The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the appointment of Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael Cabonargi to the Ninth Subcircuit of Cook County.
Judge Cabonargi is being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Sanjay T. Tailor to the Supreme Court in January 2026. The appointment is effective August 7, 2026, and will conclude on December 4, 2028.
Judge Cabonargi was appointed to the bench as an At-Large Judge in Cook County in June 2025. He previously served as Regional Director of the Great Lakes Region (Region V) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), responsible for Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and 34 indigenous tribal nations. From 2011 to 2022 he served as a commissioner on the Cook County Board of Review, which is tasked with fairly and impartially reviewing the assessments of all property within Cook County. From 2005 to 2011 Judge Cabonargi was a senior attorney and prosecutor in the Division of Enforcement at the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition to prior work as an attorney at Bell, Boyd and Lloyd, LLC, he served as law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge William J. Hibbler in Chicago from 2000 to 2002.
Judge Cabonargi earned his Bachelor of Arts from Miami University of Ohio and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law.
His professional affiliations include the Loyola Academy Bar Association, the District 39 Educational Foundation, and the Milan Committee of Chicago’s Sister Cities Program.
For more information, contact: James Brunner, Public Information Officer of the Illinois Supreme Court at 217-208-3354 or jbrunner@illinoiscourts.gov.
