List of first women lawyers and judges in Illinois

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

Firsts in state history

Ida Platt: First African American female lawyer in Illinois (1894)

Catherine Waugh McCulloch: First female Justice of the Peace in Illinois (1907)

Mary Bartelme: First female judge in Illinois (1923)

Lawyers

• Myra Bradwell (1890):[1] She aimed to be the first woman admitted to the Illinois State Bar, but was denied admission in 1872.
• Alta M. Hulett (1873):[2] First female lawyer in Illinois admitted to the bar.
• Ellen A. Martin (1875):[3] First female (a lawyer) to successfully vote in Illinois after finding a loophole in the Lombard town charter in 1891, which was upheld in court.
• Mary A. Ahrens (1889):[4] Sole female in the inaugural group of 33 lawyers sworn to the bar of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 1891.
• Ida Platt (1894):[5] First African American female lawyer in Illinois
• Helen M. Cirese (1921):[6] First Italian American female admitted to the Illinois State Bar
• Elizabeth K. Ohi (1937):[7] First Japanese American female lawyer in Illinois

Justice of the Peace

• Catherine Waugh McCulloch (1886):[8][9][10] First female elected as the Justice of the Peace in Illinois (1907)

Judges

• Mary Bartelme:[11][12] First female judge in Illinois (1923)
• Edith S. Sampson (1927):[13] First African American female judge in Illinois (1962)
• Consuelo Bedoya-Witt (1977):[14] First Hispanic American female judge in Illinois (1988)
• Lynne Kawamoto (1981):[15][16][17] First Asian American female (who is Japanese American) judge in Illinois (1991)
• Rena M. Van Tine (1986):[18] First Indian American female judge in Illinois (2001)
• Pamela Leeming:[19][20] First known Pakistani American (female) judge in the U.S. (2009)
• Laura Liu (1991):[21][22] First Asian American female judge in Illinois (2010)

District Court

• Vershenia Ballance Moody (1995):[23] First female (and African American female) appointed as a Judge of the 6B Judicial District in Illinois (2013)

Circuit Court

• Rosemary Collins:[24] First female appointed as a Judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit (1989)
• Rita B. Garman (1968):[25] First female to serve as the Presiding Judge for the Fifth Circuit (1987)
• Jane D. Waller (1973):[14][26][27] First female appointed as a Judge of the Nineteenth Circuit in Illinois (1981)

Appellate Court

• Rita B. Garman (1968):[25] First female to serve as a Judge of the Fourth District Appellate Court (1995) in Illinois
• Lisa Holder White (1993):[28] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the Fourth District Appellate Court in Illinois (2013)

Supreme Court

• Mary Ann McMorrow (1953):[29] First female appointed as a Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court (1992) and to become a Chief Justice (2002)
• Sandra Otaka:[20] First Asian American (female) to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois

District Court

• Ann Claire Williams (1975):[30] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1985)
• Rebecca R. Pallmeyer (1979):[31][32] First female to serve as the Chief United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2019)
• Nancy J. Rosenstengel:[33] First female appointed as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (2013)
• Staci Michelle Yandle (1987):[34] First openly LGBT and African American female appointed as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (2014)
• Martha M. Pacold:[35] First Asian American female appointed as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2019)

Appellate Court

• Ann Claire Williams (1975):[30] First African American female appointed as a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1999)

Attorney General

• Lisa Madigan:[36] First female Attorney General of Illinois (2003)

Deputy Attorney General

• Jill Wine-Banks:[37][38] First female to serve as the Deputy Attorney General for Illinois

Assistant Attorney General

• Jean Williams (1949):[39][40] First African American female to serve as the Assistant Attorney General of Illinois

Solicitor General

• Jill Wine-Banks:[37][38] First female to serve as the Solicitor General for Illinois

United States Attorney

• Miriam Miquelon:[41] First female to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois (c. 2003)

Public Defender

• Pearl M. Hart (1914):[42][43][44] First female (and LGBT) to serve as a public defender for the Moral Court of Chicago, Illinois (1933)

Bar Association

• Carole Bellows:[45] First female to serve as the President of the Illinois State Bar Association (1977)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Region

• Dorothy Wilbourn Spomer:[46] First female elected judge in Southern Illinois (1950)

Adams County

• Debra Wellborn (1986):[47][48][49] First female associate circuit judge appointed in Adams County, Illinois

Bureau County

• Charlotte Safranske Martin (1976):[50] First woman to be elected State's Attorney of Bureau County, Illinois. She won the vote 9,883 to 8,171. She was also the first Democrat to be elected to that post in 44 years.

