D'Anthony Thedford, a sitting Cook County Circuit Court judge and Democrat, is running to keep his seat in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election.

The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Thedford to an at-large judgeship in Cook County in 2024, according to the Illinois State Bar Association. He is certified for the ballot. Cook County Circuit Court judges serve Evanston and the rest of Cook County, so the race will appear on local ballots.

Before his appointment, Thedford practiced law in Cook County as a criminal defense attorney, public defender and law professor.

Candidate information

  • Party: Democratic
  • Office sought: Circuit Court Judge, Cook County Circuit (Karkula Vacancy)
  • Education: Bachelor's degree from Southern Adventist University (1992); law degree from the University of Alabama (1996)

Experience and public service

Thedford worked as an assistant public defender at the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender from 1997 to 2005, according to the Illinois State Bar Association. He then ran his own firm, the Law Office of Tony Thedford PC, from 2005 to 2016, followed by Thedford Garber Law from 2016 to 2024, according to BallotReady.

He served as director of trial advocacy at Valparaiso University from 2017 to 2019 and has been an adjunct professor at DePaul University since 2019, according to BallotReady.

Outside the courtroom, Thedford served as president of the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and as a board member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, according to the Illinois State Bar Association. He is a board member of the Illinois Prison Project.

Endorsements

Thedford has received ratings and endorsements from bar associations, labor unions and a political organization:

  • Chicago-area bar association alliance (13 associations): Qualified, with a unanimous overall rating, according to WTTW's 2026 primary voter guide
  • Chicago Bar Association: Highly Qualified, according to the Illinois State Bar Association
  • IUOE Local 150, according to BallotReady
  • International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134, according to BallotReady
  • Chicago Federation of Labour, according to BallotReady
  • Cook County Democrats, according to BallotReady

Candidate information in this profile comes from a reviewed candidate packet compiled from BallotReady data, the Illinois State Bar Association and WTTW's voter guide. No candidate questionnaire responses were available for this profile.