Kathryn Maloney Vahey

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Kathryn Maloney Vahey

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Democratic Party

Cook County Circuit Court

Tenure

2018 - Present

Term ends

2030

Years in position

7

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Canisius College

Graduate

Middlebury College, Madrid, Spain

Law

Loyola University, Chicago School of Law

Contact

Personal website

Personal Twitter

Kathryn Maloney Vahey (Democratic Party) is a judge of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois. Vahey assumed office in 2018. Vahey's current term ends on December 2, 2030.

Vahey ran for re-election for judge of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois. Vahey won in the retention election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Kathryn Maloney Vahey earned a B.A. in elementary education from Canisius College in 1992, an M.A. in Spanish language and culture from Middlebury College in Madrid, Spain, and a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Maloney’s career experience includes working as a assistant public defender with the Cook County Public Defender’s Office.

Elections

2024

See also:  Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2024)

Cook County Circuit Court, Kathryn Maloney Vahey's seat

Kathryn Maloney Vahey was retained to the Cook County Circuit Court on November 5, 2024 with 76.6% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	76.6	989,072
			No	23.4	302,789
			Total Votes		1,291,861

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Source 1 Source 2

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Vahey in this election.

2018

General election

General election for Cook County Circuit Court

Kathryn Maloney Vahey won election in the general election for Cook County Circuit Court on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kathryn Maloney Vahey (D)	100.0	1,328,540

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,328,540
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court

Kathryn Maloney Vahey defeated Oran Whiting and John Maher in the Democratic primary for Cook County Circuit Court on March 20, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Kathryn Maloney Vahey	43.7	277,361
	Submit photo	Oran Whiting	35.3	224,272
	Submit photo	John Maher	21.0	133,546

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 635,179
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lisa Copland (D)

Selection method

See also: Partisan elections

There are 513 judges on the Illinois Circuit Court, each elected in partisan elections to six-year terms. Upon the completion of these terms, judges who wish to continue serving must compete in uncontested, nonpartisan retention elections.

The chief judge of each circuit court is selected by peer vote; he or she serves in that capacity indefinitely.

The circuit courts are also served by 391 associate judges, who are limited in that they may not preside over cases in which the defendant is charged with a felony (an offense punishable by one or more years in prison). Associate judges are appointed to four-year terms by circuit judges.

Midterm vacancies are filled by Illinois Supreme Court appointment.

Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• a U.S. citizen;
• a circuit/county resident; and
• licensed to practice law in Illinois.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kathryn Maloney Vahey did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

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Newsletters

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External links

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Personal

Website

Twitter

Footnotes

Illinois courts

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Federal courts:

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois

State courts:

Illinois Supreme Court • Illinois Appellate Court • Illinois Circuit Court

State resources:

Courts in Illinois • Illinois judicial elections • Judicial selection in Illinois