Perhaps the most influential judge who is up for retention in the current election cycle is Timothy C. Evans, the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The chief judge does not hear cases, but he heavily influences the county’s justice system through judicial assignments, policy decisions, the operation of an electronic monitoring program for people awaiting trial, and management of the adult probation department and juvenile detention programs. Evans, 79, was a Chicago alderman from 1973 to 1991, when he lost a re-election campaign. He became a Cook County judge in 1992 and rose to chief judge...