Illinois › Dupage County › Judge of the Appellate Court, Third Judicial District (vacancy of the Hon. Mary W. McDade)
2 candidates are tracked for Judge of the Appellate Court, Third Judicial District (vacancy of the Hon. Mary W. McDade) on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Margaret "Peggy" O'Connell and Jason A. Helland. Candidate information follows official Dupage County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
Margaret "Peggy" O'Connell won the Democratic nomination with 70.33 percent of the vote over John Pavich; Jason A. Helland won the Republican nomination with 51.89 percent of the vote over Mark Senak, in the March 17 primary. They meet on the November 3 ballot, per the county's official canvass.
Margaret O'Connell has served as a DuPage County Circuit Judge since 2020, currently presiding over the felony division, after working as a DuPage County Assistant State's Attorney, Assistant Attorney General and in private practice, per Illinois State Bar Association judicial evaluations. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Margaret "Peggy" O'Connell.
Jason Helland was elected Grundy County State's Attorney in 2012, after working as an assistant state's attorney in Kankakee County and as a professor at the University of St. Francis, per Illinois State Bar Association judicial evaluations. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Jason A. Helland.
