Cook County Circuit Judge Cynthia Ramirez posted two words about a federal law enforcement agency on social media:
“F*** ICE.”
Ramirez is a sitting judge. Yet, as of this writing, the Illinois bar associations that demanded Judge James R. Brown’s removal over political commentary he wrote while retired have expressed no comparable public concern.
Illinois offers a warning of what happens when judicial ethics rules become instruments for policing viewpoints rather than conduct.
Brown, a retired Cook County Circuit Court judge with nearly two decades of service, wrote a political opinion column before returning to the bench. The column was public when the Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to a temporary judicial assignment.
Home > Sitting Judge Posts ‘F*** ICE’: The Shocking Double Standard of Illinois Courts
Sitting Judge Posts ‘F*** ICE’: The Shocking Double Standard of Illinois Courts
Sara Albrecht | July 23, 2026
(Washington Examiner-Op-Eds)
Cook County Circuit Judge Cynthia Ramirez posted two words about a federal law enforcement agency on social media:
“F*** ICE.”
Ramirez is a sitting judge. Yet, as of this writing, the Illinois bar associations that demanded Judge James R. Brown’s removal over political commentary he wrote while retired have expressed no comparable public concern.
Illinois offers a warning of what happens when judicial ethics rules become instruments for policing viewpoints rather than conduct.
Brown, a retired Cook County Circuit Court judge with nearly two decades of service, wrote a political opinion column before returning to the bench. The column was public when the Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to a temporary judicial assignment.
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To learn more about the author of this op-ed, Sara Albrecht, Liberty Justice Center Chairman and CEO, click here.