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Elections Simplified

Shall Amy M. Bertani-Tomczak be retained in office as Judge of the Circuit Court Twelfth Judicial Circuit?

Will County, Illinois
Retention race

What does this office do?

  • Deciding trials in the county
  • Ruling on evidence and setting sentences in criminal cases
  • Deciding family, probate, and civil disputes

Affects: Public Safety and Crime Control, Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties, Housing Affordability,

Amy M. Bertani-Tomczak

Nonpartisan · Incumbent

Amy M. Bertani-Tomczak has been on the Will County bench since 1994, making her the county's longest-serving judge, and she hears felony criminal cases.

Track record

Track record — General

General · 4 records

  • Denied prosecutors' request to keep Silas Trujillo in jail before trial in a Joliet shooting case. She ordered him released under pretrial conditions, as the SAFE-T Act allows.

    December 9, 2025

    Source: patch.com

  • Was kept on the bench by Will County voters in a retention election, 228,124 yes to 69,784 no (about 77 percent yes).

    November 3, 2020

    Source: assets01.aws.connect.clarityelections.com

  • Was kept on the bench by Will County voters in a retention election, 130,054 yes to 40,220 no (about 76 percent yes; 60 percent was needed).

    November 4, 2014

    Source: assets01.aws.connect.clarityelections.com

  • Sentenced Tomasz Maciaszek to two months in jail, two years of probation and 500 hours of community service for a crash that killed a high school student. She returned Facebook posts that prosecutors offered without reading them.

    January 18, 2012

    Source: abajournal.com

Track record — Legal Competence

Legal Competence · 2 favorable

  • Was rated Recommended for retention in the 2026 Illinois State Bar Association and Will County Bar Association lawyer poll. Of 81 responding lawyers, about 87 percent said she meets the requirements for the office.

    October 8, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence

    Source: isba.org

  • Was recommended for retention in the 2020 Illinois State Bar Association lawyer poll. About 87 percent said she meets the requirements for the office, fifth of the nine Will County judges up that year.

    September 17, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence

    Source: patch.com

Source: assets01.aws.connect.clarityelections.com