Illinois › Will County › Judge of the Appellate Court, Third Judicial District
2 candidates are tracked for Judge of the Appellate Court, Third Judicial District on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Margaret "Peggy" O'Connell and Jason A. Helland. Candidate information follows official Will County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
To fill the vacancy of the Hon. Mary W. McDade, per the Illinois State Board of Elections' certified general election list for Will County.
Democratic
Margaret "Peggy" O'Connell is a DuPage County Circuit Judge serving as presiding judge of the felony division. She was previously an Assistant State's Attorney and Assistant Attorney General in DuPage County, per the Illinois State Bar Association's judicial evaluations. She received the ISBA's Recommended rating.
Campaign site →Republican
Jason A. Helland was elected Grundy County State's Attorney in 2012 and has worked as a professor at the University of St. Francis and as an assistant state's attorney in Kankakee County, per the Illinois State Bar Association's judicial evaluations. He received the ISBA's Recommended rating. 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.