Justice Thomas L. Kilbride in 2007. (Photo from Illinois Supreme Court)

Judicial retention races are usually about as exciting as renewing your driver’s license.

Usually Illinois judges up for retention don’t run against anyone, and the ballot simply asks voters whether they want to keep the jurist on the bench by marking “yes” or “no.” No Illinois Supreme Court justice has ever not been retained.

But this year, negative politics have crept into one retention race with the election more than two months away. Conservative activists are targeting Thomas Kilbride, whose 10-year term on the Illinois Supreme Court is up, setting up a potentially nasty and expensive retention battle that voters have never seen before. Get the full story »