Hon. Rouhy J. Shalabi is an associate judge for the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois. He was elected to the Circuit Court by the Cook County Circuit judges in 2019.
While on the bench, Shalabi has held an assignment in the Fourth Municipal District of the Municipal Department.
He completed a J.D. at Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1981.
After law school, Shalabi entered into solo practice at his own law firm, Rouhy J. Shalabi & Associates, where he handled personal injury lawsuits, divorces, and real estate transactions during his thirty-five years in that capacity.
In addition to his private practice, Shalabi was appointed by former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to serve as the first Arab-American Commissioner to the City of Chicago Park District in 2002. He also held the distinction of being the first Arab-American appointed to the Board of Commissioners of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations.
Shalabi was a founding member and past president of the Arab-American Bar Association and a past president of the City of Chicago Advisory Council on Arab Affairs.
He has served on the Circuit Court of Cook County Racial and Ethnic Committee, the State’s Attorney’s Hate Crimes Commission, the Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee on the Media, and the Family Violence Prevention Council.
Shalabi, who is a Palestinian American, is married and has eight children.