(CHICAGO) A Cook County judge won’t be allowed to hear cases amid allegations she let a law clerk put on a robe and preside over at least two cases.
The office of Chief Judge Timothy Evans said in a news release that Judge Valarie E. Turner has been temporarily reassigned and the clerk has been suspended without pay.
The Circuit Court of Cook County Executive Committee issued its decision Wednesday after meeting to discuss allegations that Turner allowed Rhonda Crawford to preside over at least two cases. Crawford is an attorney who has clerked since 2011 and is running to be a judge in November’s election.
Turner had been assigned to a courthouse in the southern Chicago suburb of Markham.
Messages seeking comment from Turner and Crawford weren’t immediately returned.
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