| 24 August 2004 From: Executive Director, Malcolm Rich To: Members/Friends of the Chicago Council of Lawyers & the Chicago Appleseed Fund For Justice In this e-Newsletter:
Evaluations of Judges Seeking Retention Have Begun The Council has begun the process of evaluating judges seeking retention on the November 2004 ballot. We would like your opinions. More than 70 judges are seeking retention on the November 2004 ballot. The Council has begun judicial evaluations and has received funding from the Joyce Foundation to enhance the effort through mail surveys. Chicago Appleseed has received funding from the Joyce Foundation to conduct a voter education project so that voters will find more thorough information about the judges in more "user-friendly" ways. The Committee to Elect Qualified Judges will be spearheading a project to distribute sample judicial ballots. Below is a listing of judges, categorized by the division in which they sit.
If you have had direct professional experience with any of these judges, please contact us with your opinions. Phone: 312-988-6565 Mail: (contact person is Executive Director, Malcolm Rich). All information will be used anonymously. Another way to report your experiences with one or more judges is through our written survey about judges seeking retention. Through the generous funding of the Joyce Foundation, we have sent surveys to more than 4,000 lawyers who have had direct professional experience with one or more of the judges seeking retention. The names of these lawyers were supplied to us through a random selection process conducted by the Circuit Court Clerk's Office with the written permission of Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans. We would also like the opinions of Council members and those who have been supporters of Chicago Appleseed. You can find the survey on our website at www.chicagocouncil.org. You will find the links to the Judicial Survey and a listing of judges seeking retention on our homepage. You can complete the survey online through Microsoft Word and then email it to us. You can also print out and mail the completed survey to: Chicago Council of
Lawyers You may also fax the completed survey to 312-654-8644. Please send us
all pages of the survey, including the page where you identify the judge
that you are describing. Thank you for your assistance.
In addition to
giving us your opinions about the judges seeking retention, we are also
looking for volunteers to educate voters about judicial retention elections.
Through the voter education program that is funded, in part, by the Joyce
Foundation, Chicago Appleseed is helping to develop the Cook
County Coalition for Voter Education in Judicial Elections. This
coalition of legal, community-based organizations, and civic organizations
will be part of an effort to educate voters about the need to get educated
about judges and to convince voters to vote in the judicial retention
elections. This coalition will also help provide information about
the retention judges in more "user-friendly" ways.
Another way to
volunteer your time is through the Committee to Elect Qualified Judges.
This Committee will distribute sample ballots using the judicial
evaluation results of the Council and is looking for volunteers to distribute
sample ballots to voters both on days near the judicial election and on
the day of the judicial election.
For more
information and to volunteer, contact
Malcolm Rich phone: 312-988-6552 email: malcolmrich@chicagoappleseed.org fax: 312-654-8644 Chicago Council of Lawyers / Chicago Appleseed Fund For Justice 220 S. State Street, Suite 800, Chicago, Illinois 60604 Phone: 312-427-0713 / Fax: 312-427-0181 E-mail: ccl@chicagocouncil.org or caffj@chicagoappleseed.org |