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.
CWB Chicago's overviews of Cook County judges:
Original reporting by CWB Chicago - Opens in a new tab
HOW RETENTION WORKS
Judges do not need an opponent to be voted 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.
JUDGES UNDER SCRUTINY
Why voters should examine 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.
Robert Kuzas
JUDGE SINCE 2014
HANDLES FELONY PRELIMINARY HEARINGS; FORMER CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER
CWB Chicago examines his pretrial-release decisions, including reduced bail in a shooting case and the release of a man later accused of attacking two CTA passengers.
Mary Catherine Marubio
JUDGE SINCE 2016
PRESIDING JUDGE IN SKOKIE
DEPUTY CHIEF JUDGE OF FIRST APPEARANCE COURT
CWB Chicago reviews her former role in the high-volume Pretrial Division, noting that its analysis found her release decisions were not outliers favoring either defendants or prosecutors.
Teresa Molina-Gonzalez
JUDGE SINCE 2019
FORMER PROSECUTOR
CWB Chicago highlights her decision to place Lawrence Reed on electronic monitoring despite prosecutors’ objections. Reed was later accused of setting a woman on fire aboard a Blue Line train.
Ursula Walowski
JUDGE SINCE 2008
HANDLES FELONY TRIALS AT 26TH St.
FORMER PROSECUTOR
The report contrasts life and lengthy prison sentences in murder cases with probation for a repeat theft offender and two street racers who killed a pedestrian.
Steven Watkins
JUDGE SINCE 2014
The article examines his handling of the Jussie Smollett settlement and contrasts lengthy sentences for shooting officers and carjacking with shorter sentences or no prison time in other cases.
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.