Cook County Circuit Court Judge Anjana Hansen is on the ballot Nov. 3 in a nonpartisan retention vote.
No challenger appears on the ballot. In a retention race, voters decide whether to keep a sitting judge on the bench by voting yes or no. Hansen is certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data.
Candidate information
- Office: Illinois Circuit Court Judge, Cook County Circuit
- Race: Retain Hansen? (nonpartisan)
- Election date: Nov. 3, 2026
- Hometown: Evanston, according to Hansen
- Education: Bachelor's degree from St. Norbert College (1994), according to court records; J.D. from The John Marshall Law School, now UIC School of Law, according to Hansen
- Family background: Hansen said her parents are immigrants from India and the Philippines. She said she is the first lawyer in her family.
Experience and public service
Hansen served as an assistant state's attorney at the Cook County State's Attorney Office, according to BallotReady profile data.
She also served as alderman of Evanston's 9th Ward on the Evanston City Council, winning election in 2005 and again in 2009, according to her Trellis.Law profile. Before taking the bench, Hansen worked as a contract attorney and administrative hearing officer for the City of Evanston.
Hansen's teaching experience spans several institutions. She served as an instructor at Northwestern University's School of Professional Studies for Police Staff and Command. She also taught at Loyola University Chicago's Institute for Paralegal Studies and at the Citizen Police Academy run by the Evanston Police Department.
Hansen said she founded the Asian American Judges Association. In a profile published by the Illinois Courts, she explained her motivation for starting the organization and for seeking a seat on the bench.
"I am most proud of starting the Asian American Judges Association. One of the reasons I ran for judge is because, at the time, there were not that many Asian Americans on the bench in Cook County," Hansen said.
Candidate profile information is drawn from the candidate's own statements, BallotReady data and public records. Responses attributed to Hansen reflect the candidate's claims and have not been independently verified by the Park Ridge Wire.
