Search the Internet          Tips

Illinois gets an Indian American judge

Indian American Rena Marie Van Tine has been selected as an associate judge on the bench of the Cook county circuit court in Illinois.

The Cook county circuit court with approximately 400 judges is said to be one of the largest courts in the country. Van Tine was one of 11 new judges who were selected by serving circuit court judges, who chose them from 22 finalists.

Van Tine, 39, who was born in Bangalore, is now special counsel to Illinois State Comptroller Dan Hynes. From 1987 to 1999, she was an assistant state attorney in the Cook county state attorney's office. She did her BA from Oakland University, Michigan, and her JD from the New York Law School.

"It is a dream come true," Van Tine told India Abroad, adding that she was indebted to her family's "prayer network" led by her mother.

She said the weeks preceding the selection had been hectic, where she was required to meet 258 circuit court judges as part of the screening process. "I met as many as 30 judges a day all over Chicago and the suburbs," she said.

Van Tine has handled both criminal and civil cases. She has also represented the Cook county hospital and government hospitals in medical litigation. In the criminal division, she has worked in felony cases, including murders, rapes, drug cases, armed robberies and hate crimes.

Van Tine, who will be sworn in on June 12, said she was lucky to have garnered a wide range of litigation experience, which, along with "a minority perspective", she hoped would stand her in good stead on the bench.

Van Tine is associated with a number of community organizations, including the Indo-American Democratic Organization, the state attorney's Asian American advisory council (of which she is the chair), the Indo-American Centre and the Asian Human Services. She has won the Asian American Bar Association award for outstanding leadership and service as well as appreciation awards from the IADO and the Cook county state attorney's office.

Van Tine considers her selection as a judge a natural extension of her career in public service. "I like people and I feel I can make a difference," she said. Like most associate judges, she would probably start with serving in the traffic court, she said.

Associate judges, who receive an annual salary of $123,182, are assigned many of the same duties as publicly elected circuit court judges, although they must receive special clearance to handle felony cases. Van Tine lives in Chicago with her husband, Matthew, who is an attorney, and her four-year-old daughter, Cristen.

Her father is a retired physician and her mother was dean of library services at Oakland University. Her hobbies include biking, running and swimming. "Before my daughter was born, I used to participate in triathlons every summer," she said.

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report