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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF JUDGE MICHAEL P. TOOMIN UPON HIS RETIREMENT
WHEREAS, Judge Michael P. Toomin is celebrated for his many professional accomplishments over his over 40 year career as a Marine, Judge, teacher, policy advisor, and author; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin served in the United States Marine Corps from 1956 to 1958; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin received a B.A. from Northwestern University in 1962 and a J.D. from DePaul University in 1967; and
WHEREAS, after graduation, Judge Toomin initially served as felony trial counsel in the Public Defender’s Office and then specialized in criminal defense in Federal and State Courts; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin was appointed an Associate Judge in in 1980 where he earned the affectionate and funny nickname of the “Toominator;”and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin was successfully elected as a Circuit Judge in 1984 and assigned to the division of criminal court at 26th & California. In 1994 he was appointed as a Supervising Judge and was later named acting Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division; and
WHEREAS, in 2008, Judge Toomin received an interim appointment as Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court; and
WHEREAS, in December 2010, Judge Toomin was appointed Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Justice Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, one of the largest juvenile court systems in the nation. There, he administered and supervised over 15 judges presiding over delinquency matters throughout the County for the next decade; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin was tapped for his experience and asked to serve on number statewide task forces to review and reform capital punishment, criminal codes, probation court, judicial discipline, and appellate court; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin was named Chair of the Illinois Supreme Court's Special Committee on Capital Cases, after serving on the panel for more than a decade. His work included implementing new rules for capital punishment trials and creating training programs and qualification standards handling death penalty cases. In 2004, Judge Toomin authored, "Capital Punishment Reform and the Illinois Supreme Court: At the Forefront of Change," 92 Ill. B.J. 642 (December 2004); and
WHEREAS, in 2004, Judge Toomin was selected to serve as a Commissioner of the CLEAR Initiative to review and reform the Illinois Criminal Code. From his service on the Commission, he authored, "Second Degree Murder and Attempted Murder: CLEAR's Efforts to Maneuver the Slippery Slope," 41 J. Marshall L.Rev. 659 (2008); and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin was a member of the Illinois Senate Democratic Criminal Justice Task Force; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin served as Chair of the Committee on Criminal Law and Probation of the Illinois Judicial Conference; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin served as vice-chair of the Cook County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; and
WHEREAS, from 2005 to 2008, Judge Toomin was a member of the Illinois Courts Commission, a tribunal created to preside over matters involving judicial discipline; and
WHEREAS, in 2010, Judge Toomin was appointed to the Board of Commissioners of the State Appellate Defender's Office; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin was also a prolific and knowledgeable legal professor who taught and mentored students for 20 years. From 1983 to 2000, Judge Toomin was an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University School of Law, teaching trial advocacy. In 1996 and 1997, Judge Toomin served on the faculty of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. In 2002 and 2003, Judge Toomin taught trial advocacy at Emory University; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin additionally chaired or participated in numerous conferences and seminars relating to death penalty litigation, jury trial management, criminal procedure, and forensic DNA evidence offered by the Illinois Judicial Conference, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, and the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin continues to train the next generation of law enforcement and has lectured courses for aspiring detectives at the Chicago Police Academy; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin’s prestigious judicial career has included presiding over more than 630 murder cases, more than 400 of which were jury trials; and
WHEREAS, Judge Toomin was the recipient of the 2009 DePaul University College of Law Award for Outstanding Service to the Profession demonstrated outstanding service to the legal profession; and
WHEREAS, when reflecting on his life of accomplishment, he remarked, “All told, life has been pretty good to me.”
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners do hereby extend our sincere and grateful appreciation to Judge Michael P. Judge Toomin for his four decades of service as a Cook County Judge, and our best wishes to him for continued success, happiness, and good health in the years to come; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this text be spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body, and a suitable copy of same be tendered to Judge Michael P. Judge Toomin.end