News Room

The Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County today announced its selection of the 34 candidates who will seek appointment to 17 Associate Judge vacancies by a vote of the Circuit Judges.

Statement by Chief Judge Timothy Evans:

"Due to the winter storm warning that predicts 10-14 inches of snowfall in the Chicagoland area between Thursday February 8, 2018, 6 p.m. and Friday, February 9, 2018, 9 p.m., and to ensure that no one is placed in a position of danger in getting to court, the Circuit Court of Cook County will be closed Friday, February 9, 2018.  

The Nominating Committee of the Circuit Court of Cook County decided today to reconvene the Associate Judge selection process in April.

The Nominating Committee took this action to avoid overlap with the March primary in which several applicants for Associate Judge are also running for Circuit Judge, and to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts’ mandatory Education Conferences that judges will attend in February and April.

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today appointed Dr. Thomas Lyons to serve as the Interim Chief Probation Officer of the Adult Probation Department of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Dr. Lyons, 51, succeeds Lavone Haywood, who retired on December 29 after a four-decade career with the department. Under the interim appointment, Dr. Lyons will temporarily vacate his current role as the Director of the Research and Evaluation Unit in the Office of the Chief Judge.

The Circuit Court of Cook County is partnering with Safer Foundation to help probation clients secure long-term employment, reducing the likelihood that they will re-offend and return as defendants to the criminal justice system.

Announced today by Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and President Victor Dickson of Safer Foundation, the initiative is funded through a $4.5 million grant that Safer Foundation received from the U.S. Department of Labor to work with 563 adults in Illinois and Iowa.

Chicago Lawyer magazine cites work on criminal justice reform in 2017

Chicago Lawyer magazine has named Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans its Person of the Year for 2017.

“We took several steps forward this year to protect constitutional rights and reduce the jail population because justice required us to do so. I am honored to receive this recognition of the progress we have made in our court system in 2017,” Chief Judge Evans said.

The magazine cited three initiatives that began this year. In the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chief Judge Evans:

Please see the below statement from Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans:

"The manner in which the President and County Board imposed 156 layoffs on the operations under the authority of the Chief Judge is unprecedented.

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today that he is accepting applications as part of a nationwide search for the next chief probation officer of the Adult Probation Department.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded a $1.85 million grant today to the Cook County justice system to safely reduce the jail population, divert certain nonviolent offenders from the court system and track efforts to remind defendants about future court dates.

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today appointed Charles P. Golbert, a longtime attorney in the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian, to serve as acting public guardian.

Golbert has worked in the office for 26 years, most recently as deputy public guardian. He succeeds Robert F. Harris, who Chief Judge Evans appointed as public guardian in 2004 and will be sworn in Thursday as a circuit judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Harris to a vacancy on the court earlier this month.