All Illinois judges running for retention, as well as candidates for Illinois judicial offices who are running in the March 20 primary election, have been rated by Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) Judicial Evaluations Committee, or in a poll of lawyers conducted by the ISBA. The results were made available today on ISBA's Judicial Evaluations page.

Candidates seeking election to the appellate court are reviewed in a comprehensive evaluation process. This involves a detailed background investigation by members of the Judicial Evaluations Committee, followed by an in-person interview of the candidate. The Committee then decides whether to rate the candidate qualified, highly qualified, or not qualified for the judicial office being sought. Ratings based on evaluations are the opinion of the ISBA.

The advisory poll is conducted by mail and is sent to all ISBA members in the circuit or district from which a candidate seeks election. Licensed attorneys who are not members of ISBA, or any attorney outside the circuit or district, may request a ballot. Opinions expressed in the poll are of those attorneys who chose to respond and do not reflect the opinion of the Illinois State Bar Association or the opinion of all Illinois attorneys. 

The Illinois State Bar Association is a voluntary organization of 30,000 members that provides professional services to Illinois lawyers and education and services to the public. For more information, visit isba.org.