Amanda “Mandy” Pillsbury
Name: Amanda “Mandy” Pillsbury
Party: Democratic
Age (as of Election Day): 40
Current residence: Western Springs
Current position: Assistant state’s attorney, 2005-present
Campaign funds available, July 1 to Dec. 31: $8,113.13
Campaign funds spent, July 1 to Dec. 31: $5,611.67
Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2004
Campaign website: pillsbury4judge.com
Family: Husband, four kids
Hobbies/interests: Volunteering at St. John of the Cross school; coaching T-ball through Lyons Township Little League; teaching legal principles at schools through the state’s attorney’s Lawyers in the Classroom program
Have you ever run for office before?
I did. I ran for judge in a different vacancy in 2018.
Why should voters support your candidacy?
I think that I have the most experience of anybody in my race. I’ve been in court almost every single day for the last 15 years; so I know how courtrooms should and shouldn’t be run, because I’ve seen both excellent judges who run efficient and effective courtrooms, and judges who do not. I have tons of experience in litigation. As a state’s attorney, you’re in court and litigating every day. So, I think experience matters, and the voters need to know that.
I also think having four small children, I definitely have patience and compassion, and those are both great qualities for a judge to have.
Why do you want to be a judge?
There are basically two reasons. I worked for Judge Raymond Myles at 26th and Cal, and when I was in his courtroom, we had a program called the Youthful Offender program or the Youthful Offender call. It involved those between the ages of 18 and 25, first-time offenders. And instead of giving them a felony conviction, we would try to work with them and get them in a program or on the right path in life. And a lot of times, it worked.
One of the conditions of the program was graduating high school. If they graduated, we would have a party in the classroom, and go to their high school graduation. So I went to 10 high school graduations and got to see the difference one judge could make in people’s lives.
Judge Myles was murdered a few years ago. So, just another reason I want to do this now, is because I want to continue his program in the way he was doing it for young people, but also make sure the gun violence gets cut down and make sure habitual offenders with guns – they need to be held accountable.
So, as somebody that’s seen both sides, where the habitual offenders and really violent criminals are held accountable — at the same time, maybe that young man in Englewood who had a gun, but just wanted to protect themselves or didn’t fill out the right paperwork – having more compassion for them.
What was the most interesting case you handled as a lawyer?
There are so many. Just recently, I had a case where, in an apartment building on the North Side, someone walked in and shot and killed five different people over a neighbor squabble. It was just so shocking, I think for everybody. It just goes to show you: these violent acts are spreading throughout our county and our city. It was on the Northwest Side. The guy walked in to two different apartments, and he basically shot them all at point-blank range. It just came into the system a couple months ago. That was one that hit home because it happened close to where I grew up.
What would you consider your greatest career accomplishment?
I sparked a change in the Juvenile Court Act. I was literally in Bond Court working when a defense attorney told me, “They’re talking about you in the [Illinois] Supreme Court right now.” And as soon as he started telling me, I remembered: There was a statute in the books, we had a case, where the person went to trial, and we won; so, the person was adjudicated delinquent, found guilty in juvenile court. And when it went to sentencing, the public defender wanted to give supervision. The state wanted to give regular probation, and the judge wanted to give supervision — but there was a statute saying the judge could not give supervision if the state’s attorney did not agree, and we did not agree. So, the judge didn’t like that, and gave supervision anyway.
So, the whole case went up [on appeal]. The judge got reversed, and the Supreme Court honed in on what I said — because there is already a statute in the Juvenile Court Act that says once you are found guilty, you can’t get supervision, that’s why we are reversing you. The legislature ultimately changed it so that, even if you’re found guilty, a judge can still give supervision.
What qualities do you plan to bring to the bench?
Some of the ones we already talked about: patience and compassion, fairness, respect, accountability, integrity. Those are the qualities I think make for a good judge, and I have all of those and have definitely honed them throughout my career.