Judge Grace Dickler retires; Regina Scannicchio named Acting Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division

Press release issued late this afternoon from the Office of Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans:

The Hon. Regina Scannicchio has been named Acting Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans said.

Judge Scannicchio was first appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2011, after 23 years as a private domestic relations attorney. She was elected in 2012 and retained in 2018. After a year in traffic court, she became a judge in the Domestic Relations Division in 2012.

Judge Scannicchio replaces the Hon. Grace Dickler, who retired Friday after 11 years as Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division and a total of 34 years on the Circuit Court of Cook County bench.

“I am humbled and honored to be named the Acting Presiding Judge of the Domestic Relations Division,” said Judge Scannicchio. “I am grateful to Chief Judge Timothy Evans for this opportunity and his faith in me. I am most fortunate to have worked with and known our retiring Presiding Judge Grace Dickler for several years. It is my desire to continue with Judge Dickler’s compassion and commitment to the judges of our division and the families and children we serve.”

“I have great faith that Judge Regina Scannicchio’s years of service in the domestic relations field, both as a private attorney and as a judge, will serve her well in her new role,” Judge Evans said. “I am confident that the Domestic Relations Division will benefit under her leadership.

Judge Scannicchio is a graduate of The John Marshall Law School and DePaul University. She has served as President of the Justinian Society of Lawyers and currently serves on the Society’s Executive Committee. She also sits on the boards of the Illinois Judges Association and the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago. She is the 2022 recipient of the Judge Samuel S. Berger Award, given by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

“Chief Judge Evans has chosen an extremely qualified, intelligent, compassionate and considerate judge to lead the Domestic Relations Division,” said Judge Dickler. “I know that I leave this Division in extremely good hands and I look forward to seeing what positive programs are implemented going forward.”

Judge Evans thanked Judge Dickler for her many years of service and wished her happiness in her retirement.

“The depth and range of her experience and perspective, in addition to her practical wisdom, compassion and administrative skills, has made Grace Dickler a great judge and a great public servant,” Judge Evans said. “She will be missed.”

Recently, Judge Dickler chaired the Circuit Court of Cook County Committee on Domestic Violence Court to develop a plan to improve court access to help domestic violence victims, which includes an after-hours pilot program that started earlier this month.

Before becoming a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1988, Judge Dickler had served as an immigration judge for the U.S. Immigration Court in Chicago from 1986 to 1988 and an administrative law judge for the Illinois Human Rights Commission from 1982 to 1985. From 1981 to 1982, she was a supervising attorney for the Travelers and Immigrants Aid Society of Chicago.

Grace Dickler graduated from Northwestern University School of Law in 1978 and began her legal career at the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation.

Judge Dickler was originally elected from the north suburban 12th Subcircuit. Her retirement will create a vacancy in the newly redrawn 12th Subcircuit, the exact boundaries of which are not yet available on a map, but which I believe will run along the very northern edge of Cook County, from Northbrook to the east half of Barrington.