Evanston’s ballot guide for the 2022 general election

By Mitzi Trainor Last updated Oct 10, 2022

The 2022 general election will be held nationwide on Tuesday, Nov. 8, and there is a dizzying array of choices for voters to make. Evanston will vote on 64 candidates running for 36 open positions, 60 judges running for retention and three referendums from three different levels of government.

To help Evanstonians make more informed decisions with their votes, this article will provide a full run-down of the entire ballot, along with links to campaign websites and further information. A separate article with information on how to register to vote, where to cast ballots and other matters is here.

This article will go through each race appearing on Evanston ballots, including candidates’ names, ballot numbers, party affiliations, basic biographical information and links to campaign websites. Names and ballot numbers were sourced from the Cook County Clerk’s “Your Voter Information” webpage in the tab “What Is On My Upcoming Ballot?”

Races are ordered by ballot number, and are organized in the following sections:

Statewide elections
Legislators
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioners
Cook County elections
Open judicial elections
Judicial retention elections
Referendums

Before diving into the list, a few important notes:

Candidates’ party affiliations will be marked with a single letter after their name: (D) for Democrat, (R) for Republican, (L) for Libertarian and (G) for Green Party.
Incumbents running for reelection are marked by an asterisk* following their party letter, e.g. Tammy Duckworth (D)*.
Regular political candidates have only one ballot number, while judges running for retention have two numbers for a yes or no vote. The referendums at the bottom of the ballot have yes and no options in lieu of ballot numbers.
Since judges running for retention do not have campaign websites, their names are instead linked to profile pages on court websites.

Without further ado, here is every race that will appear on Evanston ballots in the 2022 general election.

Statewide races

Bill Redpath
Kathy Salvi
Sen. Tammy Duckworth

U.S. Senator

Tammy Duckworth (D)*, Ballot #1: Incumbent junior senator since 2017, and retired lieutenant colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard.
Kathy Salvi (R), Ballot #2: Personal injury lawyer and former public defender from Mundelein.
Bill Redpath (L), Ballot #3: Former chairman of the Libertarian National Committee from 2006 to 2010, and one of 16 inductees in the party’s “Hall of Liberty.”

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Attorney General

Kwame Raoul (D)*, Ballot #7: Incumbent attorney general since 2019 and former state senator from the 13th district in Chicago.
Thomas DeVore (R), Ballot #8: Private attorney from Bond County who litigated to lift the statewide mask mandate in public schools.
Daniel Robin (L), Ballot #9: Retired bankruptcy lawyer and author of Libertarian War on Poverty: Repairing the Ladder of Upward Mobility.

Secretary of State

Alexi Giannoulias (D), Ballot #10: Former state treasurer and 2010 Democratic candidate for U.S. senator.
Dan Brady (R), Ballot #11: State representative for the 105th District in central Illinois.
Jon Stewart (L), Ballot #12: Former professional wrestler and car dealership owner from Deerfield.

Comptroller

Susana Mendoza (D)*, Ballot #13: Incumbent comptroller since 2016 and former city clerk of Chicago from 2011 to 2016.
Shannon Teresi (R), Ballot #14: Incumbent auditor for McHenry County since 2018.
Deirdre McCloskey (L), Ballot #15: Former professor of English, economics and communications at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Treasurer

Michael Frerichs (D)*, Ballot #16: Incumbent state treasurer since 2015, and former state senator from 2007 to 2015.
Tom Demmer (R), Ballot #17: Incumbent state representative since 2013 and deputy minority leader of the state House of Representatives.
Preston Nelson (L), Ballot #18: Solar energy consultant from Southern Illinois.

Legislators

First, an important sidebar: The 2022 elections will be the first to use Illinois’ new legislative districts, which were drawn based on the results of the 2020 census. Changes are explained below, and a map showing the new split in state representative districts is displayed next to this text.

A map showing the border between state representative districts 17 and 18 in Evanston. Credit: City of Evanston, Alex Harrison

Following redistricting, the entirety of Evanston is now within State Senate District 9, currently represented by state Sen. Laura Fine; District 7, currently represented by state Sen. Mike Simmons, no longer includes a portion of South Evanston.

