Past Controversy Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 2011

Clancy worked as a Cook County assistant state’s attorney for twelve years and then as a criminal defense attorney for nine years before becoming a judge. He was appointed to the bench in March 2011 and elected in 2012. He currently serves in the Pretrial Division, hearing felony and misdemeanor bond court cases.

Bar Association ratings

This year: The CCL rated Clancy qualified, but cited his history this past year of ordering and imposing money bond more often and in substantially higher amounts than other Central Bond Court judges. The CBA rated him qualified and the ISBA recommended him for retention.

Past: In 2012, the CBA, CCL, and ISBA all rated Clancy as “qualified.”

Notable: In September 2017, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans created a new division of judges to handle bond court proceedings, in which Clancy was included, and ordered judges to consider defendants’ financial circumstances when setting bail. Injustice Watch’s observation throughout the first month found that Clancy issued cash bonds higher than the defendant could pay 25 percent of the time, compared to less than two percent for other judges. A report issued September 2018 by the Chicago Community Bond Fund found that Clancy still sets unaffordable bonds at a higher rate than any other judge, in apparent conflict with Evans’s order.