I am very honored and proud to be a member of the Circuit Court of Cook County and am seeking to be retained as a judge for an additional six years. Every job and experience that I have had to date has prepared me to meet the responsibilities of the office that I now seek to retain. I have trained and was certified as a special education teacher, worked as a government attorney and administrator, clerked in the appellate court, been a litigator in the private sector and served as a judge for 13+years.
Since being appointed to the bench in 1999, every bar association that has evaluated me has found me qualified, recommended, well qualified or highly qualified. Most recently, the Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County (www.VoteforJudges.org) has described me as “a very good jurist with strong legal ability and temperament” who “understands the issues and rules decisively”. In addition, the Chicago Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Committee has found me “well respected for her knowledge of the law, preparation, patience and work ethic”.
During my years on the bench, I have been fortunate to have served in the First Municipal, County and Law Divisions. Upon being appointed to the bench in February I999, I was assigned to a short stint in Traffic Court until being transferred in May 2000 to the County Division where I handled adoption, election, and mental health and property tax cases. In November 2006, I was assigned to the Law Division where I handle a large trial assignment call comprised of 1300+ cases and a high volume of complicated pre-trial motions. In addition, I have my own active case management call wherein I am responsible for every aspect of every case on the call until it is ready for trial. These responsibilities include case management and the hearing of countless potentially dispositive motions.
As a product of the southeast side of Chicago, I have a strong work ethic. I pride myself on being up to date on the law and prepared for every case over which I preside. Being a good judge is also all about fairness and service- to the attorneys, the litigants and the citizens of Cook County. Each day I strive to bestow the highest level of dignity and respect upon every member of these groups. My daily goal is that each person’s interaction with me and our court system is both satisfying and fair. Unfortunately, the resolution of any case yields both a winning and losing party. I do hope, however, that when either side exits through the doors of my courtroom, they feel that (1) their arguments and briefs were given full consideration; (2) they were treated with the dignity and respect that they deserved and (3) the legal process which they experienced was both fair and impartial.
I also believe that as judges we should give back to the community. For the past two years, I have co-chaired the Planning Committee of Women Everywhere: Partners in Service Project, Inc. (www.wechicago.org), a non-profit aimed at soliciting and coordinating volunteer activities benefiting women and children in need, with a particular focus on education and community service. Additionally, I have been on its board of directors since 2008 and have received its 2007 Outstanding Partner Award.