Additionally, the border between state representative districts has moved to the 6th Ward along McDaniel Avenue. The 6th Ward residents who live west of McDaniel Avenue are in District 17, currently represented by state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz. All other Evanston residents are in district 18, currently represented by state Rep. Robyn Gabel.

The entirety of Evanston is still in the 9th Congressional district and represented by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Additional information can be found on the Illinois State Board of Elections’ “My Elected Representative” webpage.

U.S. Representative, District 9

Jan Schakowsky (D)*, Ballot #21: Incumbent congresswoman since 1999, and former state representative from 1990-1998.
Max Rice (R), Ballot #22: Energy consultant and Republican primary candidate for the 9th District seat in 2018.

State Senator, District 9 (All of Evanston)

Laura Fine (D)*, Ballot #31: Incumbent state senator since 2019, and former state representative from 2013 to 2019.
Paul Kelly (R), Ballot #32: Marketing director for Vyaire Medical, a “pure play” medical manufacturing company focused on respiratory products.

State Representative, District 17 (6th Ward, west of McDaniel Avenue)

Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D)*, Ballot #41: Incumbent state representative since 2019 and former director of the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic.
Bradley Martin (R), Ballot #42: Founder of the Near East Center for Strategic Studies and senior fellow at the Haym Salomon Center.

State Representative, District 18 (Remainder of Evanston)

Robyn Gabel (D)*, Ballot #41: Incumbent state representative since 2010, and former executive director of the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition from 1988 to 2010.
Charles Hutchinson (R), Ballot #42: Private attorney in estate planning, and board president of the Wilmette-Kenilworth Chamber of Commerce.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioners

MWRD Commissioner – 6-year term (Vote for three)

Mariyana Spyropoulos (D)*, Ballot #51: Incumbent MWRD commissioner since 2010.
Patricia Theresa Flynn (D), Ballot #52: Incumbent trustee in the Village of Crestwood, serving her third term.
Yumeka Brown (D), Ballot #53: Incumbent Matteson village clerk since 2017 and President of the Rich Township Democratic Organization.
R. Cary Capparelli (R), Ballot #54: Online professor of geography and geo sciences at South Dakota State University, and former board member of the Illinois International Port District from 2000-2009.
Mark Buettner (G), Ballot #55: Former wastewater treatment works operator for 14 years, nine of which were at MWRD facilities.

MWRD Commissioner – 2-year term (Vote for one)

Daniel “Pogo” Pogorzelski (D), Ballot #56: Communications specialist for State Treasurer Michael Frerichs and former executive director of the Avondale Chamber of Commerce in Chicago.
Toneal Jackson (G), Ballot #57: Founder of Artists Promoting Success and I’m Glad to be a Woman, host of the “Toneal Talks Politics” podcast, and author and publisher.

Cook County elections

Board of Commissioners President

Toni Preckwinkle (D)*, Ballot #61: Incumbent board president since 2010 and runner-up in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election.
Bob Fioretti (R), Ballot #62: Civil rights attorney and former alderman for Chicago’s 2nd Ward from 2007 to 2015.
Thea Tsatsos (L), Ballot #63: Medical technologist in clinical pathology at Rush Oak Park Hospital.

County Clerk

Karen Yarbrough (D)*, Ballot #64: Incumbent clerk since 2018 and member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Illinois.
Tony Peraica (R), Ballot #65: Private attorney and former county commissioner from 2002 to 2010.
Joseph Schreiner (L), Ballot #66: Self-employed patent agent and German-to-English translator.

County Sheriff

Thomas Dart (D)*, Ballot #67: Incumbent sheriff since 2006 and former state legislator from 1991 to 2003.
Lupe Aguirre (R), Ballot #68: Detective in the Chicago Police Department and previous candidate for county commissioner in 2018.
Brad Sandefur (L), Ballot #69: Sergeant in the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and Marine Corps veteran.

County Treasurer

Maria Pappas (D)*, Ballot #70: Incumbent treasurer since 1998 and former county commissioner running for a seventh term.
Peter Kopsaftis (R), Ballot #71: Barrington Township Republican committeeman, and third-place candidates in the 2022 Republican primary for the 8th district Congressional seat.
Michael Murphy (L), Ballot #72: Law enforcement officer in the Cook County sheriff’s office since 2010.

