Illinois judicial elections, 2016
Seven seats on Illinois' state-level courts were up for retention elections on November 8, 2016. All seven seats on the ballot were held by judges of the Illinois Appellate Court. If retained, an appeals court judge serves for 10 years before his or her next retention election.
Four of these seats were for vacancies on the Illinois Appellate Court and were up for partisan election in 2016. The two candidates for the Illinois First District Appellate Court ran unopposed in their divisions. The four candidates for the Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court were unopposed in their respective primaries. All six therefore advanced through the March 15 primary to the November 8 general election.
Judges Bertina E. Lampkin and Eileen O'Neill Burke ran unopposed to the Illinois First District Appellate Court.
On the Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court, John B. Barberis, Jr. defeated Brad K. Bleyer for a seat, and James R. Moore defeated Jo Beth Weber for a seat.
General election candidates
Appellate Court
First DistrictQuinn vacancy |
Fifth DistrictStewart vacancy Wexstten vacancy |
Judges who faced retention
First District |
Third DistrictFourth District |
Election results
November 8 general election
Incumbent Bertina E. Lampkin ran unopposed in the general election for the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, Quinn vacancy.
| Illinois Appellate Court, First District, Quinn Vacancy, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Bertina E. Lampkin Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 1,507,691 | |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 1,507,691 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections Official Results | ||||
Incumbent Eileen O'Neill Burke ran unopposed in the general election for the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, Epstein vacancy.
| Illinois Appellate Court, First District, Epstein Vacancy, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Eileen O'Neill Burke Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 1,563,233 | |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 1,563,233 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections Official Results | ||||
John B. Barberis, Jr. defeated Brad K. Bleyer in the general election for the Illinois Appellate Court, Fifth District, Stewart vacancy.
| Illinois Appellate Court, Fifth District, Stewart Vacancy, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | John B. Barberis, Jr. |
55.86% | 317,117 | |
| Democratic | Brad K. Bleyer | 44.14% | 250,544 | |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 567,661 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections Official Results | ||||
James R. Moore defeated Jo Beth Weber in the general election for the Illinois Appellate Court, Fifth District, Wexstten vacancy.
| Illinois Appellate Court, Fifth District, Wexstten Vacancy, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | James R. Moore |
53.84% | 307,926 | |
| Democratic | Jo Beth Weber | 46.16% | 264,041 | |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 571,967 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections Official Results | ||||
Joy Cunningham was retained in the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, Cunningham Seat election with 78.84% of the vote.
| Illinois Appellate Court, First District, Cunningham Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Joy Cunningham | 78.84% | |
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections Official Results | ||
Vicki Wright was retained in the Illinois Appellate Court, Third District, Wright Seat election with 79.93% of the vote.
| Illinois Appellate Court, Third District, Wright Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Vicki Wright | 79.93% | |
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections Official Results | ||
James Knecht was retained in the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, Knecht Seat election with 81.53% of the vote.
| Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, Knecht Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| James Knecht | 81.53% | |
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections Official Results | ||
March 15 primary election
| Illinois First Appellate District Democratic Primary, Quinn Vacancy, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Bertina E. Lampkin (unopposed) |
100.00% | 792,641 | |
| Total Votes (100% reporting) | 792,641 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections | ||||
| Illinois First Appellate District Democratic Primary, Epstein Vacancy, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Eileen O'Neill Burke (unopposed) |
100.00% | 805,190 | |
| Total Votes (100% reporting) | 805,190 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections | ||||
| Illinois Fifth Appellate District Democratic Primary, Stewart Vacancy, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Brad K. Bleyer (unopposed) |
100.00% | 106,079 | |
| Total Votes (100% reporting) | 106,079 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections | ||||
| Illinois Fifth Appellate District Republican Primary, Stewart Vacancy, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | John B. Barberis, Jr. (unopposed) |
100.00% | 139,650 | |
| Total Votes (100% reporting) | 139,650 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections | ||||
| Illinois Fifth Appellate District Democratic Primary, Wexstten Vacancy, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Jo Beth Weber (unopposed) |
100.00% | 108,055 | |
| Total Votes (100% reporting) | 108,055 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections | ||||
| Illinois Fifth Appellate District Republican Primary, Wexstten Vacancy, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | James R. Moore (unopposed) |
100.00% | 142,599 | |
| Total Votes (100% reporting) | 142,599 | |||
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections | ||||
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Illinois
The Illinois Appellate Court consists of five geographical districts. Cook County has 24 appellate judges, while the remaining four districts each have six judges. Appeals court judges participate in partisan elections for 10-year terms on the bench.[1]
State profile
| Demographic data for Illinois | ||
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 12,839,047 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 55,519 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 72.3% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 14.3% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 5% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 16.5% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 87.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 32.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $57,574 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 16.8% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Illinois. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Illinois
Illinois voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, 11 are located in Illinois, accounting for 5.34 percent of the total pivot counties.[2]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Illinois had 11 Retained Pivot Counties, 6.08 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Illinois coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Illinois
- United States congressional delegations from Illinois
- Public policy in Illinois
- Endorsers in Illinois
- Illinois fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Illinois Courts, "About the Courts in Illinois," accessed December 24, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois
State courts:
Illinois Supreme Court • Illinois Appellate Court • Illinois Circuit Court
State resources:
Courts in Illinois • Illinois judicial elections • Judicial selection in Illinois
