Cook County Circuit Court Judge Abishi Cunningham Jr. was sworn in Wednesday as the head of the county’s public defender’s office.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Abishi Cunningham Jr. was sworn in Wednesday as the head of the county’s public defender’s office. County Board President Todd Stroger tapped the longtime judge, who most recently served in the Law Division, to serve a six-year term. Cunningham will lead the office of 700 attorneys, which handles more than 350,000 criminal cases each year. He replaced Edwin Burnette who scored a legal victory this week against Stroger. Burnette filed suit in November 2007 claiming the public defender, not the county board president, controls who is disciplined, hired and fired in the public defender’s office. The suit came a few months after Stroger ordered layoffs for many assistant public defenders and directed others in the office to take unpaid furlough days. The First District Illinois Appellate Court ruled in Burnette’s favor. ______ Copyright 2009 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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