Joy V. Cunningham

Professional career

• Joy Virginia Cunningham is an American judge and Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, serving in the First District since December 1, 2022
• Joined the Illinois Supreme Court on September 12, 2022, to succeed retiring Chief Justice Anne M. Burke
• She was elected Justice of the Illinois First District Appellate Court in 2006, retained by voters in 2016, and served until her Supreme Court appointment
• Judge, Cook County Circuit Court (1996–2000)
• Law clerk to First District Appellate Court Justice Glenn T. Johnson
• Official site: Illinois Courts – Justice Joy V. Cunningham Office of the Illinois Courts

Education

Additional information

• The second Black woman appointed to the court in 2022 and one of three Black justices serving simultaneously.
• Cunningham has held leadership roles in the Chicago Bar Association (President 2004–2005, first African American woman to lead the nation’s largest municipal bar association).
• Born 1951.
• She is admitted to the Illinois, New York, Federal, and Federal Trial Bars
• Her career spans judicial service, legal practice, healthcare leadership, and community service.