County Assessor

Fritz Kaegi (D)*, Ballot #73: Incumbent assessor since 2018 and previous career private asset manager.
Nico Tsatsoulis (L), Ballot #74: A self-described “irate citizen” with an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago.

Commissioner, Board of Commissioners – District 13

Josina Morita (D), Ballot #81: Incumbent commissioner on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District since 2016, and the founding chair of the Illinois Asian American Caucus.
Andrew Border (R), Ballot #82: Rogers Park resident with “a background in the real estate field” and title insurance.

Commissioner, Board of Review – District 2 (Unopposed)

Samantha Steele (D), Ballot #91: Appointed member of the Property Tax Board of Appeals of Lake County, Indiana since 2019, and former member of Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s transition team in 2018.

Open judicial elections

Note: Democratic candidates will appear on the ballot unopposed in all 14 open judicial elections.

Illinois Court of Appeals – 1st District (10-year term)

Hall vacancy
- Debra B. Walker (D), Ballot #111: Incumbent Circuit Judge in the domestic relations division since 2008.
Harris vacancy

Cook County Circuit Court (6-year term)

Brennan vacancy
Callahan Jr., vacancy
- Tracie Porter (D), Ballot #114: Incumbent appointed circuit judge in the traffic division since 2021.
Gordon Cannon vacancy
- Diana López (D), Ballot #115: Associate circuit judge in the traffic division since 2021.
Hyman vacancy
- Thomas Nowinski (D), Ballot #116: Chief of staff for the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk since 2020.
Ingram vacancy
Leeming vacancy
Lynch vacancy
McGury vacancy
- Ruth Isabel Gudino (D), Ballot #120: Incumbent appointed circuit judge in the traffic division since 2021 and previous assistant state’s attorney from 2003 to 2021.
O’Brien vacancy
- Araceli De La Cruz (D), Ballot #121: Incumbent appointed circuit judge in the traffic division since January 2022 and former general counsel and chief administrative officer for the Acero Charter School Network from 2016 to 2021.
Sullivan vacancy
- Thomas More Donnelly (D), Ballot #122: Incumbent appointed circuit judge since 2021 and former associate judge hearing a variety of cases from 2003 to 2021.

Cook County Circuit Court – Subcircuit 9 (6-year term)

Cleveland vacancy
- Sanjay Taylor (D), Ballot #131: Incumbent appointed circuit judge serving as presiding judge of the county division since 2021 and former associate judge in several divisions from 2003 to 2021.
Jacobius vacancy
- Barry Goldberg (D), Ballot #132: Chief of the Charitable Trust Bureau for the Illinois attorney general since 2019.

Judicial retention elections

Note: Judges must receive at least 60% affirmative votes to win retention. Two judges, Daniel James Pierce and Ann Finley Collins, are NOT seeking retention but will still appear on the ballot. Additional information on judges running for retention can be found in Injustice Watch’s judicial election guide, which will be published Oct. 11.

Illinois Supreme Court – 1st District (10-year term)

Retention of Mary Jane Theis, Ballot #201 (Yes) and #202 (No): Incumbent Supreme Court Justice appointed in 2010 and elected in 2012, running for a second 10-year term.

Illinois Court of Appeals – 1st District (10-year term)

Retention of James Fitzgerald Smith, Ballot #203 (Yes) and #204 (No): Division 2. First elected in 2002, running for a third 10-year term.
Retention of Terrence Lavin, Ballot #205 (Yes) and #206 (No): Division 1. First appointed in 2010 and elected in 2012, running for a second 10-year term.
Retention of Maureen Connors, Ballot #207 (Yes) and #208 (No): Division 5. First appointed in 2010 and elected in 2012, running for a second 10-year term.
Retention of Mathias Delort, Ballot #209 (Yes) and #210 (No): Division 5. First elected in 2012, running for a second 10-year term.
Retention of Nathaniel Howse, Jr., Ballot #211 (Yes) and #212 (No): Division 2. First appointed in 2009 and elected in 2012, running for a second 10-year term.
Retention of Jesse Reyes, Ballot #213 (Yes) and #214 (No): Division 3. First elected in 2012, running for a second 10-year term.

