Oak Park resident Jarrett Knox and Elmwood Park resident John Carrozza are vying in the upcoming Democratic primary for the position of judge in the 11th judicial subcircuit. The district runs north from Oak Park to include areas such as Leyden Township and parts of the northwest side of Chicago.
The Knox versus Carrozza race is the only contested race in the 11th subcircuit. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kim Przekota is running unopposed in the other 11th subcircuit race. In 2024 Przekota narrowly lost a judicial race to Audrey Cosgrove but Przekota was appointed to the bench last year.
The primary will take place March 17. Judges are elected to 6-year terms.
Knox and Carrozza, both first time candidates, have contrasting backgrounds. Knox, 44, an assistant state’s attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Child Protection Division, has spent his entire legal career working in the public sector or legal aid work focusing on child protection and domestic violence cases. Carrozza has spent his entire career running a small general law practice based in River Grove that has focused on criminal defense work.
Carrozza, 48, says the breath of his legal experience makes him more prepared to be a judge than Knox.
“He seems like a great guy, from all of my interactions with him, but I would definitely say that we have a big difference in experience,” Carrozza said. “Based on my expertise and my experience I think I’m better suited.”
Carrozza noted he has experience in both criminal and civil cases though the focus of his law practice is criminal defense work.
“I’ve seen people from all walks of life,” Carrozza said. “I’ve seen a lot of them at their worst and I helped them get through those situations.”
Knox also feels that his experience has prepared him to be a judge. Although he has only handled one criminal case, a misdemeanor case while in law school, he feels that his work in child protection cases and domestic violence cases has given him abundant courtroom experience.
“Being in a courtroom on a daily basis really gives me the skills that I would need to not only have legal knowledge but to be an effective courtroom manager which I think is a really big part of being a good judge,” Knox said.
Knox says that he would also bring empathy to the bench.
“I want to be a judge because nearly my entire career has been dedicated to serving and working with children and families and survivors of domestic violence and people who are traditionally kind of on the margins,” Knox said. “I’ve seen firsthand just the difference that it makes to have a judge who, you know, not only knows the law but who understands that what we’re doing in the courtroom has real world and real time impacts on people and judges who approach cases with fairness and patience and really give people before the court dignity.”
Knox has an edge in endorsements. His endorsements include State Senate President Don Harmon, Oak Park Village President Vicki Scatman, Franklin Park Mayor and Leyden Township Democratic Committeeman Barrett Pedersen, State Senator and 38th ward Democratic Committeeman Robert Martwick, Frank Avino, the Democratic committeeman for Norwood Park Township and the Democratic committeemen from 41st and 45th wards.
The most notable endorsement Carrozza has is from his hometown mayor Skip Saviano, a Republican.
But Carrozza said he is focused on winning support from voters not politicians.
“I think the only real endorsement that matters, the only endorsement I’m looking for is that from the people,” Carrozza said. “That’s what I’m going to continually work for and I hope I have their endorsement, the actual voters endorsement.”
Knox said the support from politicians matters noting that both he and Carrozza sought support from the 11th subcircuit Democratic slating committee.
“I’m no politician,” Knox said. “This is my first foray into this sort of system and I’m not doing it because I’m a political person or because I’m a politician but because I want to do this thing and I really think I would be good at that. I think it means something to have connected to other folks that people have voted for. People who have had the opportunity to meet me and talk to me, meet my opponent, talk to my opponent and say, ‘oh this is the guy we’re supporting.’ I think that is just kind of another way to connect the message to more people.”
Knox grew up in the small town of Dayton, Tennessee where the famous Scopes Monkey trial about the legality of teaching evolution in schools took place in 1925. After attending college at Carson Newman University in Jefferson, he came to Chicago. He worked for a nonprofit for a couple of years and then went to law school at DePaul. His first job out of law school was working for the Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services, representing victims of domestic violence. His next job continued that work at the Domestic Violence Clinic. From 2011 to 2018 Knox worked for the Cook County Office of Public Guardian representing children. In 2018 and 2019 Knox was an administrative law judge for the Illinois Department of Human Services, hearing appeals from denials of requests for various types of public assistance before taking a job in the Child Protection Department of the Cook County State’s Attorney office.
“No one is going to jail or anything like that as a result of what we’re doing,” Knox said. “Sometimes it does result in terminating parental rights but that’s not the goal and that’s not the initial filing.”
Knox and his wife Catherine, a kindergarten teacher at Lincoln School, have three daughters and also host foster children for short periods of time.
Carrozza grew up in Elmwood Park and graduated from Fenwick High School in 1996. He wrestled at Fenwick, and in 1996 won the Catholic League championship in the 119-pound division. He went to college at the Citadel, a military school in Charleston, South Carolina to wrestle but a knee injury ended his wrestling career.
After college Carrozza earned his law degree from John Marshall Law School, which is now called the UIC Law. He has spent his entire legal career in private practice. Carrozza is a 4th degree member, the highest rank, of the Sheridan-Carroll Knights of Columbus Council and heads the council’s Tootsie Roll drive.
Carrozza is married to his former high school sweetheart, Marianne, who is now a Spanish teacher at Fenwick. They have two daughters.
