CBA Record January-February 2023

Chief Justice Anne M. Burke (ret.) “Justice Is Not a Place, It’s a Service”

A nne M. Burke embarked on her second career as a lawyer to become a better advocate for vul nerable people. Little did she realize at the time, but she would become an advocate for the entire judicial system. As Chief Justice Burke closed that chapter of her career and readied herself to embark on new adventures, her ascent to Chief Jus tice of the Illinois Supreme Court merits review and applause. Serving as Chief Justice may be one of Burke’s most public roles, but it is only one of many hats she has worn during her lifetime. Before anything else, she is a devoted wife and proud mother of four children. Her experiences as a wife and mother, along with her personal interests, have shaped and strongly influenced her professional career. At the suggestion of a high school teacher, Burke worked as a recreation teacher. She enrolled in college but dropped out after her school moved to the suburbs. While her higher education aspi rations took a back seat to reality, Burke’s job served as the foundation for her future work, advocacy, and success. Her time as a teacher taught her the importance of collaboration and the power of listening. As the self-dubbed team coach for her students, Burke taught her students sport, and more significantly, to show kindness to each other. While Burke’s career has taken many directions, she has often highlighted children and child-centric issues. For example, utilizing her experience as a gym teacher, she recognized a need, organized, and then persuaded Eunice Kennedy Shriver to fund and support the Special Olympics. In existence now for over 50 years, the Special Olympics continues to provide year-round sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Just as Burke used her platform as a teacher to advocate for students, as a jus

tice and most recently as Chief Justice, she used her position and influence to advocate for justice for all. Burke has seized opportunities to edu cate the public, those in the legal system as well as her peers. For example, she took the other Illinois Supreme Court justices to juvenile court. They spent an entire day at the Cook County juvenile courthouse listening to judges and court partners in both the Child Protection and Delinquency Divisions. They also spent time in the Juvenile Detention Center. She ensured that when the Court received juvenile cases, the justices had that experi ence in their heads for reference. Shortly after assuming the position of Chief Justice, the world was confronted with the Covid-19 pandemic. Burke did not let the unknown stop justice. Instead, as “team coach,” she encouraged leaders from the Illinois judiciary, legal administrative staff, and justice partners to participate in weekly leadership calls. This team shared ideas and experiences. During these calls, she listened to the needs and obstacles different jurisdictions and departments faced. This extensive collaboration and ongoing communica tion gave Burke the perspective and tools to help the Illinois court system pivot in its approach. Rather than halt justice, she devised a means to allow the court system to continue. “The pandemic and its chal lenges were not what we wanted, but for the court system, it was the challenge we needed.” Forced to adopt and utilize new technologies, the court system became more accessible and cost effective. Furthermore, Burke sought out ways to achieve her original goals as Chief Justice. For instance, she intended to tour each judicial circuit; however, with lockdowns and positivity rates unknown, Burke decided to conduct a “Virtual Listening Tour.” She conducted 10 such tours covering all five districts. During these Zoom calls, Burke listened to the

needs of the entire state, thereby increas ing her knowledge base and prompt ing necessary change. From her tour, it become more apparent that the phrase “access to justice” means different things in different areas. Several counties in Illi nois have no lawyers at all, showcasing a need for lawyers in rural areas. In other instances, the worry is whether an attor ney is available for bond hearings. While technology undeniably increased access to justice for some, Burke cautions that vir tual platforms will not entirely replace the need for in-person proceedings because courts are service oriented. Always an optimist, Burke acknowl edges that in the past 10 to 12 years, there has been quite a bit of growth and change in the legal system. For example, in addi tion to technological advances, the judi ciary is more diverse; more services and support are available for self-represented litigants; and a statewide pretrial program exist. However, Burke urges judges, attor neys, and court partners to not become complacent, because “Everything we do is unacceptable when you finish it because it’s never finished. Everything needs to be improved.” She observes that bar associations need to continue to serve as a sounding board for ideas and suggestions to improve the legal profession, to increase profession alism, and to devise ways to improve access to legal services. For example, self represented litigants can always benefit from additional assistance including more trained volunteers and local libraries with computers they can utilize. Furthermore,

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