Crime & Law
Sanjay Tailor Is First Asian American Judge on Illinois Supreme Court, Solidifies First Majority-Minority Court
Longtime Cook County Circuit Court Judge Sanjay T. Tailor made history in January, becoming the first Asian American justice on the Illinois Supreme Court.
Now-retired former Chief Justice Mary Theis appointed Tailor to her seat. He will serve until December 2028, when Cook County voters will elect a justice to a full 10-year term.
Tailor adds to an already exceptionally diverse bench, joining four women and three other justices of color.
“This is a court that is unlike any other court,” Tailor said. “There are four women, so it’s a majority-female court, and for the first time in its history, since 1818, it is the first majority-minority court. We have four minorities of the seven justices. It is a milestone. It is a representation of the people of Illinois.”
Tailor became a judge in 2003, serving as an associate judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County until 2021. In 2022, Tailor was assigned to the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court. Tailor said he is as prepared as he can be for the job.
“I served in six divisions of the court,” Tailor said. “I don’t know if it’s a record, but I think it’s kinda close. I bring a wealth of experience that I think has prepared me as well as I can for this new role.”
A graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Tailor has also been a member of many legal and identity organizations. Tailor is the past president of the Asian American Judges Association of Illinois and the Lawyers Club of Chicago.
Before he was a judge, Tailor was involved in Democratic politics. In 1994, Tailor took a three-month leave of absence from his law firm to work as a full-time volunteer on Dawn Clark Netsch’s gubernatorial campaign. Tailor said he was inspired to get involved in politics through his love for education.
“I was not politically engaged at the time, but I was drawn to Dawn Clark Netsch’s campaign because she wanted to change the way we fund public education,” Tailor said. “I’ve always felt that education is how we can best lift people out of adversity, out of poverty and provide opportunity.”
Tailor became acquainted with other young Democrats, many of whom were members of Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century, a progressive organization launched in the early 1990s by a young JB Pritzker. Despite Netsch’s defeat, Tailor said the experience was formative.
“I made a tremendous amount of contacts,” Tailor said. “I’ve always felt that you make better friends in losing campaigns, and it has served me well.”
Tailor joins the court at a time of declining public trust in government institutions. Questions about the role of the courts and so-called judicial activism have also been prominent following contentious U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including Dobbs in 2022 and the denial of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs this year.
The role of courts is to reestablish public trust, Tailor said.
“The way I see our role is not only to decide these very important issues for society, but also, perhaps more importantly, to ensure there is a high level of public confidence in the courts,” Tailor said. “I think that the courts will hold, they have always held, and they will continue to protect the rule of law.”
Tailor said he will be running to keep his seat on the bench in 2028.
