Judge removed after allegedly allowing lawyer to hear cases, wear robe

A veteran Cook County Circuit Court judge allegedly allowed a lawyer who is running for election to the bench this fall to wear a robe and hear cases at the Markham courthouse late last week, a breach of judicial ethics as well as a potential violation of the law.

The move prompted the county's chief judge, Timothy Evans, to remove the judge from the bench Wednesday until further notice.

The incident occurred in the Markham courtroom of Judge Valarie Turner, who allegedly allowed lawyer Rhonda Crawford to take her place on the bench, Evans said in a statement. Crawford, an employee in Evans' office, presided over at least two cases Aug. 11, both of them traffic cases. One involved a ticket for driving without insurance, the other for driving on the median.

It is not known how Crawford ruled. But both cases will be heard again in front of a real judge, said Pat Milhizer, Evans' spokesman.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-judge-lawyer-substitute-met-20160817-story.html