11-7-11; Last week, the acting Administrative Director of the Illinois Courts declares the appointment of a new Illinois Associate Judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit

The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts announced last week Workers’ Compensation Commission Arbitrator Jeffery E. Tobin received a majority of the votes cast by the circuit judges in the Seventh Judicial Circuit and was declared to be appointed to the office of associate judge. He will move to the new position very shortly.

Mr. Tobin received his undergraduate degree in 1983 from Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois and his Juris Doctor in 1987 from Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan.

In our view, Sangamon County’s gain is the IWCC’s loss—the lawyers and staff of KC&A extend our congratulations to Judge Tobin and wish him all the best. We didn’t get every ruling we wanted from him (and neither did anyone else) but he was always quiet, hard-working and knowledgeable about the challenging aspects of our law. We hope other Arbitrators will be considered to move up to the Circuit Courts and this appointment signals a trend away from the bias sometimes demonstrated by other attorneys in different fields of litigation who don’t understand the depth of judicial acumen, experience and legal research needed to be a solid Arbitrator or Commissioner.