While there will be plenty of notable races on Illinois ballots this primary election, there will also be a number of other names voters may be tasked with voting on.
Dozens of appellate and circuit courts judgeships will also be contested.
What do circuit and appellate courts do?
Circuit court judges serve six-year terms and hear a wide range of cases, including divorce and custody, major civil disputes, traffic, personal injury, and serious criminal cases. The circuit courts are a state’s general trial court, handling all initial legal cases. A case heard at the circuit court level can be appealed upward to the appellate court.
A step below the Illinois Supreme Court, appellate court judges serve 10-year terms and rule on appealed cases that were originally decided by circuit courts. After an appeal is heard, the Illinois Supreme Court can be asked to review a decision from an appellate court. Illinois appellate courts are divided into five districts that are further divided by subcircuits.
What to know about judges on the ballot?
While there are no Illinois Supreme Court vacancies are on the ballot this year, there are dozens at lower levels in the court structure in the state. Those judges join a slew of gubernatorial and congressional candidates that will also be on ballots for the March 17 primary.
In the primary election, voters exclusively choose candidates to run for vacant judgeships at the appellate and circuit court levels. Judges who were appointed to positions, but are now running for full terms, are also on the primary ballot. In Cook County alone, nearly 50 judicial candidates are running for 29 vacancies.
Judges who are already on the bench and elected to full terms will not appear on the primary ballot, but if this is their year to face a retention vote, they’ll be on the ballot in November, along with the candidates who won the March primaries in each party.
Overall, the judicial selections will play a pivotal role in rulings over criminal cases, evictions, traffic tickets and many other decisions that impact Illinoisians everyday life.
Which appellate district are you in?
Appellate courts in Illinois consist of 54 judges who are divided into five districts.
The First District is entirely comprised by Cook County. Cook County is divided into 20 subcircuits, though not all have vacant seats in this year’s election. Across the county, 46 candidates are running for 29 judicial vacancies. A Cook County voter’s subcircuit will determine what candidates appear on their ballot.
The Second District includes DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, Lake and McHenry Counties.
Seven Northeast Illinois counties, including Bureau, DuPage, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, LaSalle and Will make up the Third District Appellate Court.
Out near Springfield, the Fourth District Appellate Court hears cases from trial courts in 41 counties, including Sangamon, Ford, Henry, Carroll, Lee, Boone and Winnebago.
Finally, downstate, the Fifth District Appellate Court hears appeals cases from trial courts in 48 counties including Jasper, Champaign, Macon, and Monroe.
A map of subcircuits across the five districts can be found here.
How to research judges in Illinois
Several local professional associations of attorneys release recommendations for judicial candidates ahead of elections.
The Illinois State Bar Association released a summary of judicial evaluations and advisory polls by county on their website, allowing voters across the state to take a closer look at the candidates on their ballot.
The Chicago Bar Association released recommendations based on independent screenings of the candidates in Cook County and for the appellate vacancy in the First District that opened after the death of Justice Thomas E. Hoffman in July 2025.
Also for those in Cook County, another resource to research judges on the ballot is Injustice Watch’s interactive guide to the 2026 Cook County judicial primary elections.
In addition to CBA and ISBA, several other local and state bar associations have also released recommendations for judicial candidates, including the following:
Arab American Bar Association Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area Black Men’s Lawyers’ Association Chicago Council of Lawyers Cook County Bar Association Decalogue Society of Lawyers Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association Puerto Rican Bar Association Women’s Bar Association of IllinoisHence then, the article about will judges appear on your ballot in the 2026 illinois primary how to find out was published today ( ) and is available on NBC Chicago ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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