Notice of ISBA Election

The following list of offices in the Illinois State Bar Association are to be filled by the 2026 annual election.

  • 1 – Office of Third Vice-President (Candidate must be from Cook County)
  • 5 – Seats on the Board of Governors
  • 19 – Seats on the Cook County Assembly

For Third Vice-President – Cook County – 1 to be elected

No incumbent*

For Board of Governors

Cook County – 2 to be elected

Incumbent:

  • Stephen M. Komie, Chicago**
  • Chloe G. Pedersen, Chicago***

Area 7 (Circuits 1, 2 and 4) – 1 to be elected

Incumbent:

  • Wesley A. Gozia, Caryle****

Under Age 37 – Cook County – 1 to be elected.

Incumbent:

  • Jennifer Haase, Chicago**

Under Age 37 – Outside of Cook County (Circuits 1-24) – 1 to be elected.

Incumbent:

  • Kristin Olson, Belleville*****

For Assembly

Cook County – 19 to be elected.

Incumbents:

  • Joseph Amari, Chicago
  • Howard Ankin, Chicago
  • Audrey Cosgrove, Chicago
  • Sharon L. Eiseman, Chicago**
  • Gail Tuler Friedman, Chicago**
  • Anna P. Krolikowska, Northbrook
  • Lori G. Levin, Chicago**
  • Samuel Levine, Chicago
  • Jeffrey Liss, Winnetka**
  • Lisa Marino, Chicago
  • Megan Fahey Monty, Chicago**
  • James Morici, Chicago
  • Katherine O’Dell, Chicago
  • J. Damian Ortiz, Chicago
  • Alan Pearlman, Northbrook**

Nomination

Members who wish to be candidates for office must reside in the proper geographic jurisdiction, meet other requirements for a particular office, and be in good standing with the ISBA at the close of the nominating period.

Voting Address

Bylaws Sec. 1.11 reads:  For purposes of voting and candidacy for ISBA elected office, a member’s voting address shall be their primary legal office as designated by the member. If a member’s primary legal office is not within the State of Illinois, such member may designate their Illinois residence as their voting address. If no voting address is designated, the member shall be considered a non-resident member.

Nominating Petitions

The nomination process will continue to be conducted on a virtual basis. (1) nominating petitions will be entirely electronic via the ISBA website; (2) candidates must generate a nominating petition on the ISBA website using the form provided; (3) members will be able to view and “sign” (via electronic assent on the ISBA website) all available nominating petitions for whom they are eligible to sign; and (4) the number of required nominating petition signatures remains the same as set forth in the Policies and Procedures on Association Elections.  Nominating petitions will be available for candidate generation on October 1, 2025 on the Petitions page.

Acceptance Period

***Special Notice*** Nominating petitions can be signed no earlier than October 1, 2025, and no later than 4:30 p.m. on January 9, 2026. At the close of the acceptance period, all ballot positions will be determined by lot amongst all the candidates for the same office.

Voting

All members of the Association in good standing (except non-lawyer members) are eligible to vote for the office of third vice-president. Any eligible member residing in an area in which there are contested Board of Governors and Assembly elections may vote in those races only.

The 2026 Election will be conducted by electronic voting. Paper ballots will be utilized in some instances. Full details of the voting process will be provided to the full active membership well in advance of the formal election.

 

October 2025

Robert E. Craghead
Executive Director

By policy, a member’s dues must be paid by March 1, 2026, for the period ending June 30, 2026, to be eligible to vote in ISBA Elections.


*Under the bylaws the third vice-president automatically succeeds to the office of second vice-president; therefore, there is no incumbent for this office.

**Ineligible to succeed due to term limitations.

***Eligible to serve one additional year.

****Eligible to serve two additional years.

*****Ineligible due to age limit.