Groups Targeting Judges For Defeat

Depending on where in Illinois you live, you might have dozens of judges to sort through on your election ballot. Though they’re first elected with party labels — Democrat or Republican — after that Illinois judges shed those labels and seek retention. In order to keep their jobs, they need to convince 60 percent of voters to choose "yes."

Very few judges lose retention elections, but every two years, there are organized efforts to target certain judges. This year, that list includes Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, whose Third District stretches from the Quad Cities through Peoria to Will County. There are also a handful of Cook County trial judges who've been targeted for defeat.

Guests:

Carlos Ballesteros, reporter for Injustice Watch

Chris Kaergard, Associate Editor for the Journal Star newspaper in Peoria

Prepared for web by Zainab Qureshi

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