The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the assignment of Cook County Circuit Judge Clare J. Quish to the First District Appellate Court.
Judge Quish is being assigned to fill the vacancy created by the reassignment of Justice LeRoy K. Martin Jr. to the vacancy created by the death of Justice Thomas Hoffman. Judge Quish will be assigned all matters previously assigned to Justice Hoffman. The assignment is effective Sept. 2, 2025, and will continue until further order of the Court. Justice Martin will retain the cases currently assigned to him and his reassignment is effective until Dec. 7, 2026.
“Judge Quish has transitioned from being an excellent appellate attorney to becoming an excellent circuit court judge,” Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis said. “Her deep knowledge of the law, temperament and dedication will be tremendous assets on the appellate court.”
Judge Quish has been a Cook County Circuit Judge since her appointment in 2016. She was elected to that position in 2018 and retained in 2024. She currently serves in the Chancery Division and previously served in the First Municipal District and Traffic Division.
“I am tremendously honored by this assignment and grateful to the justices of the Illinois Supreme Court for the confidence they have shown in me,” Judge Quish said.
Before joining the bench, Judge Quish was a senior associate and then partner with the law firm of Schuyler, Roche & Crisham, P.C. There she served as lead counsel in numerous appellate court cases in the Illinois Supreme Court, Illinois Appellate Court, and United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on a wide range of civil litigation issues on behalf of businesses, professionals and insurers. She previously served as a law clerk for the Illinois Appellate Court, First District and Adjunct Professor of Appellate Advocacy at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Judge Quish earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University, majoring in Political Science. She earned her Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, graduating cum laude and serving as Executive Publications Editor for the Law Journal.
Judge Quish serves as a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee, the Illinois Supreme Court Judicial College Committee on Circuit Court Clerk Education and the Illinois Supreme Court Access to Justice Rules and Policy Review Subcommittee.
Her professional affiliations include the Illinois Judges Association, where she served as a member of the Board of Directors and received the Presidential Award in 2024. She served as president of the Appellate Lawyers Association from 2018-2019 and is also a member of the Chicago Inn of Court.
Judge Quish is a frequent lecturer and presenter, including teaching at the New Judges Seminar and on behalf of the Appellate Lawyers Association. She also planned and participated in the Illinois Judges Association and Illinois State Bar Association’s joint seminars as co-chair of the IJA’s Educational Programming Committee.