Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and the Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County today announced the names of the 26 candidates that they selected to appear on the ballot from which the circuit judges will vote to fill 13 associate judge vacancies.

The Nominating Committee is made up of the following circuit judges:

• Honorable Timothy C. Evans, Chief Judge
• Honorable Paul P. Biebel, Jr., Presiding Judge, Criminal Division
• Honorable Mary Ellen Coghlan, Presiding Judge, Probate Division
• Honorable Sophia H. Hall, Administrative Presiding Judge, Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Resource Section
• Honorable Moshe Jacobius, Presiding Judge, Chancery Division
• Honorable Raymond L. Jagielski, Presiding Judge, Fifth Municipal District
• Honorable Marjorie C. Laws, Presiding Judge, Sixth Municipal District
• Honorable William O. Maki, Presiding Judge, Third Municipal District
• Honorable Edmund Ponce de León, Presiding Judge, County Division
• Honorable Shelley Sutker-Dermer, Presiding Judge, Second Municipal District
• Honorable E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., Presiding Judge, First Municipal District

Chief Judge Evans said the Nominating Committee interviewed 240 applicants over a seven-week period that concluded March 25, 2014, and that the selection of the 26 candidates was unanimous. A total of 277 attorneys originally submitted applications for consideration, and 41 applicants withdrew from the process.

At the request of Chief Judge Evans, all applicants were evaluated by The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, which is made up of 11 bar associations. Each bar association issued its own ratings for individual associate judge applicants. Attached are the evaluations of the 26 candidates and a summary of the number of applicants found qualified and not qualified by each bar association.

Current Alliance members are as follows: the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area, the Black Women Lawyers Association of Greater Chicago, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, the Cook County Bar Association, the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois, the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, the Puerto Rican Bar Association, and the Women's Bar Association.

Chief Judge Evans thanked The Chicago Bar Association and the Alliance for their work in evaluating the associate judge applicants and said, “The bar ratings are helpful throughout the entire process, both to the Nominating Committee during its final deliberations and to the circuit judges when casting their ballots.”

Evans added, “I appreciate the considerable resources that the bar association members and staff devoted to performing this task. It is an invaluable public service.”

In announcing the names of the candidates, Chief Judge Evans said, "The Nominating Committee worked diligently to ensure that any one of these 26 individuals will be an asset to the bench if ultimately elected by the circuit judges. My colleagues and I were guided in our deliberations by a comprehensive approach that considered multiple aspects such as legal excellence and variety of legal experience as well as diversity of race, ethnicity and gender. We also examined the applicants’ bar ratings, career achievements and whether they could be fair and impartial adjudicators.”

“These candidates are capable, talented individuals. All of them were found either “Qualified” or “Recommended” by all of the bar organizations participating in the process,” Chief Judge Evans added.

Below is the list of the 26 candidates chosen by the Circuit Court of Cook County Nominating Committee that was forwarded to Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts:

  Ahern, Jr., Gregory Emmett                             Lee, Kevin Thomas

  Aimen, Julie Bess                                            Mackoff, Myron Franklin

  Boliker, Shauna Louise                                    Maldonado, Alfredo

  Bowes, Karen J.                                               Mebane, Adrienne Denise

  Carmody, Matthew James                                Nicolau, Mary Terese

  Carroll, James Robert                                      Oommen, Sanju David

  D’Souza, Geraldine Ann                                  Otto, Michael Francis

  Durkin, Melissa Ann                                         Pauel, Linda Johanna

  Ferguson, Tiffany Mary                                      Robles, Edward N.

  Fernandez, Rossana Patricia                            Rosenblum, Steven Jay

  Forti, Michael Angelo                                      Schoop Devlin Joseph

  Gillespie, Aleksandra Nikolich                           Seaton, Debra Ann

  Hood, Michael James                                      Stern, Stephen

During the next few weeks, the candidates will present their credentials to the circuit judges. The Nominating Committee, in an effort to assist the process, has established three receptions for circuit judges to meet the candidates. The schedule is as follows:

April 1, 2014, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

• Richard J. Daley Center
• Jury Assembly Room, 17th floor
• 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois

April 2, 2014, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

• Cook County Juvenile Center
• The Atrium, 2nd floor
• 1100 South Hamilton Avenue, Chicago, Illinois

April 3, 2014, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

• Criminal Court Administration Building
• Jury Assembly Room, 3rd floor
• 2650 South California Avenue, Chicago, Illinois

To further minimize disruption of court proceedings, set times also have been established in additional courthouses for judges to meet the candidates.