Click. Learn. Vote. VoteforJudges.org is Live!

Illinois Legal Advocate
Submitted by VoteForJudges.org
Published October 27, 2006

On Election Day, 70 judges will seek retention, and over two dozen more candidates are seeking to be elected to the bench… making the November 7th ballot one of the longest in Illinois history.

Click. Learn. Vote. www.voteforjudges.org

Research conducted nationally and in Cook County has illustrated that responsible voters want easy access to information about judicial elections in general and judicial candidates in particular. Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, through its voter education website www.voteforjudges.org, provides that information with in-depth reports on candidates’ experience and qualifications.

Click.
With the click of a button, visitors to www.voteforjudges.org can find the judicial evaluations and recommendations of all the bar associations and area newspapers in usable, understandable, and downloadable form. The www.voteforjudges.org website discusses the rights and responsibilities of voters, with special emphasis placed on the importance of being knowledgeable about and participating in the judicial election process, since judges make rulings that affect all of us. In the March 2006 primary, www.voteforjudges.org received nearly one million hits and 100,000 pages were downloaded.

Learn.
Judges make all kinds of decisions, from the very personal, such as child custody decisions, to those with much broader impact such as the nature of O’Hare expansion. It is critically important that our judges have the breadth of experience to consider potentially complex issues, the intellectual capability to understand and apply the law, and the temperament to work effectively will all those with whom they come into contact.

The decisions that judges make affect our lives, both directly and indirectly, often for many years to come. It is our responsibility to vote for judges we can trust to make impartial decisions based on fair consideration of the facts and the law in each case. That ability relies upon the independence of judges from external political or economic pressures. Without that independence, judges may be less willing to make decisions that may be unpopular or controversial.

Vote.
Judicial elections are often decided by 100 votes. Every vote makes a difference. By reviewing the information at www.voteforjudges.org, voters can make an informed decision about the judicial candidates and help protect our courts.

Visit www.voteforjudges.org for valuable information on judicial candidates, including judicial evaluations from more than 10 organizations, and press information related to the judicial elections. For more information, contact Executive Director Malcolm Rich at 312-988-6552 or malcolmrich@chicagoappleseed.org.

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