Circuit shorts

McHenry County Judge Michael J. Sullivan has been elected chief judge of the new 22nd Circuit, which will be established in December when the county is split from Lake County in the 19th Circuit.

Sullivan will serve as chief from Dec. 4 until Nov. 30, 2009. He became an associate judge in 1976 and was elected to the circuit court in 1984.

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Judge James A. Lanuti of Ottawa was installed Sept. 1 as chief judge of the 13th Circuit. An associate judge from 1986 until his election in 1992 to the circuit court, he sat in the Civil Division and was presiding judge of the Family Division.

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Chief Judge Donald C. Hudson of the 16th Circuit has been re-elected to a second two-year term

Associate Judge William G. McMenamin was appointed a judge of the 2nd Subcircuit of the 12th Circuit on Sept. 1. He will serve until Dec. 1, 2008.

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Joliet attorney Joseph C. Polito has been named an associate judge of the 12th Circuit. He will succeed Edwin B. Grabiec, who retired.

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Cook County Associate Judge Richard A. Kavitt of the 3rd Municipal District has been appointed to the 13th Subcircuit vacancy of Karen S. Thompson Tobin, who retired. An associate judge since 1983, his term on the circuit court will end Dec. 1, 2008.

Lacon attorney Robert McBride has accepted an independent contractor ap--pointment by the 10th Circuit as part-time Stark County public defender, effective Sept. 1.

Retiring Cook County 5th Municipal District Presiding Judge Anthony S. Montelione will be honored during the annual joint Southwest Bar Association and South Suburban Bar Association Judges Night on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Silver Lake Country Club, Orland Park.

A 6 p.m. reception will precede the 7 p.m. dinner and program. Call Michael McGrath at (708) 424-5678 for reservations at $45 per person.

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Cook County Law Division Judges William Maddux and Allen Goldberg will be honored by the Chicago Bar Association Bench and Bar Committee on Monday, Oct. 16, during a 5:30 p.m. reception in Corboy Hall. E-mail reservations to areyes@chicagobar.org.

Maddux is presiding judge of the division, and Goldberg, a member of the ISBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Council, heads its mediation training program.

Associate Judge Michael P. Bald of the 15th Circuit will retire Dec. 3. Applications for the vacancy will be accepted by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts until 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19

Candidates for what were to be two new judgeships in the 19th Circuit and one in the new 22nd Circuit have lost their appeal to remain on the November ballot.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Sept. 26 that the Illinois General Assembly had the authority in February to rescind the three additional seats it inadvertently created in 2003 legislation that split the 19th Circuit into separate Lake and McHenry County circuits.

The candidates were to be Associate Judges Wallace B. Dunn and George Bridges in Lake, and Gordon E. Graham in McHenry. Dunn and Bridges won primary elections for the phantom seats, and Graham was unopposed.

On April 14, 7th Circuit Judge Leo J. Zappa ruled Public Act 94-727 unconstitutional and granted summary judgment to the candidates after a March 31 hearing in Springfield.

Zappa's decision was based on constitutional violations of the judicial article, separation of powers, special legislation, equal protection and due process, all of which were rejected by the Supreme Court (Bridges v. State Board of Election, No. 102489).

The Supreme Court simultaneously issued a mandate that precludes filing a petition for rehearing.