From the Chicago Sun Times

Bar group says 4 judges should go
October 12, 2004
BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Legal Affairs Reporter

The Chicago Bar Association recommends a "No" vote on four of the 74 Cook County judges on the November ballot.
Every six years judges must get 60 percent "yes" votes to keep their seats on the bench. For the last 14 years, every one of them has been retained.
Next month, voters will face a record number of judges standing for retention. The Chicago Bar finds the vast majority -- 70 of them -- qualified, including Chief Judge Timothy Evans, whom it calls "the perfect choice" for chief judge.
On the other hand, Judge Susan McDunn is "indecisive . . . and does not appear to understand the proper application of the rules of evidence," the bar association found.
McDunn beat charges brought by the Judicial Inquiry Board that she showed bias against lesbians by voiding uncontested adoptions by lesbian couples -- even after her presiding judge approved them -- so she could bring a conservative advocacy group from Washington, D.C., to argue against them. The Illinois Courts Commission found she did not say anything explicitly biased against lesbians and dropped the case against her.
The bar association also urges "No" votes against Dennis Morrissey, William O'Neal and Dorothy F. Jones.
Morrissey can't bring himself to make decisions in a timely manner and once had to be ordered by the state Supreme Court to rule, the CBA charged. O'Neal "does not possess the requisite legal knowledge and ability to serve as a circuit court judge," the group said.
"Judge Dorothy Jones' refusal to be evaluated by any bar association is indicative of her disregard for the bench, the bar and the public," said CBA president Joy V. Cunningham.
The judges could not be reached for comment Monday. But O'Neal challenged the CBA six years ago when it found him "not recommended," asking what evidence it could produce to justify the poor rating for him.
A dozen other bar groups are expected to issue their ratings this week. Some will target the same judges for defeat. Others will also target marginal judges that the Chicago Bar Association hesitantly found "qualified" this time.
In the only contested suburban judicial elections, the bar group found Republican William Kunkle "highly qualified" and Deirdre Ann McGuire "not recommended" in the West Suburban 4th Subcircuit. The group found Republican Catherine Sanders "Qualified" and Democrat Jim Ryan "Not Recommended" in the South Suburban 15th Subcircuit. Ryan is Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan's aide who was criticized in a recent grand jury report about the Cook County Jail.
In addition to Evans, the judges getting good ratings Monday include Criminal Court Presiding Judge Paul Biebel, Law Division Presiding Judge William Maddux, Chancery Division Presiding Judge Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird, County Division Presiding Judge Michael Murphy, and appellate judges Thomas Hoffman and Mary Jane Wendt Theis.