Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization 2016 CIRCUIT COURT QUESTIONNAIRE Part I: Instructions and Candidate Details

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1 Instructions: From within your Word processor, please answer all questions in Part I (Instructions and Candidate Details) and Part II (Issue Questions). In the Essay section, please answer the questions at the length you deem sufficient. It is OK if your comments cause tables, etc., to shift pages. We are aware that Canon 67 of the Illinois Canons of Judicial Ethics purports to restrict your ability to appear to commit yourself to a position that you may later have to rule on. We are also aware that Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765 (2002), struck down a similar, if not identical, canon in Minnesota as a violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In an effort to accommodate any conflict you may still feel between Illinois Canon 67 and the White case, we hereby acknowledge that any answer you give to any of our questions does not commit you to rule in any particular way in a given case. Thus, kindly answer each and every question without invoking Canon 67. Candidates who answer all of the questions will be given preference in endorsement over those who do not. Thank you for your participation. *** Candidate s Response: I appreciate IVI IPO s position. I have not invoked Canon 67 in my answers below, because I believe the answers relate to my understanding of current laws and legal precedent and our legal system and my views on the administration of the court system, none of which would commit or appear to commit [me] with respect to cases, controversies or issues within cases that are likely to come before the court. Candidate Details DATE: 1/7/16 VACANCY: *** Thomas Hogan PARTY: Democrat NAME: Alison C. Conlon VOTING ADDRESS: HOME PHONE: BUSINESS PHONE: CAMPAIGN ADDRESS: CAMPAIGN PHONE: CAMPAIGN FAX: WEBSITE: CAMPAIGN Page 1 of 8

2 MANAGER: Candidate Details A) Elective or appointive, public or party, offices previously held (including dates). None B) Other elective offices for which you have been a candidate. None C) What is your primary occupation? Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County D) Principal business, educational, professional and civic activities of the past ten years. 1. POSITIONS HELD CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS Circuit Judge, First Municipal District (2015-present) BARNES & THORNBURG LLP, Chicago, IL ( ) Partner, Litigation Department; Co-Chair, Commercial Litigation Practice Group WILDMAN, HARROLD, ALLEN & DIXON LLP, Chicago, IL ( ) Partner ( ); Associate ( ) CITY OF CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF LAW, Chicago, IL ( ) Assistant Corporation Counsel, Commercial & Policy Litigation Division U.S. DISTRICT COURT, NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS ( ) Law Clerk for District Judge Charles P. Kocoras 2. VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY FLEXIBLE-HOUR PRO SE COURT Volunteer Judge (2015-present) PUBLIC INTEREST LAW INITIATIVE (PILI ) Member, Board of Directors (2011-present) CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CHICAGO Advisory Board Member (2008-present) ATTORNEY REGISTRATION & DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE (ARDC ) Hearing Board Member ( ) CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION Member, Board of Managers ( ) Co-Chair, Tort Litigation Committee ( ) Co-Vice Chair, Tort Litigation Committee ( ) NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS RULES ADVISORY COMMITTEE Member ( ) Page 2 of 8

3 Candidate Details 3. CIVIC HONORS Barnes & Thornburg LLP s Joseph A. Maley Pro Bono Award (2013) Law Bulletin Publishing s Women Making an Impact (2013) Chicago Daily Law Bulletin s Top 40 Under Forty (2012) Co-Chair, Chicago Bar Association & Chicago Bar Foundation s 8 th Annual Pro Bono Week (2012) 4. EDUCATION DUKE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, Durham, NC J.D. magna cum laude, May 2000 GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, Washington, DC M.A. in English, May 1997 YALE UNIVERSITY, New Haven, CT B.A. cum laude, May 1994 E) What experience have you had which will be most helpful to you in the office you seek? The Illinois Supreme Court appointed me to the Circuit Court in February Since then, I have presided over more than 70 civil trials, 17 of which were jury trials. Before my appointment, I was a partner at the national law firm of Barnes & Thornburg and co-chair of its Commercial Litigation Practice Group. During my 15 years as an attorney, I developed extensive experience with all phases of civil litigation from pleadings through trial. I also learned a lot about being a judge when I served as a law clerk to federal Judge Charles P. Kocoras in the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Illinois, which was my first job after I graduated from law school. F) Please detail your prior political activity, if any, providing positions held, dates, organizational memberships, and roles you played in political campaigns. I have previously helped judicial candidates obtain signatures to get on the ballot. G) Please list all endorsements you have received. I am endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party. Other endorsements I have received include Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle (also Committeeman, 4 th Ward); Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin; Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin; Alderman Carrie Austin (also Committeeman, 34 th Ward); Alderman Michelle Harris (also Committeeman, 8 th Ward); Alderman Leslie Hairston (also Committeeman, 5 th Ward); Alderman Raymond Lopez (also Committeeman, 15 th Ward); Alderman Danny Solis (also Page 3 of 8

