Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and the Nominating Committee today announced the names of the 20 candidates chose to appear on the ballot from which the circuit judges will select 10 new associate judges. Chief Judge Evans noted that the Nominating Committee interviewed 261 applicants over a five-week period and that the selection of the 20 candidates was unanimous. A total of 278 attorneys originally submitted applications for consideration - 19 of those later withdrew. At the request of Chief Judge Evans, all applicants were evaluated by the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening (including the ISBA) and the Chicago Bar Association. Each bar association issued its own ratings for individual associate judge applicants. The list of 20 candidates:

• Carmen Kathleen Aguilar
• Thomas M. Battista
• Clarence Lewis Burch
• Theresa Christine Ceko
• LaGuina Clay-Clark
• Neil H. Cohen
• Stephen James Connolly
• William Edward Gomolinski
• William Richard Jackson, Jr.
• Demetrios George Kottaras
• Yehuda P. Lebovits
• Lori Gail Levin
• Linda Johanna Pauel
• Vicki Faye Rogers
• Bernard Joseph Sarley
• Regina Ann Scannicchio
• Andrea M. Schleifer
• Richard Denis Schwind
• Ketki Shroff Steffen
• Jeffrey L. Warnick

The candidates will present their credentials to the circuit judges over the next few weeks.