| Judge William J. Kunkle Judicial Experience: Judge William J. Kunkle serves in the Criminal Division presiding over felony cases in the Bridgeview, Illinois Courthouse. He was elected to the bench in 2004. He previously served in the Fifth Municipal District with rotating assignments in the DUI-Misdemeanor, Traffic, Felony Preliminary Hearing, Misdemeanor Jury and other courtrooms. He also heard Felony Criminal Trials of defendants who had been reassigned from the assigned Fifth District felony trial judges. Prior to those assignments, he served in the First Municipal District in the Traffic Division and later in the Felony Preliminary Hearing Court at Harrison & Kedzie in Chicago. Legal Experience: Judge Kunkle was a partner at a Major Chicago Law Firm, Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon. There he handled an eclectic practice including civil and criminal litigation, administrative law, internal corporate and governmental investigations, gaming transactions and disciplinary matters, injunctive relief and other chancery matters and matters in the appellate courts. Previously he was a partner with Cahill, Christian & Kunkle and Phelan Pope & John, both prominent Chicago litigation firms. He tried many noteworthy cases, both civil and criminal, in both the State and Federal Courts in Nevada, West Virginia, Indiana, and Texas. He also served as Chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board from 1990 to 1993 and as Deputy Special Outside Counsel to the Committee on Official Conduct of the United States House of Representatives in the Matter of Speaker James C. Wright, Jr. He served as an Assistant State’s Attorney of Cook County from 1973 to 1985, leaving the office as First Assistant State’s Attorney. He was the Chief Prosecutor in the case of Illinois v. John Gacy, who was convicted of 33 murders and was executed in 1994. He served as Chief Deputy State’s Attorney to Republican Bernard Carey and as Chief Deputy State’s Attorney and First Assistant State’s Attorney to Democrat Richard M. Daley. From 1970 to 1973 he served as an Assistant Cook County Public Defender. Education: Bill graduated from Fairview Park High School, in Fairview Park, Ohio, in 1959. He received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in 1963. He worked for three years as an engineer with Union Carbide Corporation and then attended Northwestern University School of Law, graduating with a J.D. Degree in 1969. Bar Association Ratings: Judge Kunkle was found “Qualified” or “Recommended” by all of the bar associations and other groups rating judges up for retention that have reported their findings thus far. These include the Illinois State Bar Association, The Chicago Bar Association, The Chicago Council of Lawyers and the Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County. The Suburban Bar Coalition found him “Highly Recommended.” Memberships: The Illinois Judicial Association, The Illinois State Bar Association, The Chicago Bar Association, The Southwest Bar Association, The American College of Trial Lawyers, Judicial Fellow, the International Society of Barristers, Judicial Fellow, and the Fellows of the American Bar Association. Hobbies: Golf, motorcycle touring, woodworking and home repair, computer strategy games and physics. |
