Latino leaders are pushing their own candidate for Illinois Supreme Court after Cook County Democrats endorsed a Black justice who was appointed to the seat for a full, 10-year term.
Appellate Judge Jesse Reyes with Appellate Judge Rena Van Tine appear at an event in her honor on Sept. 7, 2023.
The brewing battle over one of Cook County’s three seats on the Supreme Court, where Democrats hold a 5-2 majority over Republicans, comes as the county’s Latino population is on the rise and the Black population is declining. It also is yet another example of long-simmering tensions between two key blocs within the Democratic coalition — divisions that historically have been stoked by white politicians to keep either group from gaining too much power or influence.
From 2010 to 2020, the county’s Latino population grew by 11%, while the Black population declined by 6%. That shift was significant enough to make Latinos the county’s second-largest demographic group, comprising 26% of the county’s roughly 5.3 million residents, while fewer than 23% were Black, according to census data.
So some Reyes supporters argue that when ward and township committeemen last month voted to back Cunningham for a full 10-year term, it marked the third time in four years that party insiders passed on an opportunity to ensure Latino representation on the Supreme Court. However, Montes said, “when you look at a court that is issuing rulings that impact all of its citizens, but yet you don’t have someone that looks like almost a quarter of the population, then that’s a miss. That’s a miss on those individuals in leadership.
Such is the case with state Sen. Robert Martwick, the Democratic committeeman for the 38th Ward who also chairs the party committee in charge of slating candidates for the Supreme Court. Despite the seemingly long odds, Reyes, whose father immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico City, said he remains committed to seeking a seat on the high court.
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