Cook County Circuit Court Judge John J. Mahoney faces a retention vote on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot. Voters will decide whether to keep Mahoney on the bench with a simple "yes" or "no."

Mahoney has served as a circuit court judge since winning election in 2014. He is assigned to the Fifth Municipal District in Bridgeview, according to the Circuit Court of Cook County. He sits in Courtroom 205L at the Bridgeview Courthouse, 10220 S. 76th Avenue.

Candidate information

  • Office sought: Circuit Court Judge, Cook County Circuit (retention)
  • Party: Nonpartisan
  • Education: Bachelor of arts in political science, DePaul University, 1981; juris doctor, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1984

Experience and public service

Before joining the bench, Mahoney served as an assistant state's attorney and as corporate counsel. He joined the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in 1991, according to the Illinois State Bar Association. He also worked as counsel at Peoples Energy Corporation from 1991 to 1997, according to BallotReady.

Mahoney returned to the State's Attorney's Office in 1997 as supervisor of the Public Corruption and Financial Crimes Unit, a role he held until his election to the bench in 2014, according to BallotReady.

2020 retention

He barely held on. Mahoney won his 2020 retention with 60.1% "yes" votes, receiving 987,759 yes votes against 654,857 no votes. That was the narrowest margin of any Cook County judge to keep their seat in the previous 30 years at the time, Injustice Watch reported.

Endorsements

Mahoney received a "Highly Qualified" rating from the Illinois State Bar Association for his initial 2014 election to the Cook County Circuit Court 4th Subcircuit, according to the Illinois State Bar Association.

The Illinois State Bar Association did not recommend Mahoney for retention in 2020. Injustice Watch reported that the association cited concerns from attorneys about "arrogance and a lack of sensitivity to diversity issues."

  • Illinois State Bar Association: Rated "Highly Qualified" for 2014 election (Illinois State Bar Association)
  • Illinois State Bar Association: Not recommended for 2020 retention (Injustice Watch)

No 2026 rating from the Illinois State Bar Association was available in the materials reviewed for this profile.

This profile was compiled from publicly available records, BallotReady data and published reporting. No candidate questionnaire responses were available for this profile.