List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Illinois

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Illinois. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are other distinctions such as the first minority men in their state to obtain a law degree or become a political figure.

Firsts in state history
Ruben Castillo: First Hispanic American male Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1994)

Lawyers
  • Lloyd Garrison Wheeler (1869):[1][2] First African American male admitted to the Illinois State Bar. However, he relocated soon after to Arkansas.
  • Antonio Rosas Sarabia (1950):[3] First Mexican American male lawyer in Illinois
  • Theodore "Ted" Burtzos:[4] First deaf male lawyer to argue a case before a jury in Illinois
Judges
  • Albert B. George:[5][6] First African American male judge in Illinois (1924)
  • David Cerda:[7] First Latino American male judge in Illinois (1965)
  • Thomas R. Chiola (1974):[8] First openly LGBT male judge in Illinois (1994)
  • Theodore "Ted" Burtzos:[4] First deaf male judge in Illinois (1995)
  • Kenneth Moy:[9][10] First Asian American male judge in Illinois (1996)
  • Israel Desierto:[11] First Filipino American male judge in Illinois (2005)
Superior Court
  • Albert B. George:[5][6] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Superior Court in Illinois (1924)
District Court
  • F. Keith Brown (1981):[12][13] First African American male judge and Chief Judge in the Sixteenth Judicial District (Kane County, Illinois; 1991)
Appellate Court
  • George N. Leighton (1947):[14] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the First District Appellate Court in Illinois (1969)
  • David Cerda:[15][16] First Hispanic American male appointed as a Judge of the Illinois Appellate Court (1989)
  • Jesse Reyes (1982):[17][18] First Latino American male elected as a Judge of the Illinois Appellate Court (2012)
Supreme Court
  • Charles E. Freeman (1962):[19][20][21] First African American male appointed as a Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court (1990) and serve as its Chief Justice
District

Attorney General

Assistant Attorney General
  • James G. Gotter:[32] First African American male to serve as the Assistant Attorney General of Illinois (1917)

State's Attorney
  • James R. Burgess, Jr.:[33][34] First African American male to serve as the State's Attorney in Illinois (1972)

Assistant State's Attorney

Bar Association
  • Vincent Cornelius:[36] First African American male to serve as the Illinois State Bar Association (2016)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Boone County
  • K. Patrick Yarbrough:[37] First African American male judge in Boone and Winnebago Counties, Illinois (2008)

Champaign County

Cook County
  • Richard A. Dawson (1870):[39] First African American male to graduate from the University of Chicago's law department
  • Cecil A. Partee:[40] First African American male to serve as the State's Attorney of Cook County, Illinois
  • James Benton Parsons (1949):[22][23] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Superior Court of Cook County, Illinois (1959)
  • Israel Desierto:[11] First Filipino American male to serve as an Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois (2005)
  • Sanjay Tailor:[41] First Indian American male appointed as an Associate Judge in Cook County, Illinois
  • Chester Blair:[42] First African American male to serve as the President of the Chicago Bar Association [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]

DuPage County
  • Chester Blair:[42] First African American male to serve as the President of the Chicago Bar Association [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
  • Kenneth Moy:[9][10] First Asian American male appointed as Judge of the DuPage County Circuit Court (1996)

Kane County
  • Charles Willner (1876):[43] First Jewish male lawyer in Burlington, Illinois [Kane County, Illinois]
  • F. Keith Brown (1981):[12][13] First African American male judge and Chief Judge in the Sixteenth Judicial District (Kane County, Illinois; 1991)
  • John Dalton:[44] First openly LGBT male judge in Kane County, Illinois (2012)
  • Rene Cruz:[45] First Hispanic American male to serve as an associate judge in Kane County, Illinois (2012)

Lake County
  • George Bridges (1987):[46][47] First African American male judge in Lake County, Illinois
  • Jorge L. Ortiz (1989):[48] First Hispanic American male judge in Lake County, Illinois (2002) and first Chief Judge (2016)

Madison County
  • Clayton R. Williams (c. 1940s):[49] First African American male lawyer in Madison County, Illinois. He would later become a judge.

McHenry County
  • Mario J. Perez:[50] First Latino American male lawyer in McHenry County, Illinois
  • Carlos S. Arevalo:[51] First Hispanic American to serve as the President of the McHenry County Bar Association, Illinois (2014)

Sangamon County
  • Abraham Morris Williams:[52] First African American male lawyer in Sangamon County, Illinois

Will County
  • David Garcia:[53][54] First Latino American male judge in Will County, Illinois (2013)

Winnebago County
  • K. Patrick Yarbrough:[37] First African American male judge in Boone and Winnebago Counties, Illinois (2008)

See also

Other topics of interest

References
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  52. "Abraham Morris Williams". www.sangamoncountycircuitclerk.org. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
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