Hon. Martha A. Mills

THE HONORABLE MARTHA A. MILLS (Ret.)

Mills was appointed in 1995 by the Illinois Supreme Court to serve as a Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. She served for two years, primarily in the Juvenile Justice, Child Protection Division. She was recalled in 2007, and was Supervising Judge of the Parentage and Child Support Court until December of 2012. Under her guidance, the court started a highly successful pilot restorative justice program with the help of Elizabeth J. Vastine and Peter Newman. Since her retirement she has continued to to teach and offer services in community building and restorative practices.

After law school, Mills was the first woman lawyer with White & Case in NYC. She then joined the staff of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Mississippi where she tried many cases, civil and criminal, getting the first jury verdict in Mississippi since Reconstruction for over a million dollars on behalf of the estate of an African American man murdered by the Klan. She was Chief Counsel of the Lawyers Committee Office in Cairo, IL prior to moving back to Chicago. She has practiced law in Illinois since 1969, both as a trial and appellate attorney. The American Bar Association in 2013 published her book: Lawyer, Activist, Judge: Fighting for Civil and Voting Rights in Mississippi and Illinois.

Judge Mills was a trial lawyer for more than forty years. She is licensed to practice in the states of Illinois, New York and Mississippi, and in numerous federal courts. She has argued cases in the Mississippi, Illinois and U.S. Supreme Courts. She has not only arbitrated, mediated and facilitated many cases and conflicts, but also taught others to do so. As founder and Executive Director of Transforming Communities, a not-for-profit corporation, she engaged consulting, practice, education and training in restorative justice from 1996-2007, as well as work in violence prevention and intervention.