Cook County Circuit Court Judge John G. Mulroe faces a retention vote in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.
Retention races are nonpartisan yes-or-no votes. Voters decide whether to keep a sitting judge on the bench.
Candidate information
- Office: Illinois Circuit Court judge, Cook County Circuit
- Born: July 21, 1959, in Chicago
- Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration, Loyola University, 1982; juris doctor, Loyola University, 1988
Experience and public service
The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Mulroe to the Cook County Circuit Court on June 21, 2019, according to his Wikipedia page. He filled the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Thomas R. Allen in the 10th Subcircuit. He won election to the seat in 2020, according to the Committee for Retention of Judges.
Before joining the bench, Mulroe served in the Illinois State Senate from 2010 to 2019, according to BallotReady. He worked as an attorney in private practice from 1995 to 2010 and as an assistant state's attorney from 1988 to 1995. He also worked as a certified public accountant, according to the Committee for Retention of Judges.
Prior to his judicial appointment, Mulroe served as president of his local school board, according to the Committee for Retention of Judges. He was a member of the Community Council, a member of the St. Angela Education Foundation, a coach for many sports and a volunteer at elementary school science fairs.
Since becoming a judge, Mulroe has volunteered at the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the Edison Park Turkey Trot, according to the Committee for Retention of Judges. He has judged mock trials for local and nationwide law schools and presented mock bills and mock trials to elementary students.
Mulroe is a 1977 graduate of St. Patrick High School in Chicago. He belongs to numerous bar associations and legal organizations, according to the Committee for Retention of Judges:
- Arab American Bar Association
- Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area
- Black Men's Lawyers' Association
- Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago
- Chicago Bar Association
- Chicago Council of Lawyers
- Cook County Bar Association
- Decalogue Society of Lawyers
- Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois
- Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago
- Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois
- Women's Bar Association of Illinois
- Illinois Judges Association
- Various Illinois Supreme Court committees
Endorsements
The following endorsements are listed on Mulroe's page on the Committee for Retention of Judges website:
- Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening: rated qualified by all fourteen bar associations that interviewed him and evaluated his credentials
- Chicago Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Committee: rated qualified, citing "a clear dedication to the role" and "highly complimentary reviews from attorneys who appear before him"
Candidate information was drawn from the Committee for Retention of Judges, BallotReady and Wikipedia. No candidate questionnaire responses or issue positions were available for this profile.
