Justice Daniel J. Pierce of the Illinois Appellate Court, First Judicial District, will retire from the court effective September 30, 2022.  The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that Judge Sanjay Tailor of the Circuit Court of Cook County will fill the vacancy left by Justice Pierce's retirement effective October 3, 2022.  Judge Tailor will be the first Indian American to serve on the appellate court.

Justice Pierce has served on the appellate court since 2013.  Before then, he served on the Circuit Court of Cook County from 2008 to 2013.  Justice Pierce received his undergraduate and law degrees from DePaul University in Chicago.

Judge Tailor was first appointed to the bench in 2003 as an associate judge, and was appointed as a circuit judge in 2021.  He has served in the Domestic Relations, Law, and Chancery Divisions of the circuit court.  Before his appointment to the bench, Judge Tailor served in the Civil Actions Bureau of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office and worked in private practice.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware and his Juris Doctor with honors from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.

The Illinois Supreme Court's announcement of Judge Tailor's appointment may be found here.

The Appellate Lawyers Association thanks Justice Pierce for his dedicated service on the appellate court and congratulates Judge Tailor on his historic appointment to the appellate court.