The Honorable Vincent F. Cornelius (’89) was installed as Circuit Judge for the 12th Circuit Court in Will County, IL on December 3, 2019.
Prior to being elected to the bench in November, Judge Cornelius was the principal of the Law Offices of Vincent F. Cornelius with locations in Joliet and Wheaton. An active member of the legal community, Judge Cornelius was elected to serve as the 140th President of the 32,000 member Illinois State Bar Association for the year 2016-2017. He was the first and only lawyer from Will County to serve as ISBA president in the 142-year history of the Association. He was the only lawyer in Illinois history to serve as President of the ISBA, President of the Illinois Bar foundation, and Chancellor of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers. He has served as the only Will County member of the distinguished American Bar Association’s House of Delegates. He has also served on Governor’s Commissions, legislative committees, and university boards. He currently serves on two Illinois Supreme Court commissions and is vice chair of the NIU Law Board of Visitors. He is a recipient of the Northern Illinois University College of Law’s Outstanding Alum Award and its Alum of the Year Award. He is a recipient of the University of St. Francis 2006 Outstanding Alum Award, and he has served as Vice-Chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees.
