Joy Cunningham facts for kids

Joy Virginia Cunningham (born in 1951) is an American lawyer from Illinois. She is currently a justice on the Illinois Supreme Court. Before this, she was a justice on the Illinois First District Appellate Court from 2016 to 2022. Interestingly, before becoming a lawyer, she worked as a nurse. Later, she became a legal advisor for several university hospitals.

Early Life and Education

Joy Cunningham grew up in New York. In 1975, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the City College of New York. This degree is often called a BS. After working as a nurse, she decided to study law. She then went to the John Marshall Law School. In 1982, she received her Juris Doctor degree, which is a law degree.

Career Journey

Joy Cunningham's legal career began in 1982. She worked as an assistant attorney general for the state of Illinois. An attorney general is the chief legal officer of a state. After that, she worked for Justice Glenn T. Johnson. She was his law clerk, helping him with legal research.

Later, she spent ten years at Loyola University Chicago. She was a senior lawyer there, helping with legal matters for their healthcare system. In 1996, she became a judge in the Cook County Circuit Court. She worked in the civil trial division, handling cases between people or organizations.

From 2000, she served as a senior vice president at Northwestern Memorial Healthcare. In this role, she was the main legal advisor for the company. In 2006, she was elected as a justice for the First District Appellate Court. She started this job in December of that year. Voters chose to keep her in this role in 2016.

Becoming an Illinois Supreme Court Justice

In 2012, Joy Cunningham tried to become a justice on the Illinois Supreme Court. She wanted to fill a seat left open by Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald. However, she did not win the primary election.

On September 12, 2022, she was chosen to join the Illinois Supreme Court. She took the place of Chief Justice Anne M. Burke, who was retiring. Her term officially began on December 1, 2022. With this appointment, Joy Cunningham made history. She became the second Black woman appointed to the court in 2022. As of 2022, she is one of three Black people serving on the court at the same time.

Community Involvement

Joy Cunningham is part of many important groups. She is on the Board of Trustees for Loyola University Health System. She also serves on the Chicago Bar Association's Strategic Planning Committee. This committee helps plan for the future of the legal community.

She is also on the Board of Directors for the James R. Jordan Foundation. Since 2010, she has been the Chair of the Associate Commissioners. This group works with the Illinois Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission. From 2004 to 2005, she was the president of the Chicago Bar Association. She was the first Black woman ever elected to this position.

Personal Life

Joy Cunningham is a member of the Democratic Party.