Justice Lisa Holder White and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of attorney Erik Karl Jacobs as a 17th Judicial Circuit Court Judge. Mr. Jacobs was appointed to fill the circuit court vacancy created by the retirement of 17th Judicial Circuit Judge Joseph G. McGraw, effective July 5, 2023.
The appointment of Mr. Jacobs is effective August 15, 2023, and will conclude December 2, 2024, following the November 2024 general election. “Attorney Erik Jacobs is a wonderful example of a servant leader,” Justice Holder White said. “While his extensive legal experience and expertise are widely recognized, he has shown, by his activities outside of the legal profession, a lifelong commitment to bettering the Rockford community. The citizens of the 17th Circuit will be well served by his addition to the judiciary.”
Mr. Jacobs has over 30 years of experience in private practice, most recently at Cicero, France & Alexander, P.C. where he is a Partner and has worked since 2015. Prior to this he was a Partner at Hyzer, Hyzer & Jacobs where he worked from 1999 to 2015 and was an associate at Konstantacos, Traum, Reuterfors & McWilliams, P.C. from 1993 to 1999. Mr. Jacobs also served for two years as a law clerk for the Hon. Philip G. Reinhard of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
“I am grateful and honored to have been selected by Justice Holder White and the Illinois Supreme Court to serve as the next Circuit Judge for the 17th Judicial Circuit,” Jacobs said. “I am truly humbled.
I look forward to serving the citizens of Winnebago and Boone Counties for many years to come.” He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Iowa and earned his Juris Doctor, with Honors, from the Northern Illinois University College of Law where he was a member of the Law Review and National Moot Court Team. Since 1997, Mr. Jacobs has served as the Hearing Officer for Winnebago County and has served as General Counsel for the Rockford Area Apartment Association.
He has litigated cases in State Court at the Trial, Appellate and Supreme Court levels as well as cases in Federal Court at the Trial level as well as in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. His professional affiliations include the Winnebago County Bar Foundation, where he has served as President, the Winnebago County Bar Association, where he is a past Chairman of the Real Estate and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Trial Attorneys Association, the American Bar Association, and the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association.
Mr. Jacobs has also served the community through his involvement with many local not-forprofit charities, including the City of Rockford Homestead Board, where he served as Chairman, Healing Pathways Cancer Resource Center, Rockford Cosmopolitan Charities and the Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity where he currently serves on the Executive Committee.
Original source can be found here.