About Abbey!

Abbey Fishman Romanek lives in Wilmette with her husband of more than 20 years and three wonderful boys.  Her life and career have been defined by dedication, intelligence and compassion -- the same strengths that will make her a successful Cook County Judge. 

Abbey graduated Evanston Township High School in 1978 before going on to earn her undergraduate degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She spent the early part of her career helping to build a family-owned real estate business. Abbey earned her J.D. from IIT Chicago Kent College of Law in 1987 and started her career in law.

As an attorney, Abbey has been on all sides in the courtroom. She has practiced many disciplines of the law and understands the legal system from the defense and prosecution perspectives. That kind of full-spectrum experience is needed in Cook County’s judges.

Abbey began her law practice serving as a private criminal defense attorney, defending people charged with misdemeanors and felonies and representing clients in Federal, State and Appellate Courts. She tried cases to the bench and juries on issues ranging from capital murder to possession of controlled substances.

After three years, Abbey joined the firm Cole, Grasso, Fencl & Skinner where her legal focus shifted to insurance defense litigation, primarily in medical malpractice. She honed her expertise in this area of the law through authoring articles for the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel’s (IDC) publication, IDC Quarterly. Abbey was also a speech and presentation author for her firm’s expert legal presentations to the law community. Abbey then moved to the firms Connelly & Schroeder and Landau, Omahana, Tucker and Progar. Abbey handled the firm’s primary focus of medical malpractice. Her practice also included Illinois Department of Professional Regulation defense, product liability, medical device liability, legal malpractice, civil rights and union contract litigation.

Abbey’s experience and legal expertise led to founding her own firm in 2001, Tucker Bower Robin & Romanek. She was also greatly honored to serve as an adjunct law professor at her alma-mater, Chicago Kent. Abbey’s law career took yet another turn, gaining a new set of legal insights when she joined the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. She served three years as a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau. At the Illinois AG’s office, Abbey indicted and prosecuted physicians, healthcare institutions, nursing homes, individuals and vendors for fraudulent billing activities, as well as Medicaid related False Claims Act cases in State and Federal Court. Abbey also directed investigations to develop evidence for criminal and civil prosecution of Medicaid Fraud in association with Illinois State Police, FBI, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Department of Justice.

In 2006, Abbey decided to devote herself to her family and community full-time while still maintaining a small law practice on the side. She recognized quickly that other individual attorneys could benefit from shared resources and referrals, and North Shore LAW was born.  Along with nearly twenty local attorneys, North Shore LAW meets with clients where they live, and offers counsel on issues as varied as patent law and immigration.  More personal than a law firm, the association serves well Abbey's belief that the law should be equally accessible to everyone.

You can see Abbey brings a unique level of diverse legal experience and expertise to the race for Cook County Judge. Her knack for public service, justice and eagerness to serve will make her a judge this community and Cook County will be proud of.

Thanks for supporting Abbey Fishman Romanek!