Misplaced Pages

Mary Jane Theis
2010 portrait
Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office October 26, 2022
Preceded by	Anne M. Burke
Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office October 26, 2010
Preceded by	Thomas Fitzgerald
Justice of the Illinois 1st District Appellate Court
In office 1993 – October 2010
Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court
In office 1988–1993
Associate Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court
In office 1983–1988
Personal details
Born	Mary Jane Wendt (1949-02-27) February 27, 1949 (age 75) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	John Theis
Relatives	Ken Wendt (father)
Education	Loyola University Chicago (BA) University of San Francisco (JD)

Mary Jane Theis (born February 27, 1949) is a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court for the First Judicial District in Cook County. In 2022, she became chief justice after the retirement of then-chief justice Anne M. Burke.

Early life

She was born Mary Jane Wendt in Chicago to Eleanore and Kenneth Wendt, a member of the Illinois General Assembly and a longtime judge in Cook County. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

She received her bachelor's degree from Loyola University Chicago and her Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Career

Theis was assistant public defender in Cook County from 1974 to 1983.

Judicial career

Theis became a judge in 1983, serving as an associate judge in the Cook County Circuit Court from 1983 to 1988, a full judge in the circuit court from 1988 to 1994, and state appellate court judge from 1993 to 2010. From December 1997 until December 1998, Theis additionally served as president of the Illinois Judges Association.

In 2010, Theis was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to fill a vacancy on its bench, taking office October 26, 2010. She won a full term in a partisan election in 2012. In the general election, Chicago Tribune endorsed her for election to a full term, citing her "universally accepted expertise on judicial ethics, family law, sentencing, fairness." She previously served as chair for the Illinois Judicial Conference's Committees on Education and Judicial Conduct, as well as on the Illinois Supreme Court's rules committee. In September 2022, she was named chief justice after the retirement of then-chief justice Anne M. Burke, effective October 26, 2022.

Academic career

Theis has taught at law schools in Chicago (Loyola University School of Law, Northwestern University School of Law, and the John Marshall Law School) and at Illinois and Chicago bar association conferences and seminars.

Honors and awards

Awards which Theis has received include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois Judges Association, the Mary Heftel Hooten Award from the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, and the Access to Justice Award from the Illinois State Bar Association.

Personal life

Theis is married to John T. Theis, and they have two children and seven grandchildren.

References

1. "The 7 justices of the Illinois Supreme Court". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
2. "Eleanore Wendt". Chicago Tribune. February 26, 1992. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
3. Merrion, Paul (January 24, 2015). "How will Illinois' high court rule on pension reform?". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
4. "Election Vote Totals Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
5. ^ "Mary Jane Theis, Supreme Court Justice First District". Illinois Courts. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
6. "1971 - 1996 Passing the Gavel: A History of the Illinois Judges Association" (PDF). Illinois Judges Association. pp. 17 and 24. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
7. "JUSTICE MARY JANE THEIS TO BECOME NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT" (PDF). Illinois Courts. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
8. "Illinois judicial elections, 2012". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
9. "Bring some order to the court: Endorsements for Cook County judges". Chicago Tribune. October 21, 2012.
10. "Mary Jane Theis". VoteSmart.org.
11. Kapos, Shia (September 13, 2022). "Anne Burke turns the page". POLITICO. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
12. ^ "Justice Mary Jane Theis". Loyola University Chicago. Retrieved May 8, 2016.

External links

• "Mary Jane Theis, Supreme Court Justice First District". Illinois Courts. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27.
• "Justice Mary Jane Theis". Loyola University Chicago.

v t e Statewide political officials of Illinois
U.S. senators	Dick Durbin Tammy Duckworth
State government	J. B. Pritzker, Governor Juliana Stratton, Lieutenant Governor Alexi Giannoulias, Secretary of State Kwame Raoul, Attorney General Mike Frerichs, Treasurer Susana Mendoza, Comptroller
Senate	Don Harmon, President Bill Cunningham, President pro tempore Kimberly Lightford, Majority Leader John Curran, Minority Leader
House	Emanuel Chris Welch, Speaker Jehan Gordon-Booth, Speaker pro tempore Robyn Gabel, Majority Leader Tony McCombie, Minority Leader
Supreme Court	Mary Theis, Chief Justice Joy Cunningham P. Scott Neville Jr. Elizabeth Rochford Mary K. O'Brien Lisa Holder White David K. Overstreet

• 1949 births
• Living people
• 21st-century American judges
• 21st-century American women judges
• Chief justices of the Illinois Supreme Court
• Illinois Democrats
• Illinois state court judges
• Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court
• Lawyers from Chicago
• Loyola University Chicago alumni
• Public defenders
• University of San Francisco School of Law alumni
• Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States