Christian County

• Ellen M. Yockey (1915):[51] First female lawyer in Taylorville, Illinois [Christian County, Illinois]

Clark County

• Rita Garman (1968):[25] First female to serve as a circuit judge and as presiding judge for the Fifth Circuit [Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar and Vermillion Counties, Illinois]

Coles County

• Rita Garman (1968):[25] First female to serve as a circuit judge and as presiding judge for the Fifth Circuit [Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar and Vermillion Counties, Illinois]
• Teresa Righter (1982):[52] First female judge in Coles County, Illinois (1997)

Cook County

• Emma Baumann:[53] First female to graduate from the Chicago College of Law (1890) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
• Catherine Waugh McCulloch (1886):[8][9][10] First female Justice of the Peace in Cook County, Illinois (1907-1911)
• Nellie Carlin (1896):[54][55][56][10][57] First female to serve as the Public Guardian (1911) and Assistant State's Attorney in Cook County, Illinois (1918)
• Mary Bartelme:[11][12] First female judge in Chicago, Illinois (1923) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
• Lynne Kawamoto (1981):[15][16][17] First Asian American female (who is Japanese American) to serve as an Associate Judge for Cook County, Illinois (1991)
• Sophia Hall (1967):[58] First female to serve as a Presiding Judge in Cook County, Illinois (1991)
• Pamela Leeming:[19][59] First Pakistani American female to serve as an Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County (2009)
• Jessica Arong O’Brien:[60] First Filipino American female (and Filipino American in general) judge in Cook County, Illinois
• Anita Alvarez:[61] First Hispanic American female elected as the State's Attorney for Cook County, Illinois (2008)
• Kim Foxx:[62] First African American female elected as the State’s Attorney for Cook County, Illinois (2016)
• Lori Lightfoot (1989):[63] First African American and openly LGBT female (a former prosecutor) to serve as Mayor of Chicago (2019) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
• Esther Rothstein:[64] First female to serve as President of the Chicago Bar Association (1977) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
• Aurora Austriaco (1990):[65] First Filipino American female to serve as the President of the Chicago Bar Association (2012-2013) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]

Cumberland County

• Rita Garman (1968):[25] First female to serve as a circuit judge and as presiding judge for the Fifth Circuit [Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar and Vermillion Counties, Illinois]

DuPage County

• Mary Bartelme:[11][12] First female judge in Chicago, Illinois (1923) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
• Eva Rose Pollack Glaser (c. 1930s):[66] First female lawyer in DuPage County, Illinois
• Helen Kinney (1952):[67] First female Assistant State's Attorney (1962-1969) and circuit judge (1976) in DuPage County, Illinois
• Emma Baumann:[53] First female to graduate from the Chicago College of Law (1890) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
• Esther Rothstein:[64] First female to serve as President of the Chicago Bar Association (1977) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
• Lori Lightfoot (1989): First African American and openly LGBT female (a former prosecutor) to serve as Mayor of Chicago (2019) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
• Aurora Austriaco (1990):[65] First Filipino American female to serve as the President of the Chicago Bar Association (2012-2013) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]

Edgar County

• Rita Garman (1968):[25] First female to serve as a circuit judge and as presiding judge for the Fifth Circuit [Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar and Vermillion Counties, Illinois]

Kane County

• Marie Hunter Willis:[68] First female lawyer in Kane County, Illinois
• Pamela Jansen:[69][70] First female judge in Kane County, Illinois (1987)
• Sandra T. Parga:[70] First Hispanic female judge in Kane County, Illinois (2017)

Kankakee County

• J. Imani Drew (c. 1980s):[71] First African-American female judge in Kankakee County, Illinois (2016). She was also the first African-American prosecutor (1983) in the county's history.

Kendall County

• Victoria Chuffo:[72] First female Public Defender for Kendall County, Illinois (c. 2007)

Lake County

• Jane D. Waller (1973):[14][26][27] First female judge in Lake County, Illinois
• Barbara Gilleran-Johnson:[14] First female appointed as a Judge of the Lake County Juvenile Court [Lake County, Illinois]

LaSalle County

• Marilyn Barton (1970):[73] First woman to practice law in LaSalle County, Illinois
• Karen Donnelly:[74] First female chief prosecutor in LaSalle County, Illinois (2016)

Lee County

• Anna Jensen Moore:[75] First female lawyer in Lee County, Illinois

Macon County

• Fannie Adele Bivans:[76] First female lawyer in Decatur, Illinois [Macon County, Illinois]

Madison County

• Lola Maddox:[77] First female judge in Madison County, Illinois

McLean County

• Elizabeth Robb:[78] First female judge in McLean County, Illinois

Menard County

• M. Carol Pope:[79] First female to serve as the State's Attorney for Menard County, Illinois, as well as the first judge from the 8th Judicial Circuit and the county to be assigned to the Fourth District Appellate Court

St. Clair County

• Alexis Otis-Lewis:[80] First African American female judge in St. Clair County, Illinois (1991)

Sangamon County

• Erma Templeman:[81][82] First woman to practice law in Sangamon County, Illinois

Stark County

• Suzanne Patton (1999):[83] First female judge in Stark County, Illinois (2016)

Vermillion County

• Rita Garman (1968):[25] First female assistant state’s attorney and first female associate judge in Vermillion County, Illinois. She was also the first female to serve as a circuit judge and as presiding judge for the Fifth Circuit [Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar and Vermillion Counties, Illinois].

Will County

• Susan Pierson De Witt:[84] First female to practice law in Will County, Illinois
• Carmen Julia Lynn Goodman:[85] First African American female to serve as a Judge of the Circuit Court in Will County, Illinois (2007)

Williamson County

• Carolyn B. Smoot:[86] First female appointed as a judge of the First Judicial Circuit in Williamson County, Illinois

Woodford County

• Frances Marion Ridgely:[87] First female lawyer to plead a case in Woodford, Illinois [Woodford County, Illinois]

See also

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• Timeline of women lawyers in the United States
• Women in law

Other topics of interest

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Illinois

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