THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Judge Miriam Balanoff

March 4, 1926 – September 28, 2017

“Anti-labor bills are so bad that you would have to eat a toad before breakfast before you could vote for them.” – Rep. Miriam Balanoff, Chicago Tribune, May 21, 1981

Circuit Court Judge, politician, lawyer, educator.  Advocate for women’s, human, civil, LGBTQ and workers’ rights. Devoted to social justice and progressive causes. Taught a course on women and the law at Chicago-area colleges. Elected to Illinois House of Representatives, 1978, serving 2 terms. Supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment. Introduced Employer Relocation Act, proposed bills to protect workers affected by plant closings, fought to remove sales taxes on foods and medicines. Elected to a judgeship on Circuit Court of Cook County, 1986; served 14 years on the bench. Hunter College, Manhattan. Bachelor’s degree, University of Chicago. J.D. degree, (full scholarship), University of Chicago Law School, 1963.

Photo. Judge Miriam Balanoff