Justice Rena Marie Van Tine serves on the Illinois First District Appellate Court. She decides appeals on issues that are raised from various trial court proceedings. She was previously the Presiding Judge of the County Division in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Before becoming a presiding judge, she served in the Law Division’s Jury Trial assignment call at the Daley Center. She was also previously assigned to Juvenile (Child Protection Division) and Traffic Court.

Justice Van Tine has been a judge for over 23 years. She became the first female Indian American in the nation to become a judge when she was first appointed as an Associate Judge. She is also the first Indian American to win a county-wide judicial election in Illinois.

Justice Van Tine is the immediate past President of the Asian American Judges Association of Illinois and a past President of the Asian American Bar Association. She currently serves on the Chicago Bar Association’s Board of Managers and on the Executive Committee of the Illinois Judges Association.

She has previously served on the boards of the Illinois Judges Association and the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. She is a co-founder of the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago and has also served on its board. She is an active member of several additional bar associations including the Illinois Judicial Council, the Alliance of Illinois Judges, the Decalogue Society, the Appellate Lawyers Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. For several years she was a board member of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association, a non-profit organization that assists immigrants and refugees. Justice Van Tine is a cohort leader and mentor for the Supreme Court’s state-wide New Judge Orientation program (2022-present). She is a member of the Supreme Court Committee’s IPI Civil Jury Instructions. Justice Van Tine is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.