Illinois Supreme Court Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. has announced that he will use the Alliance of Bar Associations as his committee to evaluate candidates for vacancies on the Circuit Court of Cook County and First District Appellate Court.

To be eligible for consideration for appointment to the circuit court, the candidate must be a lawyer in good standing, licensed to practice law in Illinois for 12 years, and a resident of Cook County.

To be eligible for consideration for appointment to the First District Appellate Court, the candidate must be a lawyer in good standing, licensed to practice law in Illinois for 15 years, and a resident of Cook County.

Under the Illinois Constitution, judicial vacancies are filled on an interim basis by Supreme Court appointment. See Ill. Const. Art. VI, § 12(c). Justice Neville will make a recommendation to the Supreme Court to fill a vacancy (1) after the candidate has undergone a screening and evaluation by the Alliance of Bar Associations, and (2) after Justice Neville has considered the findings made by the Cook County Circuit Court’s Screening Committee. If there are several outstanding candidates for a vacancy, Justice Neville may have his own committee review the findings and recommendations made by the Alliance of Bar Associations and the Cook County Circuit Court’s Screening Committee, and they will make a recommendation to Justice Neville.

All candidates for judgeships must have an evaluation from each bar association in the Alliance and the evaluation must have been issued by the Alliance within the last six years in order to be considered for a vacancy. If the candidate does not have an evaluation from each member of the Alliance within the last six years, the candidate should file an application and go through the Associate Judge application process. Finally, if there has been a change in a candidate’s status during the six years, e.g., a move to another firm, a promotion to partner, or a contempt finding, conviction, suspension or disbarment, the candidate’s application must be supplemented and the information must be sent to the Alliance.

An application for Associate Judge may be obtained from the Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) on the form prescribed and furnished by the Director. The form and instructions for electronically submitting an application are available on the Supreme Court’s website by clicking here. If the candidate is unable to electronically submit an application, the candidate must submit two (2) signed originals of the prescribed application to the Director of the AOIC at the address listed below:

Marcia M. Meis, Director Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts
222 North LaSalle Street, 13th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60601

Deadlines
If filed electronically, the deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3, 2021. If mailed or hand delivered, the deadline is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3, 2021.