4 Candidate Details Committeeman, 25 th Ward); Alderman Edward Burke (also Committeeman, 4 th Ward); Cook County Commissioner John Daley (also Committeeman, 11 th Ward); Alderman Patrick J. O Connor (also Committeeman, 40 th Ward); Committeeman Frank Zuccarelli (Thornton Township); Committeeman Eamon Kelly (Evanston Township); Senator Don Harmon (also Committeeman, Oak Park Township); Representative Lou Lang (also Committeeman, Niles Township); Recorder of Deeds Karen Yarbrough (also Committeeman, Proviso Township); Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs; State Rep. Lisa Hernandez; and State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch. Judicial Evaluation Ratings: Using the form below, please list any evaluation ratings you have ever received for any judicial office by any bar association. List the office and the date of the election for which the evaluation was made. To add more rows, place the cursor in the bottom, right cell and hit the tab key. Date Office Bar Association Rating January 2015 Circuit Court CBA Qualified CCL Qualified ISBA Qualified BWLA PRBA AABA CCBA DSL HBA HLAI LAGBAC WBAI Qualified Qualified Highly Page 4 of 8

5 Part II: Issue Questions Essay Questions 1. What do you believe are the major strengths and weaknesses of the Circuit Court? Would you change the manner in which the Circuit Court functions? A major strength is the volume the Circuit Court of Cook County handles and the quality of the people who work within the system. One suggestion is that the Circuit Court should assess its efficiency by compiling solid, publicly-available data about the caseloads in each division. There is currently a paucity of such data. The federal courts, by contrast, publish statistics online to show the average time a case is pending and other data. This data goes a long way to help manage people s expectations about the judicial process and make important decisions about their cases. We would do well to assemble similar data and make it available to court personnel and the public. Also, we can and should improve access to court information in other ways. We remain a carbon paper-based courthouse, which presents major challenges for storing, retaining and locating files. In the high-volume civil judgment room where I was assigned for four months, at least 10%-33% of the files would be missing on any given call, meaning that when litigants stepped up I knew only the name of their case and had no other information. The lack of files makes it difficult for the judge to do her job and diminishes the public s confidence in us. Although the county has made some advances by offering electronic filing in some divisions and creating a web-based docket system accessible to the public, the courthouse needs many more innovations to bring it into the 21 st century to make the procedures more reliable and transparent. 2. How should judges be assigned to the various divisions of the Court? If you are elected, to what division would you like to be assigned and why? Judge should be assigned based on their background, knowledge, experience and temperament. Based on my experience representing clients in all kinds of civil litigation, on paying and pro bono bases, I am currently assigned to the First Municipal District presiding over jury trials for civil cases valued under $30,000. The claims include personal injury, debt collection, landlord-tenant disputes and many others. While some people refer to these cases as small cases, the cases are in no way small to the parties involved. The issues are extremely important to the parties and to me. In the 70-plus trials over which I have presided to date, more than half the litigants do not have lawyers, which requires me to take time to explain to the parties what they can expect at trial, and treat every person with dignity and compassion in other words, afford them the respect they deserve as citizens coming to the courthouse for justice. 3. Please cite and explain the case or cases which best illustrate your understanding of the scope of the right to privacy under the Illinois Constitution. Page 5 of 8

