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 graduate from law school or become a political figure.
Firsts in state history
Law School
Ada Kepley (1881):[1] First female law graduate in Illinois (1870)
Lawyers
Myra Bradwell (1890 (1869*)):[2] She aimed to be the first woman admitted to the Illinois State Bar. Denied admission in 1870 because she was a woman, she was admitted nunc pro tunc in 1890, backdated to her 1869 application, in honor of her efforts.[3]
Alta M. Hulett (1873):[4] First female lawyer in Illinois admitted to the bar. (After the Bradwell case, the state legislature changed the law to allow women to become lawyers)
Ellen A. Martin (1875):[5] 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 Bartelme:[17][18] First elected female judge (1923) and appointed assistant judge (1913) in Illinois
Edith S. Sampson (1927):[19] First African American female judge in Illinois (1962)
Jane D. Waller (1973):[20][21][22] First female to serve on the Nineteenth Circuit in Illinois (1981)
Rita B. Garman (1968):[23] First female to serve as the Presiding Judge for the Fifth Circuit (1987) and the Fourth District Appellate Court (1995) in Illinois
Consuelo Bedoya-Witt (1977):[20] First Hispanic American female judge in Illinois (1988)
Rosemary Collins:[24] First female to serve on the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court in Illinois (1989)
Lynne Kawamoto (1981):[25][26][27] First Asian American female (who is Japanese American) judge in Illinois (1991)
Emma Baumann:[59] First female to graduate from the
Chicago College of Law (1890) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Mary Bartelme:[17][18] First female judge in Chicago, Illinois (1923) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Sherry Pethers:[60] First openly LGBT female elected as a judge in the Chicago area (2004) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Lori Lightfoot (1989):[61] First African American and openly LGBT female (a former prosecutor) to serve as Mayor of Chicago (2019) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Esther Rothstein:[62] First female to serve as President of the Chicago Bar Association (1977) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Aurora Austriaco (1990):[63] First Filipino American female to serve as the President of the Chicago Bar Association (2012-2013) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Charlotte Safranske Martin (1976):[68] 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.
Nellie Carlin (1896):[71][72][73][16][74] First female to serve as the Public Guardian (1911) and Assistant State's Attorney in Cook County, Illinois (1918)
Lynne Kawamoto (1981):[25][26][27] First Asian American female (who is Japanese American) to serve as an Associate Judge for Cook County, Illinois (1991)
Pamela Jansen:[88][89] First female judge in Kane County, Illinois (1987)
Sandra T. Parga:[89] First Hispanic female judge in Kane County, Illinois (2017)
J. Imani Drew (c. 1980s):[90] First African-American female judge in
Kankakee County, Illinois (2016). She was also the first African-American prosecutor (1983) in the county's history.
Carla Barnes:[99] First African American (female) judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court (McLean County; 2021)
M. Carol Pope:[100] 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
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 graduate from law school or become a political figure.
Firsts in state history
Law School
Ada Kepley (1881):[1] First female law graduate in Illinois (1870)
Lawyers
Myra Bradwell (1890 (1869*)):[2] She aimed to be the first woman admitted to the Illinois State Bar. Denied admission in 1870 because she was a woman, she was admitted nunc pro tunc in 1890, backdated to her 1869 application, in honor of her efforts.[3]
Alta M. Hulett (1873):[4] First female lawyer in Illinois admitted to the bar. (After the Bradwell case, the state legislature changed the law to allow women to become lawyers)
Ellen A. Martin (1875):[5] 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 Bartelme:[17][18] First elected female judge (1923) and appointed assistant judge (1913) in Illinois
Edith S. Sampson (1927):[19] First African American female judge in Illinois (1962)
Jane D. Waller (1973):[20][21][22] First female to serve on the Nineteenth Circuit in Illinois (1981)
Rita B. Garman (1968):[23] First female to serve as the Presiding Judge for the Fifth Circuit (1987) and the Fourth District Appellate Court (1995) in Illinois
Consuelo Bedoya-Witt (1977):[20] First Hispanic American female judge in Illinois (1988)
Rosemary Collins:[24] First female to serve on the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court in Illinois (1989)
Lynne Kawamoto (1981):[25][26][27] First Asian American female (who is Japanese American) judge in Illinois (1991)
Emma Baumann:[59] First female to graduate from the
Chicago College of Law (1890) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Mary Bartelme:[17][18] First female judge in Chicago, Illinois (1923) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Sherry Pethers:[60] First openly LGBT female elected as a judge in the Chicago area (2004) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Lori Lightfoot (1989):[61] First African American and openly LGBT female (a former prosecutor) to serve as Mayor of Chicago (2019) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Esther Rothstein:[62] First female to serve as President of the Chicago Bar Association (1977) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Aurora Austriaco (1990):[63] First Filipino American female to serve as the President of the Chicago Bar Association (2012-2013) [Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois]
Charlotte Safranske Martin (1976):[68] 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.
Nellie Carlin (1896):[71][72][73][16][74] First female to serve as the Public Guardian (1911) and Assistant State's Attorney in Cook County, Illinois (1918)
Lynne Kawamoto (1981):[25][26][27] First Asian American female (who is Japanese American) to serve as an Associate Judge for Cook County, Illinois (1991)
Pamela Jansen:[88][89] First female judge in Kane County, Illinois (1987)
Sandra T. Parga:[89] First Hispanic female judge in Kane County, Illinois (2017)
J. Imani Drew (c. 1980s):[90] First African-American female judge in
Kankakee County, Illinois (2016). She was also the first African-American prosecutor (1983) in the county's history.
Carla Barnes:[99] First African American (female) judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court (McLean County; 2021)
M. Carol Pope:[100] 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