Judge Laura Ayala-Gonzalez: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Laura Ayala-Gonzalez is a circuit judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County in Illinois. She was elected to the bench on November 3, 2020.

Over the course of her judicial career, Ayala-Gonzalez has held assignments in the Criminal Division, the Traffic Division, and the First Municipal District.

Ayala-Gonzalez earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, sociology, and the administration of justice from Bradley University. She then completed a J.D. at The John Marshall Law School in 2002. As a law student, she worked for the Chicago Bar Association.

She was licensed to practice law in Illinois (2003).

After graduating from law school, Ayala-Gonzalez began her legal career as an assistant state’s attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She served in that capacity until her election to the bench, holding assignments as a member of the Child Support and Juvenile Justice Bureau as well as a supervisor for the Felony Trial Division.

Her memberships have included the Illinois Latino Judges Association, the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, the Puerto Rican Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. She has also been involved with the Women Everywhere Foundation and the Diversity Scholarship Foundation.

Born in El Paso, Texas, Ayala-Gonzalez was raised in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Then, when she was six years old, she moved with her mother to Melrose Park, Illinois, where she attended Melrose Park Elementary School and Trinity High School. Ayala-Gonzalez is a married mother of three children.

She is registered as a Democrat.