JUDGE DOROTHY JONES RETIRES FROM CIRCUIT COURT

    Judge Dorothy Jones of the Cook County Circuit Court and an Austin resident last week sent a letter to Chief Judge Timothy Evans.  She states that family responsibilities and the health of her mother require her to resign from the bench, effective immediately.
    Judge Jones tells THE VOICE that her 89-year-old mother suffered a series of debilitating strokes in August followed by multiple surgeries. She was caring for a 6-year-old foster child at the time. Judge Jones has taken over raising the child and she says the job of parenting a young boy places great demands on her, despite her sister joining her from Texas to assist.
    Judge Jones was originally elected from a judicial subcircuit on Chicago’s West Side and has been retained in subsequent election cycles, winning countywide over the past 20 years. Before attending law school, Jones taught at Frederick Douglass Junior High School. She earned her law degree and worked for the Cook County Public Defender’s Office before being elected to the Circuit Court.
    Judge Jones was assigned to Criminal Court at Harrison & Kedzie and most recently sat in Pro Se Court. She was honored for Outstanding Public Service by THE VOICE Newspapers at last June’s West Side Community-Builders Awards Luncheon.