North Shore voters will decide whether to retain Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jonathan Clark Green in a nonpartisan vote on Nov. 3, 2026.

In a retention race, no challenger appears on the ballot. Voters answer yes or no to the question "Retain Green?" The format gives residents a direct say over whether a sitting judge stays on the bench.

Candidate information

  • Name: Jonathan Clark Green
  • Office: Illinois Circuit Court Judge, Cook County Circuit
  • Race: Retain Green? (nonpartisan retention)
  • Election date: Nov. 3, 2026
  • Ballot status: Certified for the ballot
  • Residence: Chicago, Illinois

Education:

  • Bachelor's degree, Columbia University (1983)
  • Juris doctor, Chicago-Kent College of Law (1986)
  • Master's degree in international and comparative law, Georgetown University (1994)

Experience and public service

Green has served as an Illinois Circuit Court judge since 2020, according to his Ballotpedia profile. He sits in the Law Division, Courtroom 1906, Calendar I, on the Commercial Calendar Section at the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, Illinois 60602. The Commercial Calendar Section handles business and contract disputes in Cook County.

A March 2025 special order also assigned Green to the Domestic Violence Division of the Cook County Circuit Court. That dual assignment means Green's caseload spans both commercial litigation and domestic violence matters.

Before taking the bench, Green served as a supervising attorney at the City of Chicago Department of Law from 2003 to 2020. He earlier worked as of counsel at Rock, Fusco & Garvey from 1998 to 2003. During the same period, he served as principal of the Law Offices of Jonathan Clark Green, P.C.

Green also worked as of counsel at Bowles, Keating, Hering, Matuszewich and Fiordalisi from 1997 to 1998. He served as a chair-certified arbitrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County, according to BallotReady.

Green attended St. Ignatius High School before his university studies. He was born in Chicago and lives there.

No issue responses, candidate questionnaire answers or endorsements were available for this retention race.

Candidate information comes from BallotReady, Ballotpedia and Cook County court records.