6 Essay Questions The right to privacy is guaranteed in Article I, Sections 6 and 12 of the Illinois Constitution, including but not limited to the constitutional right to privacy to obtain an abortion within the ambit of Roe v. Wade. See Ill. Const. 1970, art. 1 secs. 6 & 12; Family Life League v. The Department of Public Aid, 112 Ill. 2d 449, 493 N.E.2d 1054, 98 Ill. Dec. 33 (1986). Though our state Constitution has some similarities to the federal Constitution, the Illinois Constitution has been found to expand on the rights found in the federal Constitution s fourth and fourteenth amendments. People v. Nesbitt, 405 Ill. App. 3d 823 (2d Dist. 2010). Courts are independently responsible for safeguarding the rights of citizens under the Illinois Constitution. Katz v. U.S., 389 U.S. 347 (1967). 4. What are the pros and cons of an elected, an appointed, or a hybrid system for the judiciary? How might the Illinois courts benefit or suffer from a change? The pros of an elected judiciary are that the voters have a voice in the decision and that judicial candidates are given the opportunity to meet voters, answer questions, educate people on their qualifications and explain the judicial process. Personally I have experienced these benefits. In traveling all around the county to campaign, I have met many different people and learned about issues they are facing in their various wards and townships. When people come before me in Court from all parts of the county, I believe and hope that I have a better sense of where they are coming from, both figuratively and literally, and I wouldn t have had this had I not been running for election. The biggest cons are the high cost of elections and the inability to reach voters and educate voters as to all of the judicial candidates and their qualifications and the process. The courts might benefit if changes in financing rules for campaigns were enacted and there were a better, more cost effective means of informing voters about judicial qualifications. 5. How has mandatory sentencing affected the criminal justice system in Illinois? From the standpoint of judicial administration, mandatory sentencing has had negative effects on the criminal justice system. It was originally created to try and ensure fairness and equality in sentencing but that has not necessarily been the result. The removal of judicial discretion has had unintended consequences by restricting judges from ruling based on all of the information in front of them and by overcrowding jails with some people who should not be incarcerated. 6. How has automatic transfer of juveniles for felony charges affected the criminal justice system in Illinois? How has it affected the recidivism rate of juveniles? From the standpoint of judicial administration, automatic transfer of juveniles for felony charges has had negative effects on the criminal justice system. Automatic transfer is not consistent with the fundamental principle of rehabilitation that is the foundation of the juvenile system. It also ignores the unassailable fact that juveniles are not adults. In addition, it limits judges from Page 6 of 8

7 Essay Questions looking at the whole picture and special circumstances, giving them in many cases an artificially narrow basis from which to rule. 7. Do you think the juvenile justice system should focus on rehabilitation or punishment? Why? The foundation of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation, sometimes referred to as balanced and restorative justice or BARJ, and has been for more than a century based on the firm premise, supported by statistics, that juveniles who are given the proper chances under appropriate circumstances can be and have been shown to change behaviors. 8. How do you account for the disproportionate number of minorities prosecuted and incarcerated? What can the courts do to correct the disparity? From the standpoint of judicial administration, it becomes apparent as a sitting judge that the disproportionate number of minorities prosecuted and incarcerated can be attributed to a number of societal factors including poverty and all of its associated costs, poor educational opportunities, lack of jobs, income disparity, crime and racism. The high cost of quality legal representation also plays a role. The courts cannot control who gets arrested or prosecuted. What the courts can do is ensure justice, making sure the law is administered fairly and equally and using discretion and creative problem solving wherever possible and appropriate. 9. What do you consider the important aspects of a judge's decision in handling a petition by a minor for a waiver of parental notice with the intent to have an abortion? Every petitioner must be treated with respect and an understanding of the sensitivity of the choice she seeks to make under the law. Judges need to be attentive and compassionate to the petitioner to understand the reason for the petition, and these petitions must be handled in a timely manner. 10. What options available to a judge under Illinois law do you consider most effective in sentencing perpetrators of hate crimes? Please explain your choices. Judges need to evaluate all options, including the possibility of sentencing perpetrators of hate crimes to education. Often hate crimes are the result of ignorance. Providing education to discourage hate crimes and debunk stereotypes, prejudices and false assumptions can be extremely effective, especially if the education is facilitated in an interactive environment. 11. What is the proper role of the judiciary in promoting diversity in the legal profession and on the bench? How can the judiciary better address diversity issues? Page 7 of 8

8 Essay Questions Diversity on the bench is very important, as is having the judiciary reflect the demographics of its citizens. Another important piece of the judicial selection process is having qualified judges who are fair, impartial and compassionate to every person who comes before them. Certainly citizens may have faith and confidence in our judiciary if they come before a judge who reflects their particular demographic. I have also found in my experience as a lawyer and a judge that citizens will also have faith and confidence in a judge who may be from a different demographic but who gives the litigant a chance to be heard fully, a judge who listens attentively and asks good questions, and a judge who makes the ruling and gives the litigant all the reasons for it. As studies have shown and as I have experienced firsthand in the last eleven (11) months I have served as a judge, the judicial approach I have just described leaves litigants feeling confident in our judiciary even when they lose, because they come away from the courthouse feeling they have been treated fairly and received procedural justice. The judiciary can promote diversity by having judges give seminars about pathways to become judges; participating in pipeline programs to increase the number of diverse lawyers who want to become judges; and serving in mentoring roles to lawyers who are interested in becoming judges. On a personal level, I have already begun mentoring some wonderful diverse lawyers who want to become judges by sharing my lessons learned; brainstorming with them about their potential pathways; and introducing and recommending them to people who have helped me and who can help them. Page 8 of 8