Cook County Justice
Hon. Anita Alvarez, Hon. Tom Dart, Hon. Timothy Evans, and Hon. Toni Preckwinkle
Thursday, May 7, 2015
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Anita Alvarez
The public service record of Anita Alvarez contains many “firsts.” The first female and first Latina elected to the post of Cook County State’s Attorney, she is also the first career prosecutor ever elected to this important public safety position. In her capacity as State’s Attorney, Ms. Alvarez leads the second largest prosecutor’s office in the nation, managing an office of more than 1,500 attorneys and administrative employees. Since taking office, Ms. Alvarez has made sweeping changes throughout the office creating bold new public safety initiatives and significantly increasing community-based programming and outreach. Under her leadership, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has led the charge across the State of Illinois in enacting many important public safety initiatives that have been signed into law to increase protections for children. She has also increased efforts to crackdown on predators attempting to victimize children on the internet and to raise public awareness about this issue. Ms. Alvarez has also made the crime of human trafficking a top priority in her administration. She created a first-of-its kind Human Trafficking Initiative with the State’s Attorney’s Office which works closely with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to crack down on individuals and human trafficking groups that exploit children. A Chicago native, Ms. Alvarez was born and raised in the Pilsen community. She received her undergraduate degree from Loyola University and obtained her Law Degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. She is an avid runner, a diehard White Sox fan, a passionate Chicago Black Hawks fan and a proud “Hockey and Soccer Mom.” Anita and her husband, Dr. James Gomez, are the proud parents of four children.
Tom Dart
As Cook County Sheriff, Tom Dart has brought an aggressive, yet innovative approach to law enforcement. A former prosecutor and state legislator, Sheriff Dart has long fought to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. Since becoming Sheriff in 2006, he has introduced sweeping changes at the Cook County Jail, the nation’s largest single site jail, aggressively re-structured the Sheriff’s Police force, and improved operations of the Court Services Department. At the Cook County Department of Corrections, the Sheriff oversees a population of over 12,000 that includes inmates both housed on-site and ordered to alternative programs such as electronic monitoring. From addressing concerns surrounding general overcrowding and a growing mental health population to developing environmentally sustainable initiatives for inmates, Sheriff Dart has been hailed for his progressive reforms to improve and maintain the safety and security of all those housed and employed at the Cook County Jail. There are approximately 2,500-3,000 people with diagnosed mental illness housed in the jail on any given day, making it the largest mental health facility in the country. Sheriff Dart firmly believes that a service provider is a far more productive setting than a jail for those with mental illness. In 2013, he launched the Office of Mental Health Policy & Advocacy, which operates a 24-hour Care Line for mentally ill ex-inmates and families of current mentally ill inmates, while screening all pre-bond detainees for mental illness. Sheriff Dart has received many awards from national and local mental health advocacy organizations for his push to end what has become a de facto criminalization of mental illness. In 2009, Time magazine named Sheriff Dart one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, thanks to his groundbreaking efforts. He and his wife Patricia live on Chicago’s South Side and are the proud parents of five young children.
Timothy C. Evans
Timothy C. Evans serves as the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois and also one of the largest unified court systems in the world. He oversees the circuit's approximately 400 judges and more than 2,700 employees assigned to 15 non-judicial offices as well as the court's annual budget of approximately $215 million. Chief Judge Evans was first elected Chief Judge in September 2001 by unanimous vote of the circuit judges and is currently serving his fifth consecutive term. He has brought sweeping reforms to the court include critical changes to the bail setting process, a new Domestic Violence Courthouse, and the creation of the two court-wide divisions dedicated to hearing only domestic violence matters and elder law matters. He also has expanded the use of problem solving courts dedicated to mental health treatment, veterans support, drug treatment, and persons charged with prostitution. Under his tenure, there has been an unparalleled growth in free legal services for low-income, self-represented litigants, including a free mediation program to help homeowners facing foreclosure and an elder justice center to help persons over the age of 60 navigate the court system. There also has been an unprecedented expansion of the Chief Judge's duties by state and local government to include administration of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center and the Office of Official Court Reporters. In 2009, he became the first judge from Illinois to receive the prestigious William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence from the National Center for State Courts presented annually since 1996 by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Toni Preckwinkle
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has been a dedicated community leader for over two decades. Through collaboration and commitment, President Preckwinkle has worked with the County Board, our elected official and county employees to implement major reform and reshape county government into a world-class institution based on the foundation of fiscal responsibility, innovative leadership, transparency & accountability, and improved services. Over the past four years, President Preckwinkle has built the credibility of County government. She eliminated the 1% sales tax of her predecessor, saving County residents $1.4 billion. Since taking office, she has cut $465 million in expenditures, passed four budgets and established a more transparent budget process. She has established the County’s first performance management initiative to demand more accountability from County operations and employees. President Preckwinkle has developed a robust policy agenda – focusing on critical public safety reform, working to strengthen our health care system and increasing the capacity and capability of our economic development efforts. Before being elected Cook County Board President, Preckwinkle served 19 years as Alderman of the 4th Ward. During her tenure she successfully fought for greater funding for education and affordable housing in her ward, sponsored the Living Wage and Affordable Housing Ordinances. Her independent and progressive leadership earned her the IVI-IPO Best Alderman Award six times as well as two Leon Despres Awards. Prior to holding elected office, President Preckwinkle taught high school history for ten years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from the University of Chicago.
