Comment #: IL4297
Rating:10.0
Comments:
He's a wise, knowledgeable and very helpful judge. I always feel comfortable when I have a case before him.

Comment #: IL4031
Rating:3.0
Comments:
Most judges are deferential to guardian ad litems, but he takes it to a degree that is a complete abandonment of his job as a judge. He is sloppy about the civil procedure in a way that I think is affects his ability to make decisions.

Comment #: IL3785
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Please do not vote this judge to stay on the bench. He caused me and my family so much pain and suffering. We did not let him walk all over us though he tried so other family members came up to us in the waiting area and told us they were being treated harshly and money was taken from them through this court headed by the most evil judge I have ever experienced. This is a ring. He has his favorite attorneys and they are siphoning money from the elderly in this court room. He should go to jail and so should the attorneys working with him. The Illinois Bar Association needs to do a thorough investigation of the court. If you don't get one of his pet attorneys, your attorney will quit or as others have told me, your outside the county attorney will tell you not to waste your money on them because they can also see that this is a ring. PLEASE DO NOT VOTE TO RETAIN JAMES JEFFREY ALLEN!!!

Comment #: IL3695
Rating:1.0
Comments:
I see two 10 ratings below and it astonishes me. He is so notorious the Uber driver told me, 'Allen? OMG, you'll never see your kids. He runs a 'fiefdom'. My wife works for Chicago and says no one knows what he is doing. AS for me, I am a highly successful person who kids were taken by their mother's sister. A kidnapping. And he's not let me talk to or see my kids, for no reason given, just delay after delay, status conference after status conference, in five years. It's criminal. He should be thrown off the bench, disbarred, and denied his pension.

Comment #: IL2524
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Judge Allen is biased and let’s the ad litem, and executor make all the decisions. He makes decision not based on law. But rather on biased opinions of his favorite lawyers in his court room.

Comment #: IL1275
Rating:1.0
Comments:
This Judge James Jeffrey Allen does not care about individuals that he hands over to The State Guardians Office, especially of those that have/had loved ones more than willing to take the responsibility of Guardianship upon themselves. As a result, I can confirm his decision and ongoing jurisdiction brought about the death of Kimberly S. Thompson, a Ward of The State per his decision, and therefore directly due to a result of the failure to fulfill her duties as State Guardian, one Tam Tran Chavez being the State Guardian. I have the consolation knowing that God will be the final Judge in this matter.

Comment #: IL1228
Rating:9.7
Comments:
Judge Allen handles a difficult call with patience and is unfailingly polite to even the most clueless unrepresented litigants. He treats pro se guardianship annual reports with kindness and respect for the ward and guardian, which helps get those cases handled more quickly than had been with previous judges on this call.
He is also respectful and polite to attorneys appearing before him and makes a point to get to know their names and approach to practice.
Having never been in private practice himself (having worked for Legal Aid primarily), he sometimes is not mindful about how pressed attorneys are to get in and out of court quickly - and not be asked to do too many 'gratis' reviews of files of pro se litigants and report the situation to him as a 'friend of the court.' Probably for the same reason of never having practiced privately, the intensity of the work outside the courtroom as reflected in attorneys fees is sometimes undervalued by him.
Scheduling is the sole issue I have found to be a problem with Judge Allen. It may be a problem with the volume he has been assigned, but the problem is that it usually takes more than a month (sometimes over two months) to schedule a date to open a probate case, which is a serious problem. For example, often family members have advanced personal funds to pay funeral expenses for example, and money cannot be accessed to repay them until after the probate has been opened and the executor appointed.

Comment #: IL775
Rating:9.8
Comments:
I have had only positive experiences in Judge Allen's probate court. He is a knowledgeable, fair, and even-tempered judge. He has been the probate judge in three or four matters that I've handled, and so far I have no complaints whatsoever.