Lake Forest and Lake Bluff voters will see a judicial retention question on the Nov. 3 ballot asking whether to keep James K. Booras on the 19th Judicial Circuit bench.
Booras has served as a circuit court judge since 2002, according to BallotReady. The 19th Judicial Circuit covers all of Lake County. He is certified for the ballot in this nonpartisan retention race.
In a retention election, no challenger appears on the ballot. Voters instead cast a "yes" or "no" vote on whether to keep a sitting judge in office. The question on the ballot reads "Retain Booras?"
Booras came to the United States as an 18-year-old Greek immigrant, according to the Chicago Tribune. He worked as a dishwasher and cook, putting himself through night school to learn English and then through college.
Candidate information
- Office sought: Illinois Circuit Court Judge, 19th Circuit (retention)
- Election: Nov. 3, 2026
- Party: Nonpartisan
- Education: Bachelor's degree, Northern Illinois University (1975); juris doctor, Lewis University College (1979)
Experience and public service
Booras earned a bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University in 1975 and a law degree from Lewis University College in 1979, according to BallotReady.
He began his legal career as an assistant state's attorney in Lake County, according to BallotReady. He then served as city prosecutor in Waukegan. He also spent time as an attorney in private practice before joining the bench.
Booras became an associate judge on the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in 1991, a role he held for nine years before becoming a circuit court judge in 2002, according to the court's staff directory and BallotReady.
He went on to serve as chief judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit from May 2008 through April 2010, a role that put him in charge of administering the circuit across Lake County, according to the court's staff directory.
This profile was compiled from publicly available sources, including BallotReady, the 19th Judicial Circuit Court staff directory and Chicago Tribune archives. No candidate questionnaire responses were available at the time of publication.
