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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE LIFE AND WORK OF COOK COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE ABISHI C. (A.C.) CUNNINGHAM, JR.
WHEREAS, the Honorable Abishi C. (A.C.) Cunningham, Jr. was born in West Virginia. His father, Abishi C. Cunningham, Sr. was the first African-American student to attend and graduate from the University of Iowa Law School. Judge Cunninghas was raised in West Virginia along with his sister, Marjorie Laws, who is also a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. After graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor of Science in 1969 and from Northwestern University School of Law with a Juris Doctorate in 1972, Judge Cunningham became a member of the Illinois Bar; and
WHEREAS, Judge Cunningham first worked as legal advisor to the Illinois State Superintendent of Public Instruction. One year later, he joined the Cook County State's Attorney's office as a felony trial assistant. Judge Cunningham subsequently served as Chief of the Vertical Prosecutions Unit; and
WHEREAS, after leaving the State's Attorney's office in 1976, Judge Cunningham joined the Criminal Defense Consortium of Cook County as a Supervisor of that organization's Lawndale office. Judge Cunningham subsequently rejoined the Office of the Cook County State's Attorney, where he supervised 40 Assistant States Attorneys responsible for prosecuting all criminal misdemeanor and quasi-criminal cases in the City of Chicago, as well as advising the office on legislative issues; and
WHEREAS, Judge Cunningham joined the Cook County Circuit Court bench in 1986. He served as a judge until 2009. During his time on the bench, he presided over thousands of bench trials, hundreds of jury trials, and was appointed by the Chief Judge to mentor newly appointed and elected judges. His last judicial assignment was in the Law Division, where he presided over an array of civil matters; and
WHEREAS, on April 1, 2009, after being appointed by then County Board President, Todd Stroger, Judge Cunningh...
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