Ava George Stewart, a Democrat and solo-practice attorney, is running for Circuit Court Judge in Cook County's Hooks Vacancy. The seat is on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Cook County Circuit Court judges hear criminal, civil, family and probate cases across the county's suburban and Chicago courthouses. North Shore residents in New Trier Township fall within the circuit's jurisdiction.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Office sought: Circuit Court Judge, Cook County Circuit (Hooks Vacancy)
- Education: Bachelor's degree in history and sociology, Northwestern University (1989); master's degree in managerial communications, Northwestern University (1998); juris doctor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2003)
- Residence: Chicago's Near Northside, where she and her husband, Alistair, have lived for more than 20 years, according to her campaign website
- Affiliations: Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., according to her campaign website
Experience and public service
George Stewart has owned the Law Office of Ava George Stewart since 2005. Injustice Watch described her as a solo practitioner with a firm focused on criminal and civil cases.
She served as a chief in the Lake County State's Attorney's Office from 2021 to 2023, according to BallotReady profile data. Earlier in her career, she worked in the City of Chicago's Municipal Prosecutions Division from 2003 to 2005.
George Stewart has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law since 2018, according to BallotReady. Before entering law, she served as executive director of Chicago Youth Centers and WINGS, two nonprofits, from 1996 to 2000.
She also holds several civic and leadership roles, according to her campaign website:
- Elected member, secretary and treasurer, Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors (Cook County)
- Member, Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission
- Board president, Women Everywhere
- Board member, Chicago's Green City Market
Endorsements
George Stewart has received endorsements from the following organizations, according to WTTW's 2026 primary voter guide and BallotReady profile data:
- Alliance of Illinois Bar Associations (rated Qualified overall; rated Highly Recommended by the Black Men Lawyers' Association and Chicago's LGBTQ+ Bar Association, known as LAGBAC)
- Cook County Democrats
- Chicago Federation of Labour
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134
- IUOE Local 150
Candidate information is drawn from George Stewart's campaign website, BallotReady profile data, Injustice Watch reporting and the WTTW 2026 primary voter guide. No candidate questionnaire responses on policy issues were available in the materials reviewed for this profile.
