Nadine Jean Wichern: In her own words

Nadine Jean Wichern is a candidate for the 20th Subcircuit vacancy converted from the Associate Judgeship of Elizabeth M. Budzinski. Her punch number is 164.

My name is Nadine Jean Wichern and I am a candidate for Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County from the 20th Subcircuit, which includes portions of the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, North Center, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Andersonville, Uptown, and Edgewater. I have been rated “Recommended” or “Qualified” by 15 bar associations and endorsed by Personal PAC.

My interest in the law was sparked by seeing my parents suffer through a mortgage foreclosure on my childhood home and my mother having to file for bankruptcy after my father’s death in my freshman year of high school. My brother, who had Down Syndrome, passed away when he was four, and I was two, years old, and my mother passed away during my first year of law school, leaving me as the only member of my immediate family at the age of 23. These experiences have given me empathy for the human condition and made me strive to do justice for everyday people.

I am a first-generation college and law school graduate, and have devoted my entire 23-year legal career to public service. After graduating near the top of my law school class, I had the honor of clerking for Judge William J. Bauer on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. I then joined the Illinois Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Attorney General. While there, I was selected by the National Association of Attorneys General for a Fellowship before the United States Supreme Court.

I later was an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the City of Chicago’s Department of Law, before returning to the Attorney General’s Office as a supervisor in 2011. Since 2015, I have served as Chief of the Civil Appeals Division in that Office. As Division Chief, I lead 24 attorneys who litigate all appeals for the State and its officials and employees, which cover diverse areas of law, including constitutional issues. I also advise the Office’s trial attorneys, general counsels of state agencies, and Solicitor General on litigation strategies.

I taught legal writing courses at local law schools for 11 years. I have presented at continuing legal education programs and authored legal treatises, including chapters of Illinois Civil Appeals: State and Federal (IICLE). I am on the DePaul Moot Court Alumni Board and a Director for the Appellate Lawyers Association. I also am Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Law and Debate Club, through which I help educate high school students about the legal system; on the Mentorship Committee for the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois; and mentor law students through the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, Chicago Bar Association, and The Appellate Project. The Illinois Governor has appointed me to the Uniform Law Commission for a term. And in 2023, I received a Women In Law Award from the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin / Chicago Lawyer Magazine for being a female leader in the legal community.

Before law school, I earned a B.A. in political science and history, with a minor in English, from Indiana University. While in college, I played the trombone in the marching and basketball bands. I was born in Anaheim, California, where I lived until I left for college. And I have lived within what constitutes the 20th Subcircuit since moving to Chicago 26 years ago.

I view becoming a judge as a natural extension of the public service that I have been doing for more than two decades. If I have the honor of being elected, I will listen to all sides of a case with an open mind, fully research the applicable law, decide cases without personal or political agenda, and clearly explain the reasons for my decisions. And I will bring my proven work ethic and even temperament to the position.

Thank you so much to Jack Leyhane for this opportunity to share information about my candidacy with you. You can learn more about me at www.nadine4judge.com. If you reside in the 20th Subcircuit, I humbly ask for your vote. Please punch #164 on the Democratic ballot for the March 19, 2024 primary election.

Best to you all,
Nadine Jean Wichern