IT'S A VOTER'S RIGHT
You can remove a judge. Vote NO.
Judges who put the public at risk should not remain on the bench. Review the records and use your retention vote to hold them accountable.
Original reporting by CWB Chicago - Opens in a new tab
HOW RETENTION WORKS
You do not need an opponent to vote a judge out
Cook County judges appear on the ballot for retention. The ballot asks whether each judge should be retained in office.
Vote NO, and that judge leaves office at the end of the current term. Voters can remove a judge without anyone having to run against them.
Review reported cases and decisions
Mark NO on judicial retention
The term ends, and the judge is off the bench.
FIVE JUDGES UNDER SCRUTINY
Why voters should exam the records of these judges
The factual summaries (below) are drawn from CWB Chicago’s October 5, 2026 report. Read the full reporting before you vote.
Click on site image to go to CWBChicago's story.
Laura Ayala-Gonzalez
JUDGE SINCE 2020
LEIGHTON CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE
CWB Chicago reviews her sentencing record and cases involving defendants accused of serious crimes after being placed on electronic monitoring, including one man accused of cutting off his monitor and fleeing.
Thomas Byrne
JUDGE SINCE 2008
LEIGHTON CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE
The report contrasts several lengthy sentences—including 60-year terms in two
major cases—with more recent, shorter sentences in firearms cases.
Patrick Coughlin
JUDGE SINCE 2004
ARKHAM COURTHOUSE
CWB Chicago highlights two cases in which people were accused of serious new
crimes while on pretrial release, including the court records and monitoring
decisions involved.
Anjana Hansen
FORMER PROSECUTOR
SKOKIE COURTHOUSE
Her profile spans lengthy prison terms, a five-year sentence that drew attention,
and rulings involving burglary charges and repeat arrests during electronic
monitoring.
Diana Kenworthy
JUDGE SINCE 2008
FORMER ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDER
The article notes a rare life-plus-50-year sentence and a 55-year sentence,
alongside a closely watched 2022 bench-trial acquittal in a murder case.
USE YOUR VOTE
Read the record. Vote NO on judges who put Chicago at risk.
CWB Chicago’s full article includes the detail, context, and underlying coverage voters need to act.
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Reporting and case details credited to CWB Chicago. CWB Chicago does not endorse or recommend judges or candidates and is not affiliated with this page.