Tuesday’s primary election included the race for a seat on the Illinois Supreme Court — pitting incumbent Justice Joy Cunningham against Cook County Appellate Court Justice Jesse Reyes.

The campaign highlighted the lack of Latino representation on the state’s top court — which has long been a concern of many in the Latino legal community and beyond. Cunningham won the race with almost 75% of the vote after being appointed to the seat in 2022.

Despite a loss for Reyes, efforts to bring Latino leaders to the court system continue.

The judicial system is intended to be blind, meaning decisions are made based on information alone but Reyes said lived experiences matter.

“It’s the perspective,” he said “The perspective of the people who sit on the bench to make the decisions. You know, that is important particularly in the courts of review, you need that extra added perspective, lived experience in order to be able to make a decision.”

He added that decisions from the courts not only impact the people involved but also impact society as a whole. Therefore, including each viewpoint is needed.

Latinos account for 26% of Cook County and 18% of the state.

From his perspective, Reyes said the generation gap in the community can lead to differing views but also opens the door for more discussion.

“They have to understand that we live in a society that we have different generational views, different generational outlooks,” he said. “And so as a result of it, I think that our elected leaders, our officials need to listen to the younger people and to understand exactly what is it that they're looking for out of their elected officials.”

Reyes says that while the Illinois Supreme Court has become diverse, it can still be better. So he will continue supporting Latinos who are interested in legal professions.