Kathaleen Lanahan

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Kathaleen Lanahan

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Democratic Party

Cook County Circuit Court

Tenure

2018 - Present

Term ends

2030

Years in position

7

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Mother McAuley School

Bachelor's

The University of Chicago

Law

University of Illinois-Chicago, John Marshall Law School

Contact

Personal website

Kathaleen Lanahan (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois. Lanahan assumed office in 2018. Lanahan's current term ends on December 2, 2030.

Lanahan ran for re-election for judge of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois. Lanahan won in the retention election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Kathaleen Lanahan was born and lives in Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from Mother McAuley High School. She earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from John Marshall Law School. Lanahan’s career experience includes working as an assistant state attorney with Cook County State's Attorney's Office.

Elections

2024

See also:  Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2024)

Cook County Circuit Court, Kathaleen Lanahan's seat

Kathaleen Lanahan was retained to the Cook County Circuit Court on November 5, 2024 with 77.7% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	77.7	1,103,506
			No	22.3	316,939
			Total Votes		1,420,445

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It has been certified. Source 1 Source 2

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Lanahan in this election.

2018

General election

General election for Cook County Circuit Court

Kathaleen Lanahan won election in the general election for Cook County Circuit Court on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kathaleen Lanahan (D)	100.0	1,303,710

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,303,710
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court

Kathaleen Lanahan defeated Jonathan Clark Green, Michael O'Malley, and Lori Roper in the Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court on March 20, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kathaleen Lanahan	37.4	236,834
		Jonathan Clark Green	25.4	160,774
	Submit photo	Michael O'Malley	20.3	128,384
	Submit photo	Lori Roper	17.0	107,915

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 633,907
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mary Lopez (D)

Selection method

See also: Partisan elections

There are 513 judges on the Illinois Circuit Court, each elected in partisan elections to six-year terms. Upon the completion of these terms, judges who wish to continue serving must compete in uncontested, nonpartisan retention elections.

The chief judge of each circuit court is selected by peer vote; he or she serves in that capacity indefinitely.

The circuit courts are also served by 391 associate judges, who are limited in that they may not preside over cases in which the defendant is charged with a felony (an offense punishable by one or more years in prison). Associate judges are appointed to four-year terms by circuit judges.

Midterm vacancies are filled by Illinois Supreme Court appointment.

Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• a U.S. citizen;
• a circuit/county resident; and
• licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kathaleen Lanahan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

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External links

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Personal

Website

Footnotes

Illinois courts

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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