06/01/2026
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Hon. Carole K. Bellows.
Judge Bellows’ legacy includes a lasting commitment to supporting future members of the legal profession. In memory of her late husband, she established the Jason E. Bellows Fund, which has provided assistance to first-year law students at the University of Illinois College of Law facing financial need.
Since 2014, the fund has helped open doors for aspiring attorneys through annual partial scholarships.
The Illinois Bar Foundation will remain honored to continue this fund and its impact for years to come.
Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and all who were touched by her life and work.
It is with great sadness that the Illinois State Bar Association announces the passing of the Honorable Carole Kamin Bellows, who died on May 29, 2026, in Evanston, Illinois, at the age of 91. 🤍
Judge Bellows was a trailblazer whose career reshaped the legal profession. She became the first woman elected president of the Illinois State Bar Association (1977–78), the first woman elected to the ISBA Board of Governors, where she served from 1969 to 1979, and the first woman in the United States elected to lead a state bar association. She later served more than three decades on the bench of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Her legacy is one of leadership, perseverance, and lasting impact. Carole Kamin Bellows opened doors long closed to women and belonged to a generation of pioneers who insisted, gently but unrelentingly, that the law was theirs, too. She leaves behind a profession permanently strengthened by her service, example, and achievements.
Visit The Bar News to read Judge Bellows obituary: https://ow.ly/N1mm50Z6oEP
