On June 2, 2023, Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis appointed Judge Heggie to serve the residents of Cook County as a Circuit Court Judge. Every single Illinois Supreme Court justice voted “yes” to Judge Heggie’s appointment. Judge Heggie is assigned to the Traffic Division. Every day, she hears misdemeanors, including driving under the influence and driving on revoked/suspended licenses, and minor traffic tickets. She conducts and presides over bench and jury trials on misdemeanors and petty offenses as well as hearings on substantive issues.

 

Judge Heggie has called Cook County home since her father was honorably discharged from the United States Army in the early 1970s. She is the product of education she obtained in Cook County’s public schools, the University of Illinois-Champaign Urbana, and DePaul University’s College of Law. 

 

Prior to her judicial appointment, Judge Heggie was a civil litigator. She has over two decades of experience in court rooms throughout the Midwest. Judge Heggie practiced at a national law firm where she was voted to the partnership after working as an associate attorney for eight years. In 2016, Judge Heggie joined the largest majority women owned law firm in Chicago where she continued litigating and trying cases. In 2018, Judge Heggie and her husband and lawyer, John, bought a suburban law practice where she expanded her practice to representing families, individuals, and business owners to help them avoid taxes, asset loss, probate court, and guardianship proceedings. 

 

During her twenty plus year litigation career, Judge Heggie’s clients included all the types of litigants who come to the Cook County courthouse steps: individuals, small business owners, licensed professionals, elected public officials, publicly traded companies, and families. Her deep and varied litigation experience earned her high marks with all the bar associations that evaluated her qualifications to serve as a judge. Eleven bar associations found Judge Heggie qualified. In fact, three of the bar associations found her “highly qualified.”

 

In addition to her very favorable bar ratings, Judge Heggie has a track record of active engagement in the communities where she works, worships, and lives. Judge Heggie is an Advisory Council member for the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism’s Bullying Prevention Initiative. In 2021, Governor Pritzker appointed Judge Heggie to serve the State of Illinois on the DUI Cannabis Task Force overseen by Deputy Governor Christian Mitchell. The same year, she was nominated by Dean Jennifer Rosato Perea to serve on DePaul University College of Law’s Dean’s Advisory Council. 

 

From 2019-2020, Judge Heggie served as President of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI), one of Illinois’ largest and oldest state-wide bar associations dedicated to promoting the interests and welfare of women lawyers. Her presidential term was the culmination of twenty years of service to WBAI’s membership. 

 

Prior to her judicial appointment, Judge Heggie served on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Planned Giving Committee. In 2015, Judge Heggie applied for and was selected as a judicial evaluator for the Chicago Bar Association’s Judicial Evaluation Committee. She has deep roots in the North Suburban Bar Association (NSBA) as a past officer and current board member. In 2022, Judge Heggie received NSBA’s  President’s Service Award.

 

In her community, Judge Heggie is a frequent lecturer. She can be heard on WGN radio discussing laws that impact individuals and their lives, their families, and their businesses. Prior to her appointment, Judge Heggie was a legal columnist for The Daily Herald where she discussed property laws affecting Illinoisians and how estate and business plans protect people from asset loss and taxes. 

 

Judge Heggie is active in her community with her husband John, and three sons. She volunteers at her parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in ministries supporting women in crisis. She is on the Glenview Jr. Titan Football’s board. Judge Heggie has been a member of District 34’s PTA, an officer on Glenview Community Church’s Nursery School’s executive committee, and a trustee of District 225 Glenbrook Foundation. 

 

Currently, Judge Heggie supports women and student athletes at Glenbrook South High School. She is a community faculty member for GBS’s Women in Business Club and supports athletics as a GBS Booster Club member. She is a member of the Glenview Park District Foundation whose primary charge is planning and executing the Village’s Fourth of July celebration and supporting Park District programs for Glenview residents. She is a certified merit badge counselor to support men and women earning the rank of Eagle Scout in Boy Scout Troop 156. 

 

In Judge Heggie, civic, community, and bar association service is bone deep. She believes that building bridges in and between communities creates opportunities for all citizens to engage and treat one another fairly and equally.