CHICAGO _ In yet another embarrassment for the Cook County judiciary, a law clerk accused of posing as a judge was elected to the bench on Tuesday, even though she is under indictment, her law license has been suspended and Illinois' highest court has barred her from being sworn in.
Rhonda Crawford, who was charged after she put on a judge's robe and allegedly presided over suburban traffic cases in August, turned aside a challenge from Maryam Ahmad, a sitting judge in Maywood who launched a spirited but long-shot write-in campaign, according to unofficial results.
With about 85 percent of the precincts reporting, Crawford received about 74,000 votes in balloting for the 1st Judicial Subcircuit, which includes the city's South Side and some suburbs.
Election officials did not immediately know how many voters wrote in Ahmad's name but said the total number of write-in ballots cast was most likely far lower than Crawford's vote total, meaning that even if Ahmad captured every one of those write-in ballots, she still would fall short.
Ahmad, in an interview Tuesday, calculated she received "several thousand votes" but did not have nearly enough to beat Crawford.
Ahmad said that in talking to voters she was shocked by how many did not follow the news and were unaware of Crawford's troubles.
"It's very sad given the awesome responsibility that judges have," Ahmad said. "She's not the winner. She can't take the bench. She's just the person who got the most votes."
Crawford could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
Crawford, 45, was dogged by scandal in her bid to become a judge. A week before the election, the Illinois Supreme Court barred her from taking the bench even if she won and suspended her law license. The court's unprecedented action came after state lawyer disciplinary officials asked the court to suspend Crawford and after Cook County prosecutors charged her with one count of official misconduct, a felony, and one count of false impersonation, a misdemeanor.
Crawford has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
The state Board of Elections said this week that it would declare Crawford the winner if she received the most votes, although the seat would remain vacant since she is barred from taking office.
If she is declared permanently ineligible, the Supreme Court could appoint someone to fill the vacancy until the 2018 election.
If Crawford ultimately loses her law license after a disciplinary hearing or if she is convicted of a felony, she cannot preside as a judge, a position that pays about $190,000 a year. Crawford has acknowledged she made a mistake while job shadowing a judge after winning the Democratic primary in March.
The incident that set up the bizarre election began Aug. 11 when Circuit Judge Valarie Turner handed her robe to Crawford, who put it on. According to the state Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, Crawford heard and ruled on three traffic cases from the village of Dolton.
Chief Judge Timothy Evans, whose office had hired Crawford, responded to the embarrassing incident by firing her from her $57,000-a-year law clerk/staff attorney job. He reassigned Turner to administrative duties. Turner has been on medical leave since Aug. 22.
Evans himself faced an internal challenge for his chief judge position, staving off the insurgent candidacy of Tom Allen, another judge, in September.
Meanwhile, the Judicial Inquiry Board, which oversees judicial conduct, is investigating Turner's conduct.
In other balloting, Evans and 56 other Cook County sitting judges _ including several whom a leading bar association found unqualified to be a judge _ appeared to be on their way to retaining their seats.
