The Honorable Thaddeus Wilson (’94) was installed as the new President of the Illinois Judicial Council in an online virtual ceremony on September 10, 2020. The mission of the Illinois Judicial Council is to enhance the image of the judiciary by serving as a collective voice in strong support of its members.
Judge Wilson was appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court and sworn as a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County on August 31, 2007, and he was elected in 2010. He is currently a supervising judge assigned to the Criminal Division where he hears felony cases.
Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Wilson was the managing attorney of the Law Office of Brookins & Wilson P.C. He practiced in the areas of personal injury, criminal defense, general civil litigation, civil rights/police misconduct, bankruptcy, foreclosure, and election law. He also served as an arbitrator with the Circuit Court of Cook County Mandatory Arbitration Program and as a hearing officer for the Chicago Board of Elections.
Judge Wilson has served on numerous boards and committees. In 2019, Judge Wilson was appointed to the Supreme Court’s Weighted Caseload Task Force. In 2017, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to the newly-created Illinois Judicial College. He served on the Committee on Judicial Education until 2019. In 2015, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Judge Wilson to its e-Business Policy Advisory Board. Additionally, he sits on the Interactive Orders System Pilot Committee of the Criminal Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. In 2017, he was tapped to lead a team of judges in the implementation of a caseflow management protocol across the entire Criminal Division. In 2011, Judge Wilson was appointed a member of the Judicial Conference of Illinois by the Supreme Court. He has served on the Study Committee on Complex Litigation, the Automation and Technology Committee and the Committee on Civil Litigation.
Judge Wilson presided over the first-ever terrorism case tried in the Circuit Court of Cook County under Illinois’ state terrorism statutes. He also presided over the first complete trial to be recorded and televised live with cameras in a courtroom in Cook County, Illinois.
