First Asian-American judge in Illinois retires

Editor's note: Obviously, the families of  Alice R. Gore, a 99 year old disabled ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, who had her wealth, health and gold teeth taken from her and Mrs. Cefalu who had her golden years stolen  would differ from the glowing kudos by Judge Kawamoto's fellow conspirators. This Shark would be negligent not mentioning the many complaints made concerning the conduct of Judge Kawamoto to the FEDs.   Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

August 26, 2013

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First Asian-American judge in Illinois retires

Lynne Kawamoto

By Mary Kate Malone 
Law Bulletin staff writer

The first Asian-American judge to serve in an Illinois state court has retired after a 22-year career on the bench.

Lynne Kawamoto was appointed as a Cook County associate judge in 1991, after the Asian American Bar Association conducted a study that found there were no Asian-American judges in state court.

Kawamoto submitted her name to be considered for an associate judge position, and the circuit judges selected her.

“I felt it was a responsibility, not only to all the citizens of Cook County and the state, in a general sense, but also (to be) a role model in the Asian-American community, to show that these positions are available and open to everyone,” said Kawamoto, 63.

The circuit judges reappointed Kawamoto five times to four-year terms, most recently in 2011. Her last day was Aug. 7.

Kawamoto retired on her late mother’s birthday. Her first day as a judge was Feb. 1, 1991 — her late father’s birthday.

Kawamoto’s parents met each other in an Arizona internment camp during World War II and both moved to Chicago afterward. They eventually married and had three children.

“They came from nothing — just what they had in their suitcase from the camps,” said Kawamoto, the oldest of those three children.

Kawamoto attended North Park University, graduating in 1972, and worked as a teacher in Chicago Public Schools. In 1977, she enrolled at DePaul University College of Law, taking classes at night while teaching during the day.

She graduated in 1981 and started working in the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, handling cases in a variety of divisions, including working as one of the first female gang-crimes prosecutors.

After being appointed to the bench at age 40, she worked briefly in the 1st Municipal District, handling traffic cases, before spending eight years on juvenile cases.

She was then assigned to the Probate Division, where she remained until her retirement.

“She worked so hard, she made us look bad,” said Circuit Judge James G. Riley, supervising judge of the division. “There’s not a lazy bone in the woman’s body.”

Kawamoto handled adult guardianship cases, which concern adults with developmental disabilities who need a guardian to help manage their money and affairs and protect them from exploitation.

“Handling an adult guardianship call is, in some respects, like being a social worker,” said Circuit JudgeMary Ellen Coghlan, who also works in the Probate Division. “She has that compassionate part of her personality that she really took to it.”

Kawamoto said she worked hard to be fully prepared for every hearing, refreshing herself on the cases to avoid having to “rehash” previous developments in the case with the lawyers.

Riley would frequently see Kawamoto walk from her office to her courtroom in the mornings “and she literally would have 5 to 6 inches of material in her hands,” he said.

The cases in Kawamoto’s courtroom presented unique challenges because of the litigants’ vulnerability, said Ray J. Koenig III, managing member of Clark, Hill PLC’s Chicago office, who frequently appeared before Kawamoto.

“It was wonderful to watch her develop a real, genuine fondness and care for these adult disabled individuals who she considered her wards, and go above and beyond to work with the attorneys to figure out what was best for them,” Koenig said.

He recalled one case when Kawamoto had to tell a woman with disabilities that she could not return home because she needed to be placed somewhere with supervision.

“The look of pain on Judge Kawamoto’s face was so real, because she knew what this meant to this woman,” Koenig said.

Kawamoto plans to move to Texas with her husband at the end of this month to spend more time with their daughter and her family.

“I’ve just been very fortunate and humbled by my appointment and the ability to serve as an associate judge … It was a great honor to serve all those years,” she said.

 

KawamotoDragon.com