Maya Dukmasova

if you look at just in-person ballots cast it's still wild:

as of yesterday: 1,300
2022: 423
2018: 154

Chicago voter turnout in this midterm primary election is bananas. 10,163 ballots received as of last night.

By contrast at this stage in 2022: 438 ballots received
2018: 186 ballots received

🚗 Volunteer with us! We need help distributing print copies of our judicial election guide across Cook County. buff.ly/ZRclFYE

Catch us live at 5:15 ct today!

Head over to Instagram TODAY at 5:15 p.m. for a conversation between senior reporter Maya Dukmasova and Stephanie Skora of Girl, I Guess about Cook County judicial elections.

No contest: Cook County judicial primary elections draw dwindling field of candidates For the second straight primary season, more than half the races for Cook County circuit judge on the March 17 ballot are uncontested, with just 45 candidates vying for 28 open seats.

Also check out @danhinkel.bsky.social and David Jackson's overview of the highlights (and lowlights) of this judicial ballot
www.injusticewatch.org/judges/judic...

March 2026 Cook County Judicial Election Guide | Injustice Watch Injustice Watch's guide to the March 2026 Cook County judicial primary elections.

It's time to CHECK YOUR JUDGES BAYYYYBEEEEE!!!!

Unbelievably excited to share our team's labor of love for the 2026 primary election. There are some doozies in here. Don't vote without it!

#checkyourjudges

2026primary.injusticewatch.org

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Georgia Fort's is chilling, and it's being overshadowed by the equally chilling arrest of Don Lemon.

A GoFundMe is being set up for Fort. In the meantime, you can support her work directly – without paying massive fundraising platform fees – through her website:

www.georgiafort.com/support

Keeping an Eye on the People Who Shape Your Rights Trusted reporting and powerful local voices revealing what’s happening in America’s statehouses — and how people can take action to strengthen democracy.

📻 Tune in to WCPT 820 AM today at 4 p.m. CT to hear Investigative Project on Race and Equity reporter Emeline Posner discuss their recent reporting for "Taken by Taxes," our joint project on property tax foreclosure in Cook County. buff.ly/KUDMpSt

We're taking applications for this position for another couple of weeks! I really can't say enough good things about working at IW, we have incredible benefits and fantastic pay and a really positive and healthy workplace culture. Apply and spread the word!

Looking forward to this conversation with @aliceyin.bsky.social and @ctoner.bsky.social and people interested in Chicago journalism on Friday night!

Very amusing to watch dads losing their shit at a trampoline park when their kids say 6 7. Why are you feeling so threatened by children's culture my man

I've been to two book stores and three grocery stores in Syracuse NY today and cannot find an issue of the New Yorker anywhere 🥴

“Gantchev suffered from type 2 diabetes and told his wife no diet accommodations were made for him. She and Anna said the small amount of food that is given to people detained at North Lake was not enough for maintaining Gantchev's blood sugar levels.”

Editor in Chief Editor in Chief Injustice Watch is seeking an Editor in Chief to lead our nonprofit newsroom. The ideal candidate is an experienced manager and editor

Psst...we're hiring an editor in chief!
www.injusticewatch.org/about/editor...

Illinois fails to collect wages owed to workers in Cook County Wage theft cases get stalled out in Cook County Court, where it can take years for workers to receive payment they're owed — if they receive it at all.

“This is the saddest part about being an immigrant — that one strives to do the best job you can … and then we don’t get paid,” the worker said in between sobs.

Gut-wrenching new investigation from @writeralejandra.bsky.social Wage theft in Illinois is rampant
www.injusticewatch.org/project/wait...

👇👇At 7500 S Shore, tenants still traumatized by the military-style raid on their building are being forced out.

Maya's points here are critical, and the problem is likely to get worse given rising financial distress, as discussed here by @cplusc.bsky.social climateandcommunity.org/research/fin...

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Just a reminder that we're still accepting any and all tips regarding the people running for judge in Cook County in the March primary! Take a look at the names here and share anything you'd like us to know. Responses are confidential! airtable.com/appG8uZvhvgY...

Ironically, Corey Oliver, the manager of the 7500 S South Shore building gave us one of the clearest and most poignant perspectives on the problem of black hat property investors in South Shore. www.injusticewatch.org/project/tena...

And when they fail at one building there's little threat to their overall business. This is especially handy for bad-faith and even criminal operators whose only goal is to "milk" buildings for max rent (actors that the good landlords and their representatives always admit exist and are a problem)

As we described in the Tenant Trap, our building code enforcement system is essentially restorative justice for landlords. The courts are a place where property owners can get near infinite runways to "do better" with little threat of fines or property loss.

Meanwhile when a landlord gets in trouble for mismanaging one property it rarely leads to scrutiny of what else they own and how they're doing there. The owner of this building, for example, appears to own at least two other large apartment buildings in South Shore.

Yes people often get a bit of money for relocation but $1,500, for example, is not enough to find a new home and move on a few days' notice. Especially when the population that lives in these buildings is at an intersection of disadvantages: bad credit, not being white, having children, etc.

The cost of that court action against a landlord is disproportionately borne by the tenants. In many cases the shuttering of a building in the name of their safety effectively means an eviction experience with minimal warning and no due process protections.

Setting aside the evidence suggesting that the landlord and/or property manager may have used ICE as an eviction force, the harshest consequence our legal system has for property owners who fail to maintain buildings in safe and habitable condition is shutting down the building.

Rising rents, unlivable apartments leave tenants desperate, confused, and often helpless An Injustice Watch investigation found thousands of buildings with chronic code violations and a court system that protects landlords over tenants.

The situation at 7500 s South Shore, the building raided by ICE, is really an illustration of our broken building code enforcement system that @writeralejandra.bsky.social and I extensively documented in The Tenant Trap:

www.injusticewatch.org/project/tena...

Here's why:

Beach has also appointed William Steward as interim superintendent of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. He often stood up to speak for the JTDC at public hearings in departed superintendent Dixon's absence. He's been in leadership at the time of many abuse allegations at the facility.

Beach has also dissolved the Traffic division of the court and moved it under 1st Municipal to mirror the suburban courthouses. And appointed some new supervisint judges.

More info on all the reshuffling here www.cookcountycourtil.gov/news/chief-j...

They've been replaced by Beach's allies: Michael Mullen in Chancery, Tom Sianis in 1st Muni, Mary C. Marubio in Skokie. Susana Ortiz replaces Marubio as presiding of the Pretrial Division.

Beach also created three "deputy chief" positions in his office, for criminal, civil, and pretrial.

Two Cook County judges claim homestead exemptions in Will County Two of the 77 Cook County judges running for retention in November claim homestead exemptions on Will County houses they have owned for years, Injustice

Sophia Hall in Chancery (the longest serving judge in the county), Shelley Sutker-Dermer at the Skokie courthouse (who held the post for 22 years), and Ken Wright in 1st Muni (of questionable residency fame). All three were close allies and friends of Tim Evans www.injusticewatch.org/judges/judic...