Cook County judge removed after rebuke of conspiracy-filled blog post

Cook County Circuit Judge James R. Brown has been removed from the bench after his reinstatement to the court drew objections from two lawyer groups over remarks they described as “inflammatory” and “wildly inappropriate.”

On Monday, the Illinois Supreme Court vacated Brown’s temporary assignment, which had been set to last through Dec. 7. Brown was one of seven retired judges brought back to the bench last month and assigned to traffic court to address an apparent shortage of judges in Cook County.

Brown’s removal, which is effective immediately, came days after Injustice Watch published a story about the outcry.

In September, before his reinstatement, Brown authored a guest column for John Kass News, a site operated by former Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass, in which he echoed far-right rhetoric and conspiracy theories. Among other topics, he entertained the idea that the 2020 election was stolen, denounced the murders of U.S. citizens by “illegal aliens” and criticized “Soros-funded” progressive prosecutors. He also appeared on Kass’ podcast.

Within weeks of Brown’s return, the Cook County Bar Association — the nation’s oldest association of Black lawyers and judges — and the Chicago Council of Lawyers publicly called on the Supreme Court to remove Brown from the bench, raising concerns about his impartiality based on his remarks. Both groups said he had run afoul of the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits judges from expressing bias or prejudice while running for office or serving.

In an unsigned statement from the Illinois Supreme Court Monday, the justices said Brown’s comments “clearly violate” a rule in the code of conduct requiring judges to act in ways that “promote public confidence” in the judiciary and that his “impartiality as a judge might reasonably be questioned” based on his blog post. The justices said Brown’s remarks were not disclosed during his application process.

Brown declined to comment for this story but appeared Tuesday on the conservative talk radio program “Chicago’s Morning Answer” to address the controversy.

“Conservatives, I don’t think, are welcome on the Cook County judiciary,” Brown said on the radio show. He later added, “For the Illinois Supreme Court to cave to the mob is unconscionable. It’s unconscionable.”

Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach declined to comment. The Cook County Bar Association did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

“I’m glad to see that the Supreme Court has paid attention to this matter and made an appropriate decision and removed Judge Brown from the bench,” said David Melton, the Chicago Council of Lawyer’s acting executive director. “I’m glad to see that they have rectified this when the facts were called to their attention.”

The Supreme Court rarely fills vacancies in the Cook County Circuit Court by calling back retired judges. Melton emphasized a need for closer scrutiny if the justices opt to take this route again.

“They might need to do a little more due diligence before they recall a retired judge to the bench,” Melton said.