Judge Jill Rose Quinn faces retention on Cook County bench

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jill Rose Quinn faces a retention vote on the Nov. 3, 2026, general election ballot. The nonpartisan question asks voters whether Quinn should remain on the Cook County Circuit Court bench.

Quinn was elected to the court in November 2020. She was the first openly transgender circuit court judge in Illinois and the first openly transgender elected official in the state, according to the National LGBT Bar Association.

In a retention race, voters mark "yes" or "no" on whether to keep the judge; no opposing candidate appears on the ballot.

Candidate information

Office sought: Cook County Circuit Court Judge (retention)
Election date: Nov. 3, 2026
Party: Nonpartisan
Education: Bachelor's degree in political science and government, State University of New York at Binghamton (1976); J.D., University of Illinois at Chicago
Hometown: Grew up in Queens, New York; youngest of four siblings

Experience and public service

Quinn's legal career spans more than four decades.

She began as a food program specialist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1979, according to the Cook County Democratic Party. She also worked as a community organizer in Texas and Des Moines, Iowa.

Quinn started practicing law in 1983 at a firm in Bloomington, Illinois. She served as village attorney for Glen Ellyn from 1983 to 1990. She then worked as an arbitrator in DuPage County from 1990 to 1993 and in Cook County from 1993 to 1997.

She has operated the Law Office of Jill Rose Quinn since 1997, according to BallotReady.

Quinn has served on the Cook County Circuit Court since her 2020 election.

On the issues

LGBTQ+ rights and the judiciary: Quinn has said her perspective as a member of the transgender community and as a sole practitioner brings a unique dimension to the Cook County bench. She has said she educated fellow judges on parenting-time issues involving transgender children and parents. Those statements come from her candidate profile with the National LGBT Bar Association.

Quinn is a member of several legal and judicial organizations, according to her LAGBAC profile. They include the National LGBT Bar Association, the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, the Illinois Judges Association and the Alliance of Illinois Judges.

She also belongs to the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, the Cook County Bar Association and the Chicago Council of Lawyers.