Circuit Court of Cook County (6-year term)

Retention of Sophia Hall, Ballot #215 (Yes) and #216 (No): Interim acting presiding judge of the chancery division.
Retention of Timothy Evans, Ballot #217 (Yes) and #218 (No): Chief judge of the Circuit Court since 2001, circuit judge since 1992.
Retention of Charles Patrick Burns, Ballot #219 (Yes) and #220 (No): Criminal division.
Retention of John Patrick Kirby, Ballot #221 (Yes) and #222 (No): Pretrial division.
Retention of Leroy Martin, Jr., Ballot #223 (Yes) and #224 (No): Temporarily appointed to the Court of Appeals in the 1st District, running for retention in the 1st Subcircuit of Cook County.
Retention of Robert “Bob” Balanoff, Ballot #225 (Yes) and #226 (No): Presiding Judge of the child protection division.
Retention of Kathleen Marie Burke, Ballot #227 (Yes) and #228 (No): Municipal division, 5th district.
Retention of Thomas Kelley, Ballot #229 (Yes) and #230 (No): Domestic relations division.
Retention of Clare Elizabeth McWilliams, Ballot #231 (Yes) and #232 (No): Law division.
Retention of May Lane Mikva, Ballot #233 (Yes) and #234 (No): Temporarily appointed to the Court of Appeals in the 1st District, running for retention in the 8th Subcircuit of Cook County.
Retention of Patrick Murphy, Ballot #235 (Yes) and #236 (No): Child protection division.
Retention of Jim Ryan, Ballot #237 (Yes) and #238 (No): Municipal division, 1st district.
Retention of Thaddeus Wilson, Ballot #239 (Yes) and #240 (No): Chancery division.
Retention of Daniel James Pierce, Ballot #241 (Yes) and #242 (No): NOT actually seeking retention, but still appearing on the ballot. Resigning circuit judge appointed to the Court of Appeals in the 1st District.
Retention of William Hooks, Ballot #243 (Yes) and #244 (No): Criminal division.
Retention of Thomas Lyons, Ballot #245 (Yes) and #246 (No): Law division.
Retention of Daniel Malone, Ballot #247 (Yes) and #248 (No): Presiding judge of the probate division.
Retention of Geary Kull, Ballot #249 (Yes) and #250 (No): Municipal division, 4th district.
Retention of Steven James Bernstein, Ballot #251 (Yes) and #252 (No): Juvenile justice division.
Retention of Bonita Coleman, Ballot #253 (Yes) and #254 (No): Domestic relations division.
Retention of Ann Finley Collins, Ballot #255 (Yes) and #256 (No): NOT actually seeking retention, but still appearing on the ballot. Retiring judge in the municipal division, 4th district.
Retention of Daniel Gallagher, Ballot #257 (Yes) and #258 (No): Municipal division, 1st district.
Retention of Linzey Jones, Ballot #259 (Yes) and #260 (No): Municipal division, 5th district.
Retention of Susan Kennedy Sullivan, Ballot #261 (Yes) and #262 (No): Probate division.
Retention of Terry MacCarthy, Ballot #263 (Yes) and #264 (No): Domestic violence division.
Retention of Sandra Gisela Ramos, Ballot #265 (Yes) and #266 (No): Law division.
Retention of Daniel Patrick Duffy, Ballot #267 (Yes) and #268 (No): Law division.
Retention of Anna Maria Loftus, Ballot #269 (Yes) and #270 (No): Chancery division.
Retention of Aleksandra “Alex” Gillespie, Ballot #271 (Yes) and #272 (No): Municipal division, 2nd district.
Retention of Eve Marie Reilly, Ballot #273 (Yes) and #274 (No): Chancery division.
Retention of Freddrenna Lyle, Ballot #275 (Yes) and #276 (No): Chancery division.
Retention of Jerry Esrig, Ballot #277 (Yes) and #278 (No): Law division.
Retention of Alison Conlon, Ballot #279 (Yes) and #280 (No): Chancery division.
Retention of Rossanna Fernandez, Ballot #281 (Yes) and #282 (No): Domestic relations division.
Retention of William Sullivan, Ballot #283 (Yes) and #284 (No): Chancery division.
Retention of John Fitzgerald Lyke, Jr., Ballot #285 (Yes) and #286 (No): Pretrial division.
Retention of Carrie Hamilton, Ballot #287 (Yes) and #288 (No): Municipal division, 6th district.
Retention of Patricia “Pat” Spratt, Ballot #289 (Yes) and #290 (No): Chancery division.
Retention of James Allegretti, Ballot #291 (Yes) and #292 (No): Municipal division, 2nd district.
Retention of Eulalia “Evie” De La Rosa, Ballot #293 (Yes) and #294 (No): Municipal division, 4th district.
Retention of Carolyn Gallagher, Ballot #295 (Yes) and #296 (No): Probate division.
Retention of Maureen O’Donoghue Hannon, Ballot #297 (Yes) and #298 (No): County division.
Retention of D. Renee Jackson, Ballot #299 (Yes) and #300 (No): Domestic relations division.
Retention of Daryl Jones, Ballot #301 (Yes) and #302 (No): Juvenile justice division.
Retention of Steven Kozicki, Ballot #303 (Yes) and #304 (No): Municipal division, 3rd district.
Retention of Matthew Link, Ballot #305 (Yes) and #306 (No): Domestic relations division.
Retention of Mary Kathleen McHugh, Ballot #307 (Yes) and #308 (No): Municipal division, 5th district.
Retention of Leonard Murray, Ballot #309 (Yes) and #310 (No): Acting Supervising Judge of the municipal division, 1st division.
Retention of Brendan O’Brien, Ballot #311 (Yes) and #312 (No): Law division.
Retention of Kevin O’Donnell, Ballot #313 (Yes) and #314 (No): Municipal division, 3rd district.
Retention of Susana Ortiz, Ballot #315 (Yes) and #316 (No): Pretrial division.
Retention of Jesse Outlaw, Ballot #317 (Yes) and #318 (No): Probate division.
Retention of Patrick Joseph Powers, Ballot #319 (Yes) and #320 (No): Domestic relations division.
Retention of Marguerite Ann Quinn, Ballot #321 (Yes) and #322 (No): Law division.
Retention of Catherine Ann Schneider, Ballot #323 (Yes) and #324 (No): Law division.

