McHenry County's Cowlin selected as 22nd Circuit Court's new chief judge

McHenry County Judge James S. Cowlin is expected to take on the role of chief judge of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court.

The county’s circuit judges cast private ballots Wednesday and selected Cowlin to succeed sitting Chief Judge Michael J. Sullivan, who has held the position since 2006.

Cowlin’s term will begin Dec. 1 and end Nov. 30, 2021.

Neither Cowlin nor Sullivan were available for comment Friday.

As chief judge, Cowlin will oversee the different divisions of the county’s courthouse. It is unclear whether Sullivan will be reassigned to preside over cases in another courtroom, court administrator James Wallis said.

Cowlin is a lifelong resident of McHenry County and has a family history in the local legal community, according to a news release form the McHenry County Court Administration Office.

His grandfather, Henry L. Cowlin, served as a judge in McHenry County from 1936 to 1958, and his father – also Henry L. Cowlin – served as a circuit judge in the former 19th Circuit of McHenry and Lake counties from 1978 to 1996, according to the release.

Cowlin graduated from Crystal Lake Community High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1979 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He went on to attend Valparaiso University School of Law and graduated in 1982.

Before he was appointed associate judge in the 22nd Judicial Circuit in 2007, Cowlin practiced law in McHenry County with the Law Office of Donald W. Truckenbrod, Truckenbrod & Cowlin and Cowlin & Cowlin law firms.

In September 2015, Cowlin was sworn in as a circuit judge after being appointed to the position by the Illinois Supreme Court. He then was elected to the position in 2016.

Cowlin now serves as the presiding judge of the family division and hears felony cases.

He is a member of the Illinois Judges Association, Illinois State Bar Association and the McHenry County Bar Association.

Cowlin lives in Nunda Township near Crystal Lake with his wife, Lynn, and three children, Patrick, Kathryn and Joseph Cowlin.