Shanes selected to be next circuit judge

Mundelein resident Daniel Shanes, a Lake County associate judge since 2007, has been appointed by the state Supreme Court to become a circuit judge in December.

Shanes will be promoted to the circuit judge position currently held by Raymond McKoski, who has announced his retirement effective Dec. 5.

“I am honored and humbled by my selection by the Supreme Court, Shanes said. “My desire is to confirm their faith in me by being the best public servant I can be.

A graduate of DePaul University Law School and the University of Iowa, Shanes began his legal career in 1993 as a clerk for Appellate Justice Robert Steigmann of Urbana.

He became a Lake County assistant state's attorney in 1995 and rose to become chief of drug prosecutions in 2001 and chief of the felony review division in 2006.

Shanes, a member of the board of directors for the Illinois Judges Association, was appointed in 2009 to the Supreme Court's committee on education that provides legal education for judges throughout the state.

He is currently assigned to hear cases in the felony division.

“Dan Shanes is an excellent selection for circuit court judge and possesses outstanding qualities, Chief Judge Victoria Rossetti said. “He is a scholar and is highly respected in the legal community.

Shanes' appointment is effective Dec. 6 and runs until December 2012.

He will have to be nominated to retain his position in the March 2012 primary and elected in the November 2012 general election.