Cynthia Y. Cobbs

Cynthia Y. Cobbs

Committed to access to the courts and the fair administration of justice, Justice Cynthia Y. Cobbs has served as justice on the Illinois Appellate Court since 2015. Justice Cobbs began her judicial career in 2011 as a trial judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County. But her commitment to fairness and access to justice began long before she became a judge.

In March 2002, Justice Cobbs was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court as the first woman and first African American to serveas Director of the Illinois Courts. As the eighth-ranking constitutional officer in the judicial branch, then Director Cobbs assisted the Supreme Court in supervising and overseeing the work of the Illinois courts.

As a lawyer, Justice Cobbs served as the Senior Judicial Law Clerk to Justice Charles E. Freeman, the first African American to serveas a justice on the Illinois Supreme Court. Justice Cobbs had also clerked for Justice Freeman on the Appellate Court, the same court on which she now serves as a justice.

Before becoming a lawyer, Justice Cobbs worked as a social worker, providing for children alleged to have been victims of physical and sexual abuse and neglect. Justice Cobbs’ work as a clinician, which required her frequent appearance in the Maryland courts advocating for the protection of the children she served, was the genesis for her legal career.

A proponent of public service, Justice Cobbs currently serves on the boards of South Suburban PADS and the Illinois Judges Association. She previously served as president of the Illinois Judicial Council, as a trustee on the Supreme Court Judicial Education College Board and as a member of the Lawyers Lend a Hand to Youth board. She frequently mentors young attorneys seeking to one day become members of the judiciary. Justice Cobbs holds a B.A. (Sociology) from Morgan State University, a master’s of Social Work from the University of Maryland, and a Juris Doctorate from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.