Peter Michael Gonzalez
Name: Peter Michael Gonzalez
Age: 49
Party: Democratic
Current residence: Oak Park
Current position: Cook County circuit judge, appointed in November 2017
Past legal experience: Sole practitioner, Law Offices of Michael Gonzalez, 2003-17; intermittent administrative law judge, Illinois Department of Employment Security, 2003-12; Cook County assistant public defender, 1994-2003; associate, Marvin Leavitt & Associates, 1993-94
Campaign funds available, July 1 to Dec. 31: $48,999.51
Campaign funds spent, July 1 to Dec. 31: $47,000.60
Law school: IIT Chicago Kent-College of Law, 1994
Campaign website: gonzalez4judge.com
Family: Dawn Gonzalez, wife of 26 years, attorney and 2004-05 president of the WBAI; sons Peter J. Gonzalez, 18; Maxwell J. Gonzalez, 15
Hobbies/interests: Watching my sons play hockey, trivia league, theater, golfing, skiing and traveling
Have you ever run for office before?
In the last election cycle for the March 2016 primary, the Cook County Democratic Party slated me as an “alternate” candidate, however not enough vacancies opened up in time for me to be a candidate on that ballot. This cycle is my first time on any ballot. I feel that I have seen what it takes to run a successful judicial campaign from watching and participating in many previous judicial campaigns in support of friends who were running for judge.
Why should voters support your candidacy?
I have 23 years experience in a wide variety of complex trials and litigation matters from my first eight years as a public defender, my 15 years as a sole practitioner, and my eight years as an intermittent ALJ hearing unemployment matters. I have learned from my prior practice, and from actively watching many friends and colleagues on the bench, that there are a variety of ways, depending on the court assignment and particular case scenarios, to manage a court room expeditiously and with respect for all participants to seek the truth and find appropriate justice. With that background, I have transitioned well in the two months since I was appointed to fill a vacancy on the bench. With my values and family life (I am the son of a Cuban immigrant father who came to the U.S. when Castro took over Cuba, my wife is a former president of the Women’s Bar Association and I have two gay siblings), I will be fair to all people who come to the justice system and I will protect and reflect the diversity of many communities.
Why do you want to be a judge?
Being a judge has been a goal of mine for many years because it continues my career in public service in a more direct manner than before. Now, instead of advocating for one side, I consider both sides of the case to come to a just resolution and I make sure that everyone who appears in court is treated with respect and compassion, regardless of their case, circumstance or role. I strive to meet these lofty assignments everyday while also serving as a representative of the Hispanic community to help continue the diversity of the Cook County bench.
What was the most interesting case you handled as a lawyer?
Of the many interesting and complex cases I have handled, I often answer this question by turning to my very first case when I was a law student in 1994 making a Rule 711 license appearance with two seasoned public defender attorneys representing a 17-year-old kid accused of “attempted murder of a police officer” after someone shot a bullet from a window of an old CHA highrise building into the roof of a police car. Our client was a high school student from Milwaukee who was visiting his grandmother in the CHA building and was charged with this horrific crime based on eyewitnesses who eventually conceded that they only saw someone’s hand holding a gun out the window. Our client was wearing my suit at the time the not-guilty verdict was read, turned to me to give me a big hug and whispered in my ear that he would go to law school one day to help others who were wrongly accused. I have thought about him a lot over the years.
What would you consider your greatest career accomplishment?
I have won a lot of cases and it is hard to pick out one case over another because they are all so specific and individual. My biggest “career” accomplishment was my appointment to the bench in November 2017. It was the culmination of many years of me wanting, thinking, planning to reach this milestone and I am proud to say that I was the first Latino male that the Illinois Supreme Court appointed to a countywide vacancy.
What qualities do you plan to bring to the bench?
In addition to the qualities that most judicial candidates bring to the bench — experience, broad knowledge of law, patience, skill, compassion — I also bring additional qualities that have been honed through numerous years of wanting to run for judge and watching numerous friends and colleagues make the transition to the bench — respect for the position, respect for the process, respect for the parties, humility, and determination to serve with honor.