Circuit Judge Jorge L. Ortiz
Jorge L. Ortiz is a Circuit Court Judge in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Lake County, Illinois where he serves the Juvenile Division. He has served as a circuit judge since 2008 and was an associate judge from December 2, 2002, until his appointment to the circuit bench. Judge Ortiz served as Lake County’s Chief Judge from January 3, 2016, to January 1, 2018, and is the first Latinx chief judge in Illinois State Court history. Ortiz serves on the Illinois Judicial Conference, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice and the Illinois Judicial College Committee on Trial Court Administrator Education.
Judge Ortiz has served in Lake County’s Traffic/Misdemeanor, Family and Law Divisions. He was Presiding Judge of the Family and Law Divisions prior to becoming chief judge. Judge Ortiz received his undergraduate degree from Loyola University Chicago and his law degree from The John Marshall Law School.