Blog Post

Mary Ann G. McMorrow worked for the Riordan & Linklater general practice law firm before joining the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in 1955, there she became the first woman to prosecute major felony cases. For several years she practiced civil law from her home. She won the election for Cook County circuit judge in 1976, and retained that position in 1982. Three years later, she was appointed to the First District Appellate Court and was elected to the position in 1986. In 1992, McMorrow was elected to the Illinois Supreme Court, becoming the first woman to ever serve on that Court. In May of 2002, McMorrow was unanimously elected to a three-year term as Chief Justice, becoming the first woman to head any of the three branches of Illinois government. In November of 2002, she was retained for a second ten-year Supreme Court term. McMorrow retired from the Court in 2006.

Judge Mary Ann McMorrow: An Oral History