Illinois Supreme Court Appoints Hon. Neil Cohen as At-Large Circuit Judge of Cook County

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the appointment of Judge Neil H. Cohen as an at-Large Cook County Circuit Judge.  

Judge Cohen was appointed to fill the At-Large vacancy created by the appointment of the Honorable Raymond W. Mitchell to the First District Appellate Court. The appointment is effective September 8, 2022, and will conclude December 2, 2024, following the November 2024 general election. 

“Judge Cohen has served well as an Associate Judge and earned the opportunity to become a Circuit Judge,” Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said. “He has been very active in judicial education through the Illinois Judicial College, and we look forward to his continued service to the Judicial Branch and the people of Cook County.”  

Judge Cohen has served as an Associate Judge in Cook County since 2009 and has been in the Chancery Division since 2011. He previously spent over 20 years in private practice, including time as a sole practitioner at the Law Offices of Neil H. Cohen, and had worked for over 10 years at the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. 

Judge Cohen has served on a number of Committees of the Illinois Supreme Court, including the Illinois Judicial College where he is a board member of the Committee on Judicial Education. He was previously on the Executive Committee of the Illinois Judicial Conference and was the Chair of the Illinois Supreme Court's Historic Preservation Commission’s ‘History on Trial’ Program. 

Judge Cohen earned his Bachelor of Arts from American University and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law. 

His professional associations include the Illinois Judicial Association, where he is a past board member, the Jewish Judges Association, where he is a current board member, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Juvenile Justice Leadership Council, and the Decalogue Society, where he was a Distinguished Service Award Recipient in 2022.