Daniel B. Shanes

Hon. Daniel B. Shanes is a Circuit Judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit in Lake County, currently serving as the Deputy Chief Judge and presiding over felony cases. His rulings over 16 years on the bench reflect his commitment to the Constitution and the rule of law.

Prior to his appointment to the bench in 2007, Judge Shanes served as an assistant State’s Attorney and division chief in Lake County for nearly 12 years, becoming one of the lead prosecutors in child-sexual-predator and first-degree-murder cases. During that time, he also served as chief of the drug prosecutions division and chief of the felony review division.

As a prosecutor, Shanes worked closely with law enforcement officers and agencies on a regular basis, and was honored to receive numerous awards and commendations from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies for his work on behalf of criminal justice and victims of crime.

By appointment of the Illinois Supreme Court, Judge Shanes has served as Chair of the Illinois Judicial College Board of Trustees, Chair of the Supreme Court Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions for Criminal Cases, a member of the Illinois Judicial Conference, as well as a certified new judge mentor. In addition to regularly serving as faculty for judicial education for judges and lawyers in Illinois, he is also a member of the faculty of the National Judicial College, providing judicial education to judges across the United States.

Judge Shanes has published dozens of articles, several of which have been cited by the Illinois Supreme Court, Illinois Appellate Court, and legal treatises. He has served on the Board of Directors of both the Illinois Judges Association and Lake County Bar Association, as well as a local homeless shelter and transitional living facility for women and children.

Judge Shanes received his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, where he served on the DePaul Law Review, and his B.A. from the University of Iowa.

Out of the courthouse, Judge Shanes is at the bottom of the totem pole in the home in which he and his wife raised their four children and two dogs.