Issues of race and diversity loom large over the March 19 Democratic primary contest for Illinois Supreme Court as Justice Joy Cunningham faces a challenge from Appellate Judge Jesse Reyes, who aims to become the court’s first Latino justice.
Cunningham was appointed to the position in 2022, becoming just the second Black woman to serve on the state’s highest court.
But she bristles at how the issue of race has been “injected” into the primary, arguing that voters should be more focused on experience.
“I am the best candidate because I’m already doing the job and doing it well,” Cunningham said at a Jan. 25 Union League Club of Chicago forum.
Reyes argues it isn’t about race — it’s about ensuring everyone has a voice on the bench — noting Latinos now make up over a quarter of Cook County’s population.
“I have never criticized her (Cunningham) for saying that, but I think that it misses a key component in terms of our system of justice,” Reyes told the Sun-Times. “Our system of justice should be reflective of our population and should be reflective of the various communities that the court serves.”
Whoever wins the March Democratic primary for one of Cook County’s three seats on the state Supreme Court will likely run unopposed in the general election. No Republican candidates have entered the primary.
Democrats likely will maintain their 5-2 majority on the court. However, both candidates argue the race matters, particularly because state supreme courts continue to increasingly tackle national issues.
“Illinois is an oasis in a desert of red states and suppressed rights in many respects,” Cunningham told the Sun-Times. “State supreme courts are now at the forefront of guarding constitutional rights for the people who live within their borders because the federal courts have stepped away from the protections that we previously looked to the federal courts to give us.”
While candidates would not speak specifically to issues that may come before the court — such as Second Amendment rights and access to abortion — Cunningham said it is important to establish strong working relationships with the Illinois Legislature to get ahead of potential challenges.
Reyes, on the other hand, at the Union League Club of Chicago forum said judges communicate to the legislature through their decisions.
In addition to ruling on cases, the Illinois Supreme Court also serves as the administrative authority for all state courts. Illinois appellate courts have faced some procedural challenges after the implementation of the SAFE-T Act, which eliminated cash bail statewide and required major changes to court operations.
Since the SAFE-T Act took effect, Illinois appellate courts have experienced a dramatic increase in the number of appeals. The 1st District Appellate Court, where Reyes serves, has seen relatively fewer appeals compared to other courts statewide. Reyes credits this to preemptive administrative changes he helped implement while serving on the court’s executive committee.
“When I was on the executive committee, my colleagues and I reformed some of the rules that we use internally to make sure that the cases are moved along a little bit quicker than they have in the past,” Reyes said at the Union League Club forum. “Right now, (with) the SAFE-T Act, as a result of the work that we did, the 1st District is moving along pretty well …the rest of the state right now is a little bogged down.”
Cunningham and fellow justices have created a task force of appellate court justices to study the issue and deliver recommendations on how to increase efficiency. Cunningham said despite the “logjam” at the appellate court level, she was proud of the pace at which cases were moving through the Illinois Supreme Court.
“State supreme courts like the Illinois Supreme Court are now wrestling with a number of important progressive issues, issues of the future, and as a result, you have to be essentially on top of your game,” she said.
Cunningham has spent time as an associate judge and in private practice, serving as general counsel for Northwestern Memorial Health Care. In 2006, she was elected to the appellate court, where she served for 16 years until her appointment to the Illinois Supreme Court as a replacement for retiring Chief Justice Anne Burke.
Before becoming a lawyer, Cunningham worked as an intensive care unit nurse. Cunningham said the lessons she learned as a nurse have been invaluable in her judgeship.
“It taught me how to listen, and a lot of judges really don’t know how to listen,” Cunningham said. “Being a nurse taking care of sick patients, you learn how to listen to them, to their families, to the people who are caring for them at home. It also taught me to problem solve in a way that I cannot explain.”
Reyes worked in the city’s corporation counsel office under Mayor Harold Washington before being elected an associate judge. In 2012, he became the first Latino elected to serve on the state appellate court.
Reyes was born and raised in the Pilsen and Bridgeport neighborhoods in a working-class family. He promised if he became a lawyer, he would give back to his community and said throughout his career he has championed efforts aimed at increasing diversity in the legal profession.
Reyes ran for the Illinois Supreme Court in 2020, eventually conceding to Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. He sought the party’s endorsement this year but was not deterred when they backed Cunningham.
“I bring a lived experience, I bring a different voice, a different perspective,” Reyes said. “And, more importantly, I bring knowledge that my opponent doesn’t have.”
