Candidates for Illinois judicial offices who are running in the November 8 election have been rated by an Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) evaluations committee, or in a poll of lawyers conducted by ISBA. Results were made available today at www.isba.org/YouBeTheJudge.

In Cook County, an ISBA Judicial Evaluations committee used the results of a questionnaire, background investigations, and in-person interview to rate candidates for all judicial offices. Candidates for the Appellate Court outside of Cook County were also evaluated using this method.

In counties outside of Cook, the ISBA conducted an advisory poll. 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.

“Voters often have difficulty being aware of the qualifications of candidates for judicial office,” said Vincent F. Cornelius, ISBA president. “These independent ratings and polls are based on the views of the candidates’ peers, and I encourage voters to consider them when deciding how to vote on November 8.”

The Illinois State Bar Association is a voluntary organization of 33,000 members that provides professional services to Illinois lawyers and education and services to the public. For more information, visit isba.org.