Park Ridge voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to keep Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jonathan Clark Green on the bench.

Green faces a retention vote in the 2026 general election. In a retention race, no opposing candidate appears on the ballot. Voters mark "yes" to retain the judge or "no" to remove them. The race is nonpartisan.

Green has served as a circuit court judge since 2020, according to Ballotpedia. He is certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data.

Candidate information

  • Name: Jonathan Clark Green
  • Office: Illinois Circuit Court judge, Cook County Circuit
  • Assignment: Law Division, Courtroom 1906, Calendar I (Commercial Calendar Section), Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago
  • Residence: Chicago, Illinois
  • Education: Bachelor's degree from Columbia University (1983); juris doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law (1986); master's degree in international and comparative law from Georgetown University (1994); high school diploma from St. Ignatius High School

Experience and public service

Green built a career in law and public service in Cook County before joining the bench.

He worked as a supervising attorney at the City of Chicago Department of Law from 2003 to 2020, according to BallotReady. That role placed him inside city government for close to two decades before he ran for judge.

Green also served as principal of the Law Offices of Jonathan Clark Green, P.C. from 1998 to 2003. During the same period, he was of counsel at Rock, Fusco & Garvey, according to BallotReady.

Earlier in his career, Green was of counsel at Bowles, Keating, Hering, Matuszewich and Fiordalisi from 1997 to 1998. He also served as a chair-certified arbitrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County, according to BallotReady.

Green was elected circuit court judge in 2020. A special order from the Office of the Chief Judge assigned him to the Law Division and the Domestic Violence Division in March 2025. He sits in the Law Division's commercial calendar section at the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago, according to Ballotpedia.

Cook County context

Park Ridge falls within Cook County's judicial circuit, so the retention question will appear on local ballots. Cook County Circuit Court judges handle civil, criminal, family and other cases across the county. In a retention election, voters weigh a judge's record on the bench when deciding whether to keep them in office.

Green was born in Chicago and lives there, according to Ballotpedia.

No issue positions, endorsements or candidate questionnaire responses were available for this profile.