Other contenders in the race were Sheldon “Shelly” Harris, a former Chicago public school teacher who self-funded his campaign with over $1.7 million; appellate Judge Margaret Stanton McBride, who has the lengthiest appellate experience of the entire field; appellate Judge Cynthia Cobbs, who previously was director of the entire Illinois courts system; Chicago attorney Daniel Epstein, the only candidate never to have served as a judge; and appellate Judge Nathaniel Roosevelt Howse, who was backed by Secretary of State Jesse White and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky.