Illinois Supreme Court to have its 1st Asian American justice

Veteran judge Sanjay T. Tailor will be sworn in on Jan. 30 as the first Asian American justice in the history of the Illinois Supreme Court. He was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Mary Jane Theis and will serve through Dec. 4, 2028. Tailor joins the seven-member court after 23 years as a judge in Cook County and the Illinois Appellate Court.

The Indian American judge began his judicial career in 2003 as an associate judge in Cook County, the state’s largest judicial district, where he presided over criminal and civil cases in one of the busiest court systems in the country. He was appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court, First Judicial District, in 2022, reviewing appeals from Cook County trial courts.

Before becoming a judge, Tailor worked as an assistant state’s attorney in Cook County, practiced law at Chapman and Cutler LLP and served as in-house counsel at the First National Bank of Chicago. He has also taught Illinois civil procedure as an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law since 2004 and has served on Illinois Supreme Court committees focused on judicial education and access to justice.

His appointment places a jurist with experience across prosecution, private practice, corporate law and legal education on the state’s highest court. “I will continue to work to ensure that our justice system serves all people fairly and equitably,” Tailor said.