From news release
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Circuit Judge Joe McGraw announced on Wednesday his plans to retire July 5.
McGraw was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court in January 2002 and elected in November 2002. He previously served as chief judge of the 17th Judicial Circuit from 2012-2017.
“It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of the 17th Circuit and the state of Illinois as a circuit judge for 21 and a half years,” McGraw said in a news release. “My consuming passion has always been to render justice, individualized justice, one case at a time. Although this chapter is concluding, I look forward to serving in a new way in the future, as God directs.”
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McGraw has served as the presiding judge of the Criminal Division since 2004. He oversees a specialized felony gun court, PATH Court and a multidisciplinary court response to human trafficking. He was the presiding judge in Boone County from 2002-2003.
“Judge McGraw served with distinction as a leader, mentor and educator in the 17th Circuit and state of Illinois court system,” Chief Judge John Lowry said in a news release. “His abundant wisdom, keen insights and dynamic personality will be deeply missed. I am grateful to call Judge McGraw my friend and colleague.”
McGraw also served as chairman of the Illinois Conference of Chief Judges from 2015-2018. He is the current chairman of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Equality, and he is an active member of the Illinois Supreme Court Special Committees on Judicial Ethics, the Access to Justice Committee, the Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee, and the Pretrial Practices Data Oversight Board.
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He is co-chairperson of the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council Steering Committee, a former member of the Minimum Continuing Legal Education Committee as well as the Supreme Court’s e-Business Policy Advisory Board.
He is a regular instructor for the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor’s Trial Advocacy Program, a current instructor on Deliberative Decision Making at the biennial statewide judicial Education Conference for judges, and a previous judicial Education Conference instructor on post-conviction petitions, extended media coverage, administrative issues for supervising and presiding judges, and human trafficking. He is a former adjunct instructor at Rockford University and Judson University.