Lenient Sentencer Former Prosecutor

Judge since: 1994

Haberkorn has heard felony cases in the Skokie courthouse since May 1999. She previously presided over juvenile delinquency cases and narcotics cases. Prior to judgeship, she was a Cook County assistant state’s attorney.

Bar Association ratings

This year: Both the CCL and CBA rated Haberkorn as qualified, and the ISBA recommended her for retention. The CBA said “she is reported to be fair and patient on the bench.”
Past: Haberkorn was recommended to be retained in 2012 by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA.

Notable: Haberkorn has been willing to call out police misconduct in cases before her. In 2014, she suppressed the drugs seized by officers from Glenview and Chicago when dashboard footage contradicted their version of the police stop. Haberkorn ruled the testimony “outrageous conduct.” And in 2016 she overturned a guilty verdict when new evidence contradicted police testimony from the original 2006 trial about whether a video recorder was operating and would have captured the scene. The judge said then she was “sickened” by the “miscarriage of justice.” Haberkorn is the second most lenient sentencer among 24 Criminal Division judges who have handed down more than 1,000 sentences in the past six years, according to Injustice Watch’s analysis of sentencing data.