Interfaith clergy gives support to Justice Joy Cunningham for Illinois Supreme Court race

 

By Chinta Strausberg

 

Scores of ministers and religious leaders recently gave their strong support to Illinois Supreme Court Justice candidate Joy Cunningham who they say will make history on March 20, 2012 when she becomes the first African American woman elected to the state’s High Court.

The Interfaith coalition was impressed with Cunningham’s party independence. Cunningham told the ministers when she first ran for the Illinois Appellate judgeship one of the Democratic ward committee told her “It’s not your time yet.”

That didn’t stop Cunningham who ran and won that election. She has the same passion, energy and drive to run for the Illinois Supreme Court and plans to once again make history.

In introducing Justice Cunningham, Marcus D. Jefferson, president/CEO of the SRB Financial Services, Inc., praised her ability to rise above challenges including gender barriers and achieve her goals.

In addressing the ministers, Cunningham explained, “the judicial branch is the safety net for the other two branches of government.”

She said the Supreme Court “is the third branch of government that provides a safety net for our population.

“That is why it is important to know who you are putting on the court,” she said. “It’s really important to have people on the court who reflect the make-up of your community. There has never been an African American woman on the Illinois Supreme Court. Never,” Justice Cunningham said not in 193 years.  She said the Supreme Court “is the ultimate safety net for the entire judicial system and therefore for the community….”

The Justice told the ministers that the term for an Illinois Supreme Court justice is 10-years and there are seven justices that sit on that High Court. Three justices are elected from the First District in Cook County and one each from the remaining four districts. Cunningham is running in the First District, which is entirely located in Cook County.

Currently of the seven Justices, only one, Charles E. Freeman, is African American. There are three women. Of the seven, there are four Democrats, Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride, Freeman, Mary Jane Theis and Anne M. Burke, the wife of Ald. Edward Burke (14^th). There are three Republicans, Robert R. Thomas, Rita B. Garman and Lloyd A Karmeier.

“You have to have people on the court…who understand the common experience of our community,” said Cunningham. “This is not necessarily saying that you’re going to rule one way or another. I truly believe that if you come from a common experience you look at the cases with…a different set of eyes.” And, that she did.

Justice Cunningham earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the City University. Following in the footsteps of her older sister and her mother, Cunningham became a registered nurse. However, when she came to Chicago, she worked nights as a nurse and went to John Marshall Law School in the day. Cunningham earned her law degree from the John Marshall Law School in 1982.

After achieving that goal, she also served as an Assistant Illinois Attorney General and as a Judicial Clerk to the late Illinois Appellate Justice Glenn Johnson whom she said was one of her mentors.

 But, Cunningham didn’t stop there. She kept reaching for her stars including serving as Associate General Counsel for Loyola University of Chicago and Loyola University health System, a litigator with the law firm of French, Rogers, Kezelis & Kominiarek.

A high achiever, Cunningham was also elected President of the Chicago Bar Association from 2004-2005.  She was the first African American woman to lead the nation’s largest municipal Bar Association. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Bar Foundation, the Center for Conflict Resolution and the Center for Disability and Elder Law as well as the Chicago Legal Clinic.

Cunningham became a Cook County Circuit Court judge where she enjoyed diverse assignments including jury trials. Cunningham was admitted to practice law before the Illinois, New York, Federal and the Federal Trial Bars.

She went on to be senior vice president, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for the Northwestern Memorial system, which includes the Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Northwestern Memorial Foundation.

Justice Cunningham has authored professional publications and is a member of a number of professional and civic associations including the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Cook County Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.

Having been recognized for her outstanding volunteer service to a number of community and civic organizations, Justice Cunningham has been praised by the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, and the Chicago Association for the Education of Young Children and the March of Dimes.

She is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and the Chicago network, and she is a professional marathon runner. Cunningham lives in Chicago with her son and husband.

“I am the most qualified” in the race, she told a cheering audience. Cunningham has been reviewed by every single bar association with the Chicago Bar Association finding “highly qualified.”

 “It’s very important for you to have not only your first female African American justice but the first one that is highly qualified. I think that puts us in a very strong position,” she said.

Asking for their support, Cunningham said, “I am running because it is important to have diversity on the court….” “It’s not just for me. This is bigger than me. This is for us. It’s for our children, for others…so we can have role models and we can go on to do what the Constitution says that we’re entitled to…. This is for our community, for our children and our grandchildren.”

She explained that when there is a vacancy on the high court, a judge will be appointed to that position and usually that person has no opposition because no one wants to take on the system.

Rev. Mitchell L. Johnson, assistant pastor of the Joy Fellowship Baptist Church in Lansing and husband of Cook County Judge Sharon Johnson, who quoted a saying from Bishop Claude Porter, who heads the Proviso-Leyden Council for Community Action, Inc. (PLCCA), said: “What God has for, it’s for you.” “If you run in a household of faith as my wife did, then that is who elects you,” said Johnson.

“We have given away County seats. Praise the Lord and tell the truth….” Johnson said when his wife ran for judgeship “she did not get the support of the machine because my wife was not a machine candidate. We didn’t get the support of the city because my wife was not a city candidate, but Bishop Porter took it to their clergy; so this (Cunningham) is our sister and a saint…

“At the end of the day, this is a new day,” said Johnson. “This is the day the Lord has made and we want to rejoice and be glad in it by working for our candidate not just showing up for breakfast but by working for our candidates because faith without works is dead” and challenged his peers to “stand behind this worthwhile candidate.”

Echoing Johnson’s sentiments, Bishop John Rodgers, pastor of the New Life in Christ, 740 E.91^st Place, Chicago, IL, said the time has come for unity to prevail. He promised his full support in electing Justice Cunningham.

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host. You can e-mail Strausberg at: Chintabernie@aol.com.