Candidates vie for state high court Three Democrats, four GOP hopefuls seeking primary wins Election 2022 illinois supreme court second judicial circuit

Democratic voters in Lake, McHenry, Kane, DeKalb and Kendall counties will choose between three people with varied backgrounds to determine their nominee for the Illinois Supreme Court from the Second Judicial Circuit.

Kane County Judge Rene Cruz, Lake County Judge Elizabeth Rochford and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering will compete in the June 28 Democratic primary for the opportunity to face the Republican nominee in the Nov. 8 general election.

The winner of the Democratic contest will quickly start campaigning against the candidate who emerges from the four-way Republican primary held simultaneously.

Seeking the GOP nod are Former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran, District 2 Appellate Judge Susan Hutchinson, Kane County Court Judge John Noverini and Lake County Judge Daniel Shanes.

Rotering, 60, Highland Park's mayor since 2011 with two years on its City Council before that, earned her law degree from the University of Chicago in 1990. She practiced with McDermott, Will & Emery in Chicago for eight years before becoming more community involved.

"I specialized in finding insurance fraud in the health care industry. I did health care law, corporate, tax, real estate and regulatory law," Rotering said, "I was not a litigator," she added referring to trial work in a courtroom.

Rochford, 61, and a Lake Forest resident, became a judge in Lake County in 2012. After graduating from the School of Law at Loyola University Chicago in 1986, she spent four years in the Lake County state's attorney's office before going into private practice.

"I have a broad scope of legal knowledge," Rochford said, referring to time spent judging probate and family matters. "I have worked for access to the judicial system for the poor and vulnerable. I established a courtroom in the Family Division for those who are unrepresented (by a lawyer)."

Cruz, 51, and an Aurora resident, is also a 10-year veteran of the bench. After graduating from the Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1995, he practiced law for 17 years before becoming the first Hispanic judge in Kane County. If eventually elected, he would be the only Latinx jurist on the Supreme Court.

"I see myself as a door-opener, not as a first," Cruz said. "If there are more diverse people in the room, it can only breed more productive discussions which benefit an entire community."

Also at stake in the general election in both District 2 and neighboring District 3 will be whether Democrats or Republicans have a majority on the court. Democrats currently have a 4-3 edge with those two seats contested. The general election winner will serve a 10-year term. If the justice chooses to run again, it will be for retention, not against another candidate.

While the judicial candidates did not discuss party politics, area political leaders did.

Mark Shaw, the Lake County Republican chair and a practicing attorney, said the length of the term means the winner in the fall could, "affect legal outcomes for quite some time."

"A Republican judge who understands the state Constitution will be less likely to substitute short-term changes that are the popular will," Shaw said. "A Democrat will be more likely to take a popular view that may not pass constitutional muster."

Lauren Beth Gash, the Lake County Democratic chair, said she does not want to see legislative gains over the years on issues - like a woman's right to choose, gun violence prevention, voting rights like expanded mail-balloting and same-day registration, marriage equality, public health and COVID safety laws and environmental justice - vanish.

"Most of our significant, progressive legislative victories could be in real jeopardy if the balance of power shifts on the court," Gash said.

"All of these hard-won gains at the legislative level could be lost if the Illinois Supreme Court goes Republican."

Considering the mental health of people coming into the courtroom is an important issue forRochford.

When an individual's home, family or freedom are at stake, judges should be cognizant emotions can run high, she said. Finding ways to reduce stress for everyone is important.

"Putting a disrupter in a jail cell and holding them in contempt is not the way," Rochford said.

"It is not good for anyone. One of our goals is to increase access to justice. We have to build confidence in the court system."

Access to the court system is an important issue for Rotering.

While criminal defendants have a right to an attorney guaranteed, Rotering said people coming into court for a family matter like divorce, or child custody, or because they have been sued, may not be able to afford a lawyer. Legal aid can be a solution.

"Legal aid is a way to provide legal services and improve a way to find justice by putting people on an equal footing as much as possible," Rotering said.

Cruz also said access to the justice system is a crucial issue.

He plans to do what he can to make sure people who must journey through the courts can find their way with as few stumbling blocks as possible.

"The legal system has to be open to everyone," Cruz said. "This is a big issue. We have to make sure it is as accessible as possible."