Democrats poised to keep Illinois Supreme Court majority as candidates lead in two contested races

Democrats appear poised to keep their majority on the Illinois Supreme Court after their candidates for two contested seats built leads over Republican opponents in an election many cast as a referendum on abortion rights.

Lake County Judge Elizabeth Rochford, who unofficial results showed had established a commanding lead in her race by 10 p.m. Tuesday, declared victory against former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran. Later that night, with 96% of precincts reporting, Rochford had tallied nearly 55% of the votes.

Appellate Court Justice Mary Kay O’Brien, a Democrat, was running ahead of current Supreme Court Justice Michael Burke late Tuesday, holding just over half of the vote with 89% of precincts reporting.

If the results in both races hold, Democrats will stretch their majority to a 5-2 advantage, a gratifying possibility for partisans like Jennifer Welch, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action.

“It’s a clear message that voters want to keep Illinois a pro-choice haven in the Midwest,” she said. “As states around us lose access, voters in Illinois were reminded by the (campaign) advertising how crucial the judicial system is in protecting those fundamental rights now that Roe is overturned.”

Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis, a Democrat who was on the ballot for a retention vote in Cook County, also appeared to have secured far more than the 60% approval needed to keep her seat.

In a statement, Rochford said: “Serving in and around the courts has been my life’s work. I look forward to furthering that work in this new role as a justice on the Illinois Supreme Court. I am confident that my experience has prepared me to serve with impartiality, fairness, and compassion, and to identify ways we can make our court system more equal and just for all Illinoisans.”

Curran wished Rochford well in a conciliatory phone call Tuesday night.

The stage for these momentous elections was set two years ago, when Justice Thomas Kilbride, a Democrat who was seeking a third 10-year term on the court, failed to win his retention vote, something that had never before happened in Illinois. It was the most expensive judicial retention campaign in history, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, with interests on both sides putting nearly $10 million into the race.

Kilbride’s defeat and the retirement of Justice Bob Thomas put two seats into play in this year’s election. Democrats, seeing the possibility of losing their majority, redrew the judicial electoral map for the first time in 57 years to concentrate two seats in the Chicago suburbs. Party officials say they were responding to population changes, an assertion viewed skeptically by some political observers.

Rochford was leading Curran in the race in the court’s newly drawn 2nd District, which covers Lake, McHenry, Kane, DeKalb and Kendall counties. The 3rd District, which now covers DuPage, Will, Kankakee, Grundy, Iroquois, LaSalle and Bureau counties, saw O’Brien take on Burke.

Democrats also passed a law banning judicial contributions from out of state or from groups that don’t disclose their donors, a move some interpreted as an attempt to restrain Republican fundraising. A federal judge ruled last month that the prohibition cannot be enforced.

That law also says a single person cannot contribute more than $500,000 to a judicial candidate. But late in the race, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who had already donated the maximum to each Democratic candidate, used his personal trust fund to contribute another $500,000 each to Rochford and O’Brien; election officials said that tactic is permissible.

Pritzker’s campaign fund also contributed heavily to political action groups that supported the two Democratic judges, while groups funded primarily by billionaires Ken Griffin and Richard Uihlein spent millions to aid the Republicans in the race.

The races, sure to be hotly contested in any circumstance, grew supercharged in June after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. States can now decide the legality of abortion within their borders, and the primary message of the Democratic candidates and their backers was that defeat would mean disaster.

“It all comes down to this seat,” said a commercial paid for by All for Justice, an independent expenditure group funded mainly by labor unions and trial lawyers. “It won’t matter who’s governor or who controls Springfield. The justice in this seat on the Illinois Supreme Court will decide if abortion remains legal in Illinois.”

Curran, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2020, was explicit about his anti-abortion beliefs in that race but told the Tribune in a recent interview he would not try to rewrite state law from the bench. Burke, who went to an Illinois Right to Life banquet earlier this year, cast his attendance at the event as a way to meet Republican voters and said he has not taken a public position on abortion.

The Republican candidates and their allies, meanwhile, aimed to paint O’Brien and Rochford as soft on crime and puppets of Democratic power brokers, particularly former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who faces federal racketeering charges.

“The Madigan machine’s last hope is electing O’Brien and Rochford to the Supreme Court,” said an ad from Citizens for Judicial Fairness, a group funded primarily by Griffin. “End Madigan’s corrupt gravy train — say no to Mary Kay O’Brien and Elizabeth Rochford.”

The Democrats called such allegations a lie; in one ad, O’Brien said Burke and his supporters were spreading it “to cover up their anti-woman agenda.”

Questions of experience also figured into the 2nd District race. Rochford has been a judge since 2012, and the Illinois State Bar Association rated her “highly recommended.”

Curran, who has been a prosecutor and private attorney aside from his two terms as sheriff, has never served on the bench. The bar association rated him “not recommended.”

Curran retorted in an interview that he had plenty of relevant legal experience. He further said that electing Rochford would ensure the court remains in Democratic hands, continuing Illinois’ tradition of one-party rule across all three branches of state government.

In the 3rd District, Burke cast himself as tough on crime, touting an endorsement from the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, and underlined his own “highly recommended” rating.

O’Brien, who was “recommended” by the bar association, shook that off as a popularity contest, saying “it’s great if lawyers like you but it’s better if the litigants respect you,” and pointed to her own endorsements from law enforcement groups.

The extensive and frequently nasty advertising surrounding the races concerned University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign law professor Michael LeRoy, who favors replacing judicial elections with merit appointments.

He said the flood of money and growing partisanship that have become central to the campaigns are damaging the public’s respect for the judiciary.

“When that happens, it’s a fundamental problem (because) courts issue rulings that are supposed to be followed as a matter of law,” he said. “It’s just one more pillar of our constitutional democracy that’s being shaken.”

Despite the negative messaging, all the candidates portrayed themselves in interviews with the Tribune as independent jurists who would not be swayed by politics.

The current court will hear the November docket, which includes cases dealing with the legality of Chicago’s car impoundment ordinance and a dispute over whether royalties from imprisoned pop star R. Kelly should go to his former landlord or to one of his alleged victims.

The victorious justices will assume their posts Dec. 5 and begin hearing cases in January.

jkeilman@chicagotribune.com