Chief Judge Evans reshapes Circuit Court leadership, forms new Elder Law division

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced today major changes in the Circuit Court that include the appointment of new Presiding Judges and Supervising Judges in almost half of the court's divisions and districts and the creation of a new division dedicated to elder law matters, the Elder Law and Miscellaneous Remedies Division. "I want to be clear that these changes I am undertaking in the court system are designed to ensure that the Circuit Court of Cook County remains on its current trajectory as a model court for the nation," Chief Judge Evans said. In addition to the 10 appointments announced today, Chief Judge Evans said he expects to announce additional adjustments at the court's executive management level in the near future. He also indicated that reviews of the structure and operations within the court's divisions and districts are forthcoming. In addition to the creation of the new division dedicated solely to elder probate matters, he said, "Further significant changes to the court are to be expected." The Circuit Court is made up of six geographical districts and 10 divisions: Law, Chancery, County, Domestic Relations, Domestic Violence, Juvenile Justice, Child Protection, Probate, Criminal, and Elder Law and Miscellaneous Remedies. Each is administered by a Presiding Judge appointed by Chief Judge Evans. Chief Judge Evans announced seven (7) new Presiding Judge assignments, which are effective December 6, 2010, as follows:

• Judge Moshe Jacobius, who was serving as Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division, has been named Presiding Judge of the Chancery Division to succeed Judge Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird who retired;
• Judge Carole Kamin Bellows, a veteran judge in the Domestic Relations Division, will succeed Judge Moshe Jacobius as Acting Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division;
• Judge Mary Ellen Coghlan, a judge in the Probate Division, has been named Presiding Judge of the Probate Division to succeed Judge Henry A. Budzinski who retired;
• Judge Patricia Banks, a trial judge in the Law Division, has been named Presiding Judge of the soon-to-be created Elder Law and Miscellaneous Remedies Division which will hear those elder law matters formerly heard in the Probate Division;
• Judge Edmund Ponce de León, who was serving as Presiding Judge of the west suburban Fourth Municipal District, has been named Presiding Judge of the County Division to succeed Associate Judge Mark Ballard who served as the division's Acting Presiding Judge following the retirement of former Presiding Judge Patrick E. McGann last August;
• Judge Cheyrl D. Ingram, a judge in the west suburban Fourth Municipal District, will succeed Judge Edmund Ponce de León as Presiding Judge of the Fourth Municipal District; and
• Judge Michael P. Toomin, a judge assigned by the Illinois Supreme Court to the First District Appellate Court, has been named to succeed Judge Curtis Heaston as Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Justice Division, who has been assigned to serve as a Supervising Judge within that division.

In addition to the assignment of Judge Curtis Heaston as a Supervising Judge in the Juvenile Justice Division, Chief Judge Evans also announced two other Supervising Judge assignments:

• Judge James G. Riley, a veteran judge of the Probate Division, has been named as the Supervising Judge of the Probate Division; and
• Associate Judge Mark Ballard has been named as the Supervising Judge of the County Division.

The supervising judge appointments are also effective December 6, 2010.