Justice Thaddeus L. Wilson was assigned to the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, on February 6, 2026, by the Illinois Supreme Court. Before joining the Appellate Court, he served since August 31, 2007, on the Circuit Court of Cook County, most recently in the Chancery Division – General Section, where he presided over complex civil matters, including injunctions, class actions, declaratory judgments, business disputes, and administrative review. Earlier, he served in the Criminal Division as a supervising judge, managing administrative operations for a team of judges while maintaining his own felony trial call.
Justice Wilson earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems with a double major in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame in 1989, followed by his Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1994. Before entering the judiciary, he practiced extensively in personal injury, criminal defense, civil rights, bankruptcy, foreclosure, and election law, representing corporations, banks, municipalities, insurance companies, and individuals. He also served as an arbitrator for the Cook County Mandatory Arbitration Program and as a hearing officer for the Chicago Board of Elections.
Throughout his judicial career, Justice Wilson has been deeply involved in statewide court administration and modernization. He currently serves on the Illinois Supreme Court e‑Business Policy Advisory Board, the Committee on Illinois Evidence, and the Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Board. His work has focused on improving data systems, technology integration, and caseflow management across Illinois courts. He served as president of the Illinois Judicial Council (2020-2021) and sits on the Northern University College of Law Board of Visitors.
Justice Wilson has presided over several high‑profile and historically significant cases. These include the first terrorism case tried in Cook County under Illinois’ state terrorism statutes (2014), the first gavel‑to‑gavel televised trial in Cook County (2015), the televised trial for the gang retaliation murder of a 9-year-old child lured into a Chicago alley (2019), and a landmark environmental enforcement case that resulted in a multimillion‑dollar settlement and injunctive relief (2025).
An ASTAR Fellow in Advanced Science and Technology, Justice Wilson has also been a leader in judicial education. He has taught Criminal Procedure and Election Law as an adjunct professor at The John Marshall Law School (now UIC School of Law). He has also presented widely on digital evidence, ethics, media coverage, and the role of technology in the courts. His CLE presentations include programs for the Illinois Judicial Education Conference, the Cook County Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, various law schools, and national legal organizations. He regularly presents as a panelist or invited speaker on the emerging use of artificial intelligence in the legal profession and the courts.
Justice Wilson has been recognized with numerous awards for judicial service, leadership, and community engagement.