Candidate For Illinois Supreme Court Hopes To Be Second Black Judge Elected To Serve
Candidate For Illinois Supreme Court Hopes To Be Second Black Judge Elected To Serve
By Katherine Newman
Appellate Court Justice Nathaniel Howse Jr. is running for election to the Illinois Supreme Court as one of three 1st District judges. Howse is running for a seat that was vacated by the retirement of Justice Charles E. Freeman.
Before becoming a judge, Justice Howse was a private practice lawyer for 22 years. In 1998, Howse was elected to the Office of Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County where he served two six-year terms before being assigned, and then later elected to serve as an Appellate Court Justice for the Illinois Appellate Court in 2009.
Having been a judge for 20 years now, Howse said that a judge’s perspective on a case is important and that his perspective typically leads him to be sensitive to the underdog.
“I think that my perspective is one that is needed on the Illinois Supreme Court,” said Howse.
Growing up in Tennessee, Howse said that he remembers living under Jim Crow laws and having to ask his parents why they had to sit in the balcony at the movie theatre when there were seats available on the main floor.
“My parents wanted a better life for themselves and us so we became part of the Great Migration and came to Chicago,” said Howse. “I was able to learn first hand what it means to be an underdog and fight your way up in life.”
Being the “underdog” and fighting his way to the top is a story Howse is familiar with both as a kid growing up in the south and as a judge in Illinois. Back in August, Howse lost the endorsement of the Cook County Democratic Party but at that point, he wasn’t giving up. Deciding to stay in the race, he picked up endorsements from Alderwoman Michelle Harris (8th), Alderwoman Stephanie Coleman (16th), Illinois Representative Robert Rita (D-Blue Island), Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, and Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.
As a judge, he says he’ll listen to both sides.
“Before a decision is made, it’s important to make sure that both sides are heard and to interpret the law in a way that makes sense and to try and understand what the legislature was trying to do when that law was passed. That’s what I intend to do,” he said.
While the Illinois Supreme Court election isn’t the most highly publicized race in the upcoming 2020 election, Howse said the reality is that people who vote in the election are more likely to encounter a judge over any other person they are voting for.
“Most disputes are resolved in our courts so it’s very important that voters go all the way down the ballot and vote for the judges because those are the people that are going to be making very important decisions about their lives,” said Howse.
If elected, Howse will be the second African American to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court. He adds, diversity is important when it comes to fairness in the court system. One of Howse’s opponents, Appellate Judge Cynthia Cobbs, would be the first African American women to serve if elected in the same position.
Howse is one of seven candidates running for the open seat in the Illinois Supreme Court’s 1st District. Other candidates include incumbent Supreme Court Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. who was appointed to replace former Justice Charles Freeman upon his retirement, and Appellate Judges Jesse Reyes, Margaret McBride, Sheldon Harris, Cobbs and lawyer Daniel Epstein.
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