Where a defendant with a jury trial scheduled seeks to have a bench trial instead prior to the start of the trial, he has the right to a bench trial up until the jury is sworn in; further, the court lacks discretion to deny him this right even if the request is made after voir dire and mere hours before the jury is sworn in.The 1st District Appellate Court reversed and remanded a decision from Cook County Associate Judge Stanley J. Sacks.At 9 a.m. on March 31, 2015, Elgin Jordan was observed selling “small black …