One of the busiest felony courthouses in the nation will be led for the first time by a woman judge. Judge Erica Reddick was appointed as acting presiding judge over the Cook County Circuit Court’s Criminal Division. Her appointment was announced by Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ office on Monday, January 4, 2021. Presiding judges are initially appointed as “acting” presiding judges for an unspecified period of time so their aptness for the job can be evaluated.

Reddick worked for 20 years as a Cook County Public Defender before she was appointed a judge in 2010. She served in the child protection division and the municipal department. She is also an instructor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Judge Reddick was elected in 2012 to her first full-term as a judge. A year later she was assigned to the criminal division. She has presided over major cases in her tenure on the bench. The most recent of these was that of Shomari Legghette, convicted of killing Chicago police commander Paul Bauer in Chicago’s Loop.

The Legghette case, in which Legghette was found guilty of each of the six charges he faced (two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree murder of a peace officer, and two counts of armed violence), was based on the fact that the deceased Commander Bauer was pursuing Legghette on foot, struggled with him, and then was shot six times by the defendant. Bauer was a 31-year police department veteran. State law required Reddick to issue a life sentence if she found Legghette should have known or knew Bauer was a police officer at the time of the shooting.

“Under the law, giving due consideration to all, including the current cost of confinement, it is the sentence of this court that the defendant Shomari Legghette shall serve life in prison without the possibility of parole,” Judge Reddick said during sentencing.

As presiding judge over the Criminal Division, Reddick will announce to which courtrooms felony cases are assigned, as well as issue certificates of innocence and decide on petitions to appoint special prosecutors. She will be assigning judges in cases of multiple arrests, making appropriate notifications to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, The Sheriff of Cook County, the State’s Attorney and others. Though this seems much tamer than presiding over a criminal division courtroom, there is potential for excitement and drama here, too.

As she takes office, Reddick already has a biggie on her docket: Whether to name a special prosecutor to investigate the Jackie Wilson case. There are allegations of wrongdoing by assistant state’s attorneys who tried Wilson at his third trial. Wilson said he was tortured into confessing to the 1982 murders of two Chicago police officers. He was granted a petition for a certificate of innocence last month. He has been in prison for nearly 40 years

Of her appointment, Reddick said, “It’s a good day to see the advancement of women in leadership.” Reddick will replace Judge LeRoy K. Martin, Jr., who has moved into the Illinois appellate court.