Richard Elrod marks 20 years on bench

Colleagues and friends of Cook County Judge Richard J. Elrod gathered Aug. 1 in his Richard J. Daley Center courtroom to celebrate his 20 years on the bench and almost 50 years of service in three branches of government.

Appointed to the bench on Aug. 1, 1988, Elrod was elected to the circuit court two years later and retained every six years. He now hears jury trials in the Law Division.

A 1958 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law, Elrod became an assistant Chicago corporation counsel in 1959 and was chief prosecutor from 1965 until 1970, when he was elected Cook County sheriff. He was paralyzed in 1969 while trying to tackle a fleeing rioter.

When his service as sheriff ended in 1986, Elrod served two years as a senior assistant to Illinois attorney general Neil Hartigan in supervision and litigation of matters involving crime victims. He was a state representative from 1969 to 1970.

A founding member of the Jewish Judges Association, Elrod received its Seymour Simon Justice Award in 2007.

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