Cook County judge who was reassigned amid investigation into alleged racist comments retires

A Cook County judge who was reassigned last year after he was accused of making racist comments to a defendant and his attorney has retired from the bench, according to county officials.

Judge William Hooks, who was appointed in 2008, retired in July, more than a year after he was taken off judicial duties in the wake of an investigation into alleged derogatory remarks made about Middle Eastern men during during a conference in chambers Jan. 17, 2023.

During his time as a criminal judge at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Hooks presided over a number of high-profile cases, including the infamous third trial for Jackie Wilson, whose case was critical to unveiling systemic practices of torture at the Chicago Police Department by notorious former Cmdr. Jon Burge and other investigators.

His career effectively ended a year ago, though, when Chief Judge Tim Evans in June of 2023 assigned Hook to restricted, non-judicial duties pending the results of a Judicial Inquiry Board investigation. Hooks never returned to the bench, his court call covered by other judges throughout the past year.

Reached by phone, Hooks declined to comment.

In June of 2023, attorney Matthew Fakhoury filed a motion to substitute Hooks from presiding over his client Ryan Thomas’ battery case that said Hooks displayed bias against him and Fakhoury. Hooks expressed disdain for defendants charged in domestic violence cases and suggested that all such defendants are “controlling and abusive,” according to the motion.

Hooks further indicated he thought Middle Eastern men were controlling and abusive, the motion alleged, and said the judge referenced his military service as a Marine.

“I would shoot and kill men like that from Middle Eastern countries,” Hooks said, according to the motion.

He made those comments while making eye contact with Fakhoury, who is Arab American, the motion said.

“I was shocked and then I was extremely angry and then saddened,” Fakhoury told the Tribune at the time. “I’ve never in 20 years filed a motion like this.”

Hooks also throughout the conference compared his life as a Black man to that of Fakhoury’s client, who is also Black, as well as their respective neighborhoods.

“Judge Hooks described his neighborhood as being rougher and grittier, and that if Mr. Thomas were ever to find himself in Judge Hooks’ neighborhood, he would get ‘jumped,’” the motion alleges.

Hooks repeatedly referred to Thomas as a “punk” and told him that by his age, he had served in the military, became a licensed attorney and was working at a law firm, according to the motion. He also commented, “Let’s see what the boys in County do to him,” the motion said, implying violence in Cook County Jail.

The matter in question was an off-the-record conference in chambers and therefore wasn’t recorded nor was a transcript produced. In support of his motion, Fakhoury included an affidavit from his then-law clerk, now a licensed attorney, who was present at the conference and attested to the allegation in the motion.

Hooks, though, denied the allegations in a subsequent court hearing, calling the motion an “untimely, defamatory submission.”

It was not the first time Hooks had been reassigned from judicial duties. In 2018, Hooks was temporarily reassigned to administrative duties and referred to anger management counseling.

At the time Evans said Hooks was “acting in such a manner that created a hostile work environment for another judge.” It did not happen in a courtroom, the chief judge said in a release.

Hooks won a retention vote in 2022 to a term that would have ended in 2028.

In 2020, Hooks issued a certificate of innocence for Wilson, finding he was an innocent bystander as his brother, Andrew, killed two Chicago police officers. Wilson’s third trial, presided over by Hooks, exploded earlier that year amid allegations of perjury against a prosecutor who handled an earlier trial. The prosecutor, Nicholas Trutenko, and a civil actions assistant state’s attorney, Andrew Horvat, are facing charges in connection with the case.

Hooks was sharply critical of the police and prosecutors, and called Wilson’s case one of the most complicated of the Burge-related matters.

“This court does not listen to those who have not read the record, studied the record,” he said of people who have told him Wilson was a “cop killer.” “It is our job to take the deep dive.”