Dartesia A. Pitts (’05) Receives Prestigious Edward H. Wright Award

Congratulations to Dartesia A. Pitts (‘05) for receiving the Edward H. Wright Award. This distinguished honor is awarded by the Cook County Bar Association (CCBA) to a Black lawyer or lay person who has held elective or appointive office, is actively involved in government, and has distinguished himself or herself in public service or politics.

Dartesia serves as the General Counsel for the Office of the Illinois Lieutenant Governor, Juliana Stratton.  In 2017 -2018, she served as president of the Cook County Bar Association.

Besides her traditional legal practice, she serves as a legal commentator on national cable and local network television shows including Fox’s, Swift Justice with Nancy Grace, and both TVOne shows, Fatal Attraction and Justice By Any Means.  She has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer Rising Star, an Emerging Lawyer of Illinois and as a Forty under 40 recipient for both Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and the National Bar Association.  Most recently in 2020, she received the National Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division Chairman’s Award.

Dartesia, who hails from the South Side of Chicago, attended Kenyon College in Gambier, OH receiving a Bachelor’s of Art in History with distinction. She received her Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University College of Law.  In 2018, she was awarded for her excellence in leadership and service by the NIU College of Law, and in 2019, she was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Law by her undergraduate alma mater, Kenyon College.

She believes in collaborative relationships and is committed to the uplifting of the voices of the minority lawyers and communities at every table. She is admitted to practice law in both the State and the Northern District of Illinois.

The CCBA is the oldest bar association of black lawyers and judges in the country (106 years old).  It is a founding affiliate of the National Bar Association which is the largest bar association of black lawyers and judges in the country (94 years old). Edward H. Wright was the first elected president of the formalized CCBA.  He served in many capacities in his career including Republican Committeeman, Cook County Commissioner and Assistant Corporation Counsel.  He was missioned focus on fighting for racial equality and he left a legacy in the City and County.  Previous recipients have included Cook County State’s Attorney Kimberly Foxx and Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Larry R. Rogers, Jr.

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