Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today appointed Honorable Daniel B. Malone to serve as the Acting Presiding Judge of the court’s Probate Division. The appointment is effective today.
Judge Malone became a circuit judge in 2009. He initially served in the First Municipal District and has served in the Probate Division since 2013. In the Probate Division, he has heard cases involving decedent’s estates and guardianship matters involving minors and individuals with disabilities.
“In his decade on the bench, Judge Malone has been known to be prompt, efficient, fair and courteous. He handles matters involving some of our most vulnerable residents, and he does it with a level of professionalism that is appreciated by the litigants and attorneys who appear before him,” Chief Judge Evans said.
Prior to joining the bench, Judge Malone practiced law at the Healy Law Firm from 1986 to 2009. He became a partner there in 2001. He represented plaintiffs in personal-injury matters, including construction, workers’ compensation, product liability and medical negligence cases. He received his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 1986 and earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1979.
As Acting Presiding Judge, he will oversee the judges, administrative support staff and all court operations in the Probate Division.
Judge Malone succeeds Presiding Judge Mary Ellen Coghlan, who the Illinois Supreme Court assigned to the Illinois Appellate Court, effective July 30, 2019.
“Judge Coghlan has been a guiding light for judges in the Probate Division since she became Presiding Judge in 2010,” Chief Judge Evans said. “She truly cares about justice and the cases that come before the court. I thank her for her service to the Circuit Court of Cook County and congratulate her on the assignment to the Illinois Appellate Court.”