie Organ. At least one of her name changes comes from the fact

CIRCUIT COURT

(8TH SUBCIRCUIT, FLEMING VACANCY)

8th Subcircuit: North along the lakefront from Chinatown to Edgewater, and includes the South Loop, the Loop, Near North Side, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and Uptown.

Bradley R. Trowbridge Personal PAC Bradley R. Trowbridge specializes in divorce and family law. He opened his own firm, the Law Offices of Bradley R. Trowbridge, in 2012. He has been licensed to practice law since 2000, and has also worked in legal aid and served as an assistant corporation counsel for the City of Chicago.

Before he became a lawyer, Trowbridge was a social worker for 10 years. He has offered legal services to victims of domestic violence and has emphasized working along with the LGBTQ community.

Notable: Trowbridge has unsuccessfully run for the Cook County Circuit Court in 2012 and 2018.

Jonathan Clark Green CFL Personal PAC endorsement Jonathan Clark Green is a supervising attorney in the Chicago Department of Law who focuses on civil litigation. Green was first licensed in Illinois in 1986, and has been in his current position since 2003.

He has worked on implementing the city’s MARCH 11, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 25

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ELECTIONS

new consent decree for police officers, and represented the city and police in lawsuits.

Previously, Green was an assistant attorney general in the office of the Illinois Attorney General.

Notable: Green’s division of the Law Department has in the past been criticized and sanctioned for withholding evidence in lawsuits against the city police. Injustice Watch reported on those complaints in 2018, when Green previously ran for a Circuit Court seat. Green responded that he has never been personally sanctioned by any court and says he was not personally involved in the particular discovery issues that we previously reported on. The Judicial Voter Guide was created by data journalist and coder Marc Lajoie; reporters Connor Echols, Milan Rivas, and Stender Von Oehsen; and researchers Julian Gonzalez, Tyrone Lomax, Maia Rosenfeld, Isaac Slevin, Talia Soglin, Radhika Upadhye, and Grace Wade

Meet the Candidates: Kim Foxx

The Weekly sits down with the Cook County State’s Attorney

BY KIRAN MISRA AND JIM DALEY

I

n 2016, Kim Foxx was swept into office on a wave of community outrage over the way her predecessor, Anita Alvarez, handled the 2014 police murder of Laquan McDonald. Foxx grew up in Cabrini-Green, attended law school at Southern Illinois University, and worked as an Assistant State’s Attorney for more than a decade.

Foxx has declined to prosecute low-level shoplifting and drug cases, established an open data portal for felony cases, and declined to request pretrial detention for nonviolent offenders. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Have you seen an increase in shoplifting or other low-level offenses since you stopped prosecuting these cases as felonies?

No. We’re still prosecuting retail theft as misdemeanors. What we’ve tried to do is bring Cook County more in line with other states across the country who have a higher felony threshold for retail theft than we do. Our threshold is three hundred dollars.

Forty-seven other states have a higher threshold than Illinois, and there have been numerous studies that have demonstrated that even when those states raise their felony retail theft threshold, people were not stealing at a higher amount to accommodate that. However, we do want to make sure that we’re holding people accountable, and doing it in a way that is appropriate for the resources that we have..

The sad reality is that we have a tremendous amount of people who are arrested and charged with simple possession of drug cases. This isn’t a criminal justice issue; this is a public health issue. So where appropriate, we have diverted people out of the system early in the process, or not charged people who we recognize their crime is simple possession, because it’s not helpful to them and it doesn’t do anything

to keep our communities safer.

Can you describe the approach your office has taken towards repeat violent offenders, and with regard to gun crimes in particular?

Here’s the reality: a majority of our defendants who come in on cases of violence have themselves been victims of violent crime. There’s a vicious cycle of victims and defendants. We cannot care just when they’re victims and we’re prosecuting the person who has harmed them, and a month later when they become a defendant, we no longer care about the harm that has been caused to them. We are very thoughtful and intentional around looking at trauma and the things that drive people to engage in violent behavior, the need for resources in community to deal with trauma, to deal with mental health, and to deal with the contributing factors to violence.

In 2016, you said you wanted to assign an independent prosecutor for every policeinvolved shooting. Can you give us an update on that?

Our office doesn’t have the authority to appoint a special prosecutor; the presiding judge of the criminal court is the only one who can. What we did, however, was go to Springfield and ask the House to have a secondary review of our work. A bill was passed in 2017 that allows the Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor to have jurisdiction over our office. Now, if we have an officer-involved shooting, if our decision is to reject charges, the case is sent to the ILSAAP for review.

perceived as being a result of your office’s actions. Can you speak to these concerns?

I reject the notion that our policies are causing an uptick in crime. I wasn’t in office in the nineties or early 2000s; I’ve been here three years. Violent crime was at horrifying peaks in the nineties. It’s come down both locally and nationally. The instinct to try to blame individual entities for crime is political rhetoric. It’s scapegoating.

There’s a narrative, particularly from law enforcement, that “Oh, it’s not us, it’s the State’s Attorney.” And that is harmful to the work that we’re trying to do in the community. I understand why people in Chinatown are fearful. There has been an incidence of violence and fear that has permeated as a result of the people that committed the crime. The notion that our office’s policy on not prosecuting people for driving on a suspended license is what’s driving crime is absurd. Kiran Misra is a journalist and policy researcher.

She last wrote for the Weekly about the Invisible Institute’s investigation of the CPD shooting of Harith Augustus. Jim Daley is the Weekly’s politics editor. He last interviewed candidates for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District.

At a community meeting in Chinatown, community members expressed frustration about an uptick in crime, which many MARCH 11, 2020 ¬ SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY 27

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