James Samuel Worley

Name: James Samuel Worley

Age (as of Election Day): 50

Current residence: Chicago, Jefferson Park neighborhood

Current position: Attorney, Gottreich, Grace & Thompson, 2019–present

Past legal experience: Owner, Law Offices of J. Samuel Worley, 2010–18; assistant state’s attorney, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, 2004–09

Campaign funds available, July 1 to Dec. 31:

Campaign funds spent, July 1 to Dec. 31:

Law school: The John Marshall Law School, 2004

Campaign website: worleyforjudge.com

Family: Married to wife, no children, two dogs and a cat

Hobbies/interests: Commissioner of a bowling league; board member and development chair for the University of Tennessee Alumni Association Chicago chapter

Have you ever run for office before?

No.

Why should voters support your candidacy?

Well, I can give you the short version. I’m not originally from here, so I don’t have a lot of pulls or people that I’m benevolent to or bestowed to. So, I’m an independent Democratic candidate. But I have been here 19 years and have made connections for myself.

Prior to law school, I got a master’s degree in social work. I was the inaugural program director for the Project to End Abuse through Conflict Education (PEACE) in Nashville, Tenn. It was a violence prevention program. We worked in middle schools and high schools, also through juvenile court, for boys who’d been violent to women in their life. Did that for about six years. So, I think that gives me a unique insight that some of my opponents may not have, in that I saw a lot of poverty and how that affects violence and other problems. Plus, I’ve been a 15-year practicing attorney, courtroom attorney, in court every day just about. So, I’m very familiar with the procedures and courtroom etiquette, and courtroom staff, and how to be professional and respectful. I’ve done domestic relations, criminal defense and civil cases. So, I’ve got a pretty good mixed bag of experience over my professional career.

I spent five years as an assistant state’s attorney. When I left the office, I hung out a shingle for criminal defense for three or four years, then started to expand into domestic relations. I was a sole practitioner for 10 years and ran my own firm.

Why do you want to be a judge?

Well, a lot of what I just said. I see a need for judges that will remain level-headed, that are dedicated to serving the public. It’s an awesome responsibility. And I want that responsibility, because I believe I can make a difference, and make people feel like they were heard whether they win or lose, they’ll at least feel like they had their shot.

I’ve worked really hard for 16 years to try and persuade judges. It’d be a natural progression where I’d be that person making those decisions. And I feel like I have the temperament and the legal knowledge to do that. Most of my life’s work has been in the public sector, including non-profit. I feel like my calling is in the public sector and this is the place I want to be. And I stress, it’s an awesome responsibility that cannot be taken lightly, and I believe I’m equipped to do that.

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

Overall, most interesting, was a case where I represented a maternal grandmother, sometime around 2014. The father of a kid, who was not married, had shot the mother, and the mother was dead; and the father was in jail being charged with the murder. And the grandmother contacted me to try and get custody of the two boys, because he’d sent the boys out to California to live with his sister. So, there was a lot of charitable facts that make it interesting, but some legal issues I’d never faced. First being that I had to fight a jurisdictional fight. Had to fight to keep jurisdiction in Illinois so the grandmother could afford to participate. If they’d transferred, there was no way she could stay on top of it. Plus, I was convinced it was a temporary move to avoid what we were doing.

Ultimately, we were able to prevail on that and keep jurisdiction. But, as time unfolded, they remained in California and started building a network there. I was able to open communications to the aunt and my client, to where my client came to realize they might be better off there, as long as we got some good parenting time. So that’s what we shifted to. If they didn’t have any contact with the mother’s side, I was concerned about that. So we got it to where there’d be parenting time here in Chicago with grandma, then during the school year they’d go to California.

What would you consider your greatest career accomplishment?

Well, it could be three things. It could be that I left a legacy at law school, of being Team PEACE leader; the program is still being implemented, and that’s pretty cool for a 26-year-old, to have a program still around 20 years later.

Getting a job at the state’s attorney’s office is pretty cool for someone who just came here to go to law school. I got an internship with Judge Anna Helen Demacopoulos, sitting judge, and actually redrafted the source of bail bonds statute here in Illinois. Let’s say you have a drug case where bond is $100,000, so you’ve got to post $10,000. Let’s say Joe Blow comes up with $10,000. The state can use that statute to pay bond, the state can challenge the source of the funds, so it’s legitimate. The statute was found unconstitutional. I testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and it was enacted into law. And I think it’s pretty amazing to start a practice and run it for 10 years. Just having to rely on my contacts and my good name.

What qualities do you plan to bring to the bench?

Well, No. 1, I believe would be my temperament and demeanor. There are judges that think nobody can do anything right. They yell. They scream. That’s no way to run a courtroom. There are also judges that are too lenient. I think I have the ability to maintain my decorum, while still being productive, and not just sweeping things down the road. At least trying to get something accomplished at each court date.

And again, to reiterate: I want to make sure people are heard, and they understand what’s going on. I can’t give legal advice, of course. So, I believe that would be something I’d bring. A dedication to sensitivity on those issues.