CBA Record July-August 2026

Leadership Profiles

New Cook County Judicial Leadership: Get to Know Chief Judge Charles Beach II By Clare McMahon

T he Cook County Judiciary has elected to embrace change. After 24 years of leadership by Judge Timothy Evans, Cook County judges elected Charles Beach II as their new Chief Judge. Chief Judge Beach ran on a platform of “removing the black box” to create more transparency and foster communication in the judiciary and throughout Cook County. His platform embodied his leadership philosophy, and his career path now focuses on expanding and modernizing court systems through out the county. Background In less than 10 years, Chief Judge Beach transitioned from a newly appointed judge to the leader of one of the coun try’s largest court systems. As impressive as this rise is, he is fast to credit others for his success. Affable and approachable, Chief Judge Beach enjoys telling stories to highlight views and elicit connections and differ ent perspectives. His stories illustrate his sense of purpose, his Midwestern prac ticality, and his respect for the judges whose work he facilitates. He grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and worked in a machine shop, where his father was a supervisor. He credits much of his leadership style to his father’s approach, which embodied respect for the machinists on the factory floor. He describes his father’s management style as walking the factory floor every day and learning from the machinists them

Be involved in your community and bar organizations; lead when you are provided the opportunity; and don’t just come with a problem, come with a solution. selves what they needed for success and stability. Chief Judge Beach’s career was also shaped by his business acumen and his desire to serve the community. Upon graduating from DePaul University Col lege of Law, he did not intend to practice law. Instead, he focused on opening a business to export vintage clothing over seas. The operation was so successful that he was able to sell it. Seeking a new direc tion, he credits his then-girlfriend, now wife, with encouraging him to pursue litigation, where he thrived. He started out in the public defend er’s office and subsequently clerked for Appellate Court Justice Judith Koehler. He later began to work in private practice and eventually opened his own practice, which was a successful venture for two decades. During his time in private practice, Chief Judge Beach partnered with Judge Thomas Donnelly to create the CBA’s Pro Bono Statutory Summary Suspen sion (SSS) Program. For those not famil iar with DUI law, SSS is an automatic, administrative driver’s license suspension

imposed by the Secretary of State, not by the criminal court. It is legally separate from any DUI prosecution or convic tion and kicks in after a DUI arrest when the driver either fails chemical testing or refuses testing under the implied-con sent law. Because of the limits on public defenders providing civil representation for the clients assigned to them, litigants who do not have the resources for private counsel can find themselves at a gross disadvantage in protecting their driver’s licenses from suspension. The CBA’s SSS program created a solution, providing training to lawyers in return for their representation of litigants in need. Chief Judge Beach co-taught free litigation classes to attorneys in the pro gram in return for them taking pro bono summary suspension cases. His partici pation in the program’s creation and his commitment to its success highlights his leadership style. Judicial Career Highlights Chief Judge Beach was appointed as an associate judge in 2017 and then was

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