Madison County Chief Judge David Hylla has been selected as the new Chair of the Conference of Chief Judges.
Hylla was selected as the new chair by his peers at a conference meeting on Oct. 20. He will take over leadership Jan. 1 from current conference chair Chief Judge Joseph McGraw of Winnegbago County.
“I would like to thank Chief Judge McGraw for his dedicated service to the Conference of Chief Judges,” Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier stated in a press release. “I would also like to welcome Judge Hylla as the new Chair. He has been integral in helping the courts adapt to technology through his current service as Chair of the Illinois Supreme Court’s e-Business Policy Advisory Board and his previous service as Chair of the Illinois Judicial Conference’s Committee on Automation and Technology.”
Kane County Chief Judge Susan Clancy-Boles was selected as the new vice-chair.
Hylla has served as vice-chair since 2014. He has also served on the conference’s jury representation and judicial mentor committees.
“I am honored and look forward to working with my fellow Chief Judges and Supreme Court to continue to develop and implement policies and rules on issues such as access to justice, performance of judges, jury representation and technology, that will improve the administration of justice in our courts,” Hylla stated.
Hylla was elected as a circuit judge in the Third Judicial Circuit in 2006 and was retained by voters in 2012. He was selected to serve as chief judge in 2013. The Third Judicial Circuit consists of Bond and Madison Counties.
“I congratulate Judge Hylla on his new position as Chair and look forward to working with him” stated Justice Rita B. Garman, the Supreme Court’s liaison to the conference. “As chair of the Supreme Court’s e-Business Policy Advisory Board, he brings essential knowledge and experience to his new role. His leadership has been invaluable as we have implemented e-filing throughout the state. Indeed, his home circuit was among the first in the state to implement electronic filing in its early stages as a pilot project.”
McGraw has served as chair since January 2015. He previously served as vice-chair and has been a member of the conference since January 2012.
“It has truly been an honor to serve as Chair of the Conference of Chief Judges and to work closely with the Supreme Court, the AOIC and my fellow chief judges these past several years. Together, we faced many challenges. We worked to advance the Illinois Courts by offering our collective guidance and by implementing new court initiatives on topics ranging from access to justice and fundamental fairness to evidence-based practices and e-technology,” McGraw said. “Chief Judge Hylla will aptly provide the necessary continuity and leadership to move the conference forward.”
“As the Supreme Court’s liaison to Conference of Chief Judges, I want to thank Judge McGraw for his dedicated service as Chair of the Conference. During his term as Chair, he provided strong leadership on many issues, including media access to Illinois courtrooms and e-filing. In addition, when the Supreme Court asked him to attend a national conference on human trafficking, he became a vocal proponent of the need to recognize the scope of this problem in Illinois, even convening a panel in his own circuit to address that important issue,” Garman stated.
The Conference of Chief Judges was established by the authority of the Supreme Court and is made up of the elected chief judge from each of the 24 judicial circuit courts in Illinois.
The conference meets to discuss issues related to the administration of justice in each of Illinois’ circuit courts and matters specifically referred to it by the Supreme Court.
The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, under Director Marcia Meis, serves as conference secretary.
Hylla earned his bachelor of science from Southern Illinois University and his juris doctor from the St. Louis University School of Law. He worked in private practice for 21 years prior to his election to the bench.
Hylla currently serves as chair of the Illinois Supreme Court’s e-Business Policy Advisory Board following his role as chair of the Illinois Judicial Conference’s Committee on Automation and Technology. He also serves on the Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinating Committee, the Special Advisory Committee on Justice and Mental Health Planning and the Commission on Access to Justice’s Steering Committee for Justice Corps.
Hylla is a resident of Granite City and currently serves on the board of directors for New Opportunities, which is a workshop and training facility for the developmentally challenged.