Former Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans has been appointed to serve as a justice for an Illinois appeals court, securing a prestigious judgeship nearly a year after he was unseated as the top Cook County jurist.
The Illinois Supreme Court announced Evans’ appointment to the 1st District Appellate Court in a news release on Thursday. He will fill a vacancy left by Justice Terrence Lavin, who retired in March. Evans, 83, would be 85 when the two-year appointment concludes in August 2028.
“My career has been dedicated to fairness, impartiality, and public service,” Evans said in a statement. “I look forward to bringing those values, together with decades of judicial experience and leadership, to the important work of the appellate court.”
Evans led the Cook County judiciary for 24 years, shaping courthouse policy and procedures as the county’s first Black chief judge. In a surprise development, though, he lost an election to current Chief Judge Charles Beach, outvoted by his fellow judges in September 2025.
Evans’ historic eight terms as the first Black chief judge saw the county through reforms, changes and upheavals, including the elimination of cash bail and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Evans, who has served as a judge since 1992, was previously alderman of the city’s 4th Ward, an ally of the four mayors he served under, but especially Mayor Harold Washington. After Washington’s sudden death in 1987, Evans ran unsuccessfully to succeed him — both to finish Washington’s unexpired mayoral term and in the 1989 special election. He lost to Richard M. Daley.
In its release, the Illinois high court noted Evans’ work establishing the county’s restorative justice courts, which handle some low-level cases outside the traditional courtroom in the hopes of rehabilitating defendants.
“Judge Evans has a reputation as a hard worker who spent nearly a quarter century serving the public as Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County,” the release said. “That experience leading hundreds of judges means he understands the importance of excellent judicial service and makes him a valuable addition to the appellate court.”
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