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New Associate Judge Rochford sworn in
Associate Judge Elizabeth Rochford of Lake Forest is helped with her robe by husband, Mike Striedl, after her swearing-in ceremony held at the Lake County Building in Waukegan. Rochford was sworn-in by Chief Judge Fred Foreman. | Thomas Delany Jr.~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: December 31, 2012 1:06AM
Elizabeth Rochford of Lake Forest, the newest associate judge in Lake County, was sworn in Dec. 27.
Rochford swore to support the federal and state constitutions and to “faithfully discharge the duties of associate judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit” to the best of her ability.
Rochford, 52, said that being a judge has been a goal of hers for more than a decade.
“People keep asking me how I feel to be judge. I feel humbled and I feel grateful and a little terrified. It’s a big, important job,” she said.
Chief Judge Fred Foreman administered her swearing in. She will be assigned to branch court after she completes judicial orientation, which is a three-week process. New judges typically start in branch court, he said.
Rochford was selected to fill the judgeship left vacant when now-retired Associate Judge Wallace Dunn left the bench this summer. She was among 23 applicants for the job.
Nineteenth Judicial Circuit judges voted earlier this month to select Rochford and Joseph Salvi as new associate judges.
Rochford was admitted to the bar in 1986. She has been a practicing attorney for 25 years. She was an assistant Cook County state’s attorney for five years and handled probate, trust and wills in her private practice for 20 years. She was also a commissioner of the Court of Claims for Illinois and acted as a neutral party hearing and issuing opinions of cases dealing with lawsuits against the state of Illinois. She also was an administrative law hearing officer hearing ordinance violations for Skokie and Lincolnwood.
Rochford helped set up the Guardianship Help Desk in Lake County, which offers free advice for people navigating guardianship issues.
She is the 14th former Lake County Bar Association president to serve as a judge, according to bar association records. Rochford was president in 2011.
“The Lake County Bar Association is proud to have one of its former leaders now a member of Lake County judiciary,” said Chris Boadt, LCBA executive director.
Salvi, who will be sworn in soon, received his undergraduate degree in 1988 from Knox College in Galesburg and his law degree in 1991 from IIT-Chicago Kent. He is currently affiliated with Salvi, Salvi & Wifler in Lake Zurich.~.
