Justice Freddrenna M. Lyle, a graduate of The John Marshall Law School (now known as University of Illinois Chicago School of Law) spent 18 years in private practice rising to become the managing Partner in Lyle & Slaughter. From trying criminal matters in Federal Courts, to becoming the first Black woman to be listed in the prestigious Municipal Bond Buyers Directory (the “Red Book”), Judge Lyle had a distinguished and diverse legal career.
In 1998 she was appointed Alderman of Chicago’s 6th Ward serving as the Alderman and Committee for 13 years. Simultaneously she created Lyle for Kids a not for profit that provided afterschool and summer programming for more than 9000 children. She also was a Delegate to the National Democratic Convention for then Presidential candidate, Barack Obama.
She was appointed to the Circuit Court of Cook County in Dec. 2011. She presided over cases in Elder Law, Mortgage Foreclosure and appointed as the Supervising Judge of the Surety Section in June 2022. On December 2, 2023, she was honored with an appointment to the Illinois Appellate Court First District.
Justice Lyle is a member and Past President of the Cook County Bar Association, and the Illinois Judicial Council; a Board Member of the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association; and a member of the Black Women Lawyers Assoc., the Illinois Judges Assoc., and the American Judges Assoc. She served on the Supreme Court Judicial Education Committee for several years including her service as co-Chair of the biannual judicial education conference (EdCon). She was elevated to the Illinois Judicial College Board of Trustees in August 2023
Justice Lyle regularly lectures at Colleges, Law Schools and professional conferences. She is a recipient of many awards including the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Stradford Award, CCBA’s Edward Ming Award, the IJC’s Kenneth E. Wilson Award, the Chicago Defender Distinguished Women Award, the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity’s Monarch Award, the Cook County Bar Association’s Hall of Fame and most recently the Vanguard Award presented by the Chicago Bar Association.