Biography of William Cousins, Jr.

Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court WILLIAM COUSINS, JR., 72, presiding judge of the Illinois Appellate Court's 1st District, Second Division, brings to the bench a rich background as an attorney, law-maker, civic leader and military veteran. From humble origins in the South, his family settled in Chicago and he ultimately was elected to three terms as Alderman of Chicago's 8th Ward, then to the Illinois Circuit and Appellate Courts as an Independent Democrat through grass-roots, citizens' campaigns.

Justice Cousins was born October 6, 1927 in Swiftown, Mississippi. His family moved to Chicago when he was seven years old; he graduated from DuSable High School in Chicago in 1945 and from the University of Illinois in 1948 with honors in Political Science. He attended Harvard Law School where he obtained his LL.B. in 1951 and went on to serve in the United States Army from 1951 through 1953 and saw combat service in Korea where he rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant. He retired in 1976 from the United States Army Reserve Corps as Lieutenant Colonel in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps.

After returning from Korea, he became an attorney with Chicago Title & Trust Company (1953-1957); an Assistant State's Attorney of Cook County, Illinois (1957- 1961)and went into private practice (1961-1976). He was elected Alderman in 1967, re- elected twice and then won a seat on the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1976, followed by his election in 1992 to the Illinois Appellate Court.

His distinguished tenure on the Illinois Appellate Court includes service as Chairman of the Executive Committee, First Appellate District, (1997), Presiding Justice of the First District, 3rd Division, (1997), and Chair for Illinois Appellate Judges Annual Meeting (1997). He has served as a Board Member of the National Center for State Courts since 1996 and as Chair of the Judicial Council of National Bar Association (1995-1996).

Throughout his career he has been active in civic, community and religious organizations. He is past president of Chatham-Avalon Park Community Council, a founding member and former Board Member of PUSH, a former board member of the Citizens' Schools Committee, Parkway Community House, and the Chicago Area Planned Parenthood Association. He has served as Assistant Moderator and as a former member of the Executive Council of the United Church of Christ and is a Deacon at Lincoln Memorial Congregational United Church of Christ. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.

Highly honored as a judge, he has served by appointment of the Illinois Supreme Court as a member of the Executive Committee of the Illinois Judicial Conference since 1983, and the Illinois Supreme Court appointed him as Chairman of the Illinois Judicial Conference (1989-1990). He is a member and former Chairman of the Illinois Judicial Council and is a former board member of the Illinois Judges Association.

He has received numerous awards, including the William R. Ming Award from the Cook County Bar Association (1974); Edward N. Wright Award from CCBA (1968); the Bulletin Newspaper Award (1963); and Olive-Harvey College Award (1975). He received the Outstanding Judge Award in 1980 and 1989 from the John Marshall Black Law Students' Association and received the Thurgood Marshall Award from IIT/Chicago-Kent Black Law Students' Association in 1985.

Justice Cousins received the Kenneth E. Wilson Award from the Illinois Judicial Council in 1992 and the 1995 Monarch Statesmanship Award from the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (XI NU Omega Chapter). He was inducted into the DuSable High School Hall of Fame in 1985, the Hall of Fame of the National Bar Association in 1994, and the Hall of Fame of the Cook County Bar Association in 1997. Also, in 1997, he received the Irma Kingeley Johnson Distinguished Service Award from the Chicago Friends of the Amistad Research Center.

In June, 1998, he received the Earl Burrus Dickerson Award from the Chicago Bar Association. In July, 1999 he received the Raymond Pace Alexander Award from the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association. Justice Cousins is a member of the National, American, Illinois State, Chicago, and Cook County Bar Associations and the American Judicature Society. In October, 1999, he received the Mary Herrick Lifetime Achievement Award as a DuSable Alumnus who has dedicated his life to Justice, American Jurisprudence, and his community.

Cousins for Justice!
407 South Dearborn, Suite 1725, Chicago, Illinois 60605
Phone: 312.583.9903