Referendums

State of Illinois – Right to collective bargaining amendment

The Illinois House of Representatives and Senate respectively passed SJRCA0011 on May 21 and May 26, 2021, to place a referendum on the statewide ballot to add a “right to collective bargaining” to the state constitution. It would essentially incorporate the Collective Bargaining Freedom Act, adopted in April 2019, into the state constitution.

If passed, employees working in Illinois would have a constitutional right to organize and bargain collectively to negotiate issues such as wages, hours, working conditions and so on with their employers. Additionally, laws that negate or diminish collective bargaining agreements – namely, so-called “right-to-work” laws that prohibit union membership and dues payments as conditions of employment – would be prohibited.

Illinois would be the fourth state to guarantee this right, joining Hawaii, Missouri and New York. Meanwhile, 27 states have adopted right-to-work laws, eight of which are incorporated in the state’s constitution.

Forest Preserve District of Cook County: Property tax increase.

The Forest Preserve District has placed a referendum on the Cook County ballot to increase its property tax levy 0.025% above its current amount. WBEZ reported that the average increase for each homeowner would be about $1.50 more per month, on top of the existing $3 to $4 per month currently paid to the district.

The district’s pamphlet on the referendum says the hike would result in around $41.7 million in new revenue, which would go towards projects such as purchasing new land for preservation, restoring existing preserve land, improving trail systems and filling a pension shortfall. Some of the revenue would also be shared with the Chicago Botanic Garden and Brookfield Zoo, both of which sit on forest preserve land.

City of Evanston – Ranked choice voting measure

On July 11, the City Council voted 7-0 to place a referendum on the Evanston ballot to implement a ranked choice voting system for the city’s municipal elections beginning in the spring 2025 election cycle. This would not apply to elections for District 65 or District 202 school board members.

If passed, voters will rank candidates for mayor, city clerk and City Council members by preference. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes after the initial count, the last-place candidate will be eliminated, and their first-choice votes will be redistributed to voters’ second choice; this cycle will repeat until one candidate has a majority of first-choice votes and is declared a winner.