Jean-Baptiste Attributes Judicial Primary Win to Strong Evanston Base

Former Evanston 2nd Ward alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste beat out his opponent Tuesday night in the Democratic primary race for Circuit Court Judge of Cook County’s 9th Judicial Subcircuit, .

Though Judge Jean-Baptiste has yet to officially win the judicial position, he is currently running unopposed in November’s general election and called the primary victory his “significant fight”.

The Hatian-born Jean-Baptiste attributed his victory to a collective effort and support from his Evanston-base.

“The entire city of Evanston made me feel really supported,” he said. “Everyone that I ran into really had positive comments as to my past service to the city. I think that is the trampoline from which I came to get into this race, which covered such a wide area. It covered Edgewater, Rogers Park, Evanston, Wilmette, Glenview, Skokie, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, and the base from which I came was able to really communicate clearly to the rest of the subcircuit as to the values that I brought to the table.”

Jean-Baptiste thanked both members of the Evanston City Council and various local Democratic politicians for their help during his campaign.

Though the general election sits eight months away with no one there to challenge him, Jean-Baptiste said he will still continue the outreach associated with his campaign, saying that his efforts were not simply a show for the primary, but rather a vehicle for him to communicate with those he would be serving.

“This is not just about an individual race,” Jean-Baptiste said. “I think that each one of us has to understand that if want a better society, we can’t be inactive. We have got to be actively shaping it. So that’s what this phase of the campaign will be.”

Jean-Baptiste last March after serving for 10 years to accept circuit judge position. He was .