3 late-filing judges likely to be on ballot
December 21, 2005
BY STEVE PATTERSON Staff Reporter

An embarrassing blemish in the annals of Cook County's judicial history -- that's all that's likely to become of the case of three judges who, state officials said, failed to file their paperwork for re-election before a state-mandated deadline.

Joan Margaret O'Brien, Carole Kamin Bellows and James A. Varga are all likely to appear on the 2006 ballot, despite objections filed by the Illinois secretary of state's office, which wouldn't accept their paperwork after Dec. 5.

Tuesday, Cook County Judge Patrick McGann granted the three judges a temporary restraining order barring the state from declaring any vacancies or accepting nominating petitions from anyone else.

Differing rules for filing deadline
McGann said the three judges "are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim," paving the way for a hearing next month, where they will formally ask for an opinion.

At issue is an apparent discrepancy between a section of the Illinois Election Code and the state Constitution, McGann said.

The Constitution allows judges until May to declare their candidacy for retention in the November election but state law says they must file that notice "on or before the first Monday in December" before an election year.

Though McGann cited the "laxity and carelessness" the three judges showed in filing paperwork after Dec. 5, he also said the discrepancy means he's likely to issue a ruling in their favor. Citing the differing rules, the three sued to get on the retention ballot. Two have acknowledged they didn't file in time because they forgot.

The decision ended a "very traumatic" week for O'Brien, said her attorney, Mathias Delort, while Bellows' attorney, Burt Odelson, said he expects a "good, responsible" legislator will work to change the language of the election law.

The judges are up for retention votes every six years. O'Brien, a juvenile court judge; Varga, a law division judge, and Bellows, who works in domestic relations, must now get 60 percent of the vote in order to remain on the bench.