Jill Rose Quinn

Name: Jill Rose Quinn

Age (as of Election Day): 65

Current residence: Chicago

Current position: Sole practitioner, 1997-present

Past legal experience: Associate, Stephen H. Mevorah Law Offices LLC, 1991-96; associate, Darnell & Polacheck, 1990-91; associate, Law Office of William E. Jegen in Glen Ellyn, 1988-90; associate, Stephen H. Mevorah Law Offices LLC in Lombard, 1985-88; associate, Law Office of Michael Barford in Bloomington, 1983-85

Campaign funds available, July 1 to Dec. 31: $57,797.71

Campaign funds spent, July 1 to Dec. 31: $52507.68

Law school: The John Marshall Law School, 1983

Campaign website: votejillrosequinn.com

Family: One daughter; engaged to Stephanie Marder

Hobbies/interests: Running, reading, hiking, kayaking

Have you ever run for office before?

I ran for circuit court judge in the 10th Judicial Subcircuit in 2018, and now this election.

Why should voters support your candidacy?

I’m the first openly transgender judicial candidate in the state of Illinois. And when elected, I’ll be the first openly transgender elected official in the state of Illinois. I’ve been found “Qualified” by the Illinois Democratic Party and endorsed by Chicago Federation of Labor and the Victory Fund, which supports LGBT candidates. I was found “Qualified” or “Recommended” by all the bar associations that rate candidates, and I’ve practiced law in the neighborhood for the last 36 years.

Diversity is really important, in government and every deliberative body. I can act as a resource for other judges in Cook County, and the state for that matter, as far as dealings with the transgender community. I can offer unique viewpoints, because I’ve been in a lot of different roles. When you transition to be the gender you authentically are, you also have experience from being the gender that you weren’t. I know how both sides think, in a way. I’ve looked at life from both sides. I think that kind of experience can be valuable in divorce court, for instance, as well as any other type of court.

I have a broad background in court. I’ve done wills, probate, civil rights, divorce, business matters, municipal law, litigation and some appellate law. I can draw on a lot of different bodies of law when I’m considering a case. So, for those reasons, experience and viewpoint. And one more thing, I’ve represented neighborhood people all my life. I did have a period where I represented small corporations and a municipality, the village of Glen Ellyn. But other than that, I haven’t really spent my career working for the government or big corporations. I’ve spent my time working for people, and I want to bring their viewpoint, the view of the people in the neighborhood who pay all the bills, into the courtroom.

Why do you want to be a judge?

Well, I want to be a judge because I do have a lot to offer. I want to be a judge because I want to be a resource for other judges.

I want to be a beacon for transgender kids and the parents of transgender kids, to know that there is a place for you in society. I want them to see that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. That there can be acceptance. That they can be who they are, just like I was, just like I finally made it.

I want to help people. I want to protect people. I want to stand up for people who maybe don’t come from a privileged part of society. I want to stand up for people who maybe feel like they’re not included or are outcasts. If you have a bench that doesn’t include everybody, you have a judiciary that lacks — it’s not as welcoming. It’s not as broad. People don’t feel included.

What was the most interesting case you handled as a lawyer?

I don’t know if everybody would find this really interesting, but recently, in the last two years, I was asked by a woman who was pretty much confined to her home to come out and save her home. She was a city employee and there’d been a snafu with her check and she hadn’t gotten paid. She hadn’t gotten paid her retirement check from the city for about a year. She fell behind on the mortgage and the bank was starting foreclosure, so I went to talk to her about her different financial options.

After that, not only did she fail to follow up with me, the next time, her right of redemption had expired and she was about to be removed from her house. So, I mobilized. I filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition to forestall the bank. I worked with the city to get her check reinstated, got enough money to bring the mortgage current.

And she, like I said, was confined to her house. There were a number of incidents where she had to go in and out of the hospital. She wasn’t ambulatory, but she really wanted to die in her own house. And she could have just gone into a nursing home. She could have just given up. But she wanted to be home, and I facilitated that for her and I feel really good about that.

I’ve handled a couple of criminal cases that I feel strongly about. There was a young man who was accused of stealing a radio from a car. It was my first felony jury trial, and I felt good about it because, even though I lost the trial, I came back in on a post-trial motion, arguing prosecutors failed to prove the value of the goods. So, instead of going to jail on a felony, he got out on a misdemeanor with a much shorter sentence.

And you know, what I really liked over my career is the opportunity to represent an entire family in a lot of different ways. Real estate closing, drafting a will, helping somebody out with financial problems. I’ve gotten to know a lot of families that way and that’s what I’ve found most rewarding about my practice.

What would you consider your greatest career accomplishment?

Well, I’ve been practicing law for 36 years — the last 23 years on my own — and I’ve managed to transition in my practice from one identity to my authentic identity, and I still continue to eat and pay all my bills and keep current on my child support at the time. And I’ve been able to sustain myself and sustain my family through all these years. And now, I think getting endorsed by the Democratic Party and being part of the most diverse slate of endorsed candidates in the history of the Democratic Party — I think that’s a pretty big accomplishment. So, I’ll put that on top of all the other ones.

Also, over the summer, I led the first seminar on transgender employment rights that had been approved by the ARDC, and that was right before the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Harris Funeral Home v. EEOC. And that was a great feeling to bring that knowledge to a group of lawyers to the Women’s Bar Association, the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago, and Alliance/Bernstein, a law firm that specializes in finance counseling.

What qualities do you plan to bring to the bench?

Well, I’m a really good listener. I’m a compassionate person. I’m thoughtful. I like to tell people I have a good sense of humor. My partner says that that just means I tell really bad jokes well.

And again, I think that the main quality I bring to the bench is experience in a lot of different ways, and an ability to understand people and get them what they need.