Sonni Choi Williams

Judge Sonni Choi Williams for Will County Circuit Court Judge | 3rd Subcircuit

Print Profile

Sonni Choi Williams was appointed by Supreme Court Justice Mary Kay O’Brien as a Circuit Judge of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court, Will County. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she served as an in-house City Attorney for the City of Lockport, Will County, Illinois from June 12, 2017 to February 7, 2025. Prior to Lockport, Ms. Williams worked as an in-house municipal attorney for the City of Peoria for nearly 18 years. She has over 26 years of experience in municipal law and civil litigation, including appeals before the state and federal appellate courts and the Illinois Supreme Court. On May 29, 2024, she was sworn in as the 148th President of the Illinois State Bar Association, becoming the first woman lawyer of color and the first lawyer of Asian/Korean descent to lead the state-wide association of lawyers.

Ms. Williams has been admitted to the practice before the Central and Northern Districts of the U.S. District Courts, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She received her J.D. from the Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1999 and her B.A. in history from the University of Iowa. Ms. Williams has served by appointment on the Illinois Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism from 2005 to 2016 and the Commission’s precursor, the Supreme Court Committee on Civility. By Illinois Supreme Court appointment, she served as a Chair panel member on the Hearing Board for the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC). She is a past Board member of the Illinois Local Government Lawyers Association (ILGL) and a member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA); Will County Women’s Bar Association; Black Bar Association (BBA) of Will County; and DuPage County Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Decalogue Society of Lawyers, Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, and many others. Ms. Williams served two terms on the ISBA Assembly and two terms on the ISBA Board of Governors, and she chaired several ISBA committees and section councils. She currently serves on the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association and as a board member of the Korean-American Bar Association of Chicago (KABA); Asian-American Bar Association Chicago (AABA)(honorary), Prairie State Legal Services, and Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE). She is the immediate Past-Chair of the Northern Illinois University College of Law Board of Visitors.

Sonni Choi Williams' Awards include the 2025 Advocate for Diversity Award from Diversity Scholarship Foundation, 2020 NIU College of Law Alumna of the Year Award, 2014-2015 ISBA Diversity Leadership Award, 2010 ISBA Board of Governors Award, 2008 ILGL Annual Achievement Award, and 2006 Northern Illinois University College of Law Young Alumnus of the Year Award.

Ms. Williams resides in Lockport, Illinois with her husband, and they have two adult sons.