Kathryn E. Zenoff received her J.D. degree from Columbia University Law School. She practiced in the private sector in New York City and Chicago and served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook and Winnebago counties. Justice Zenoff became an Associate Judge in the 17th Circuit in 1995, was appointed a Circuit Judge by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1998, won election and was retained in 2004, 2010 and 2016. She served as Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division and the Mental Health (Therapeutic Intervention Program) Court in the 17th Circuit, and chaired the community-wide task force that created the problem-solving court. In 2003, she was elected Chief Judge and served until her assignment to the Appellate Court in May, 2007. She served as Presiding Justice of the Second Appellate District from August, 2008 to December, 2010.
Justice Zenoff chaired the Specialty Courts Committee of the Illinois Conference of Chief Judges, which issued a comprehensive report on mental health and drug courts in Illinois. She was named National Co-Chair of the Judges’ Leadership Initiative for Criminal Justice and Mental Health Issues in 2007 (now Judges' and Psychiatrists' Leadership Initiative) and has contributed to the Chief Justice Initiative and the Judges’ Guide to Mental Health Jargon. Justice Zenoff has also participated in the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Transformation Initiative project convened by the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health. She currently serves as Chairman of the Illinois Supreme Court Special Advisory Committee for Justice and Mental Health Planning. She is a member of the Leadership Council for the Kennedy Forum Illinois. Justice Zenoff was named as a member of the National Judicial Task Force to State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness by the Conference of Chief Justices and National Center for State Courts. She has been recognized by the Illinois House of Representatives for her service in helping to implement initiatives designed to improve the criminal justice system and received the 2017 Illinois Association of Problem-Solving Courts Leadership and Justice Award. Justice Zenoff has testified in Washington, D.C. before the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law at a hearing entitled, “Human Rights at Home: Mental Illness in our Jails and Prisons.”