Judge Arthur Wheatley

Judge Circuit Court of Cook County
www.electjudgearthurwheatley.com

Professional History
Circuit Court of Cook County
Chicago Transit Authority
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of
Special Counsel
Solo-practitioner
Federal Trade Commission Bureau
of Competition

Education
Bachelor of Arts, Oberlin College-1970
Juris Doctor of Law,
University of Michigan -1973

Organizations
Cook County Bar Association
Illinois Judges Association
Illinois State Bar Association
Illinois Judicial Council
National Audubon Society
Oriental Institute

Judge Arthur P. Wheatley was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. The son of a Chicago Police Officer and a Cook County social worker, Judge Wheatley began his legal career in Washington, DC as an attorney in the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition. There he did antitrust enforcement and worked on investigations of mergers and acquisitions of domestic wineries by the major distillers. Following his tenure at the FTC he remained in the District of Columbia and began working as a solo-practitioner.

As a solo-practitioner, Judge Wheatley and another colleague litigated one of the first class action race discrimination lawsuits brought against the federal government, on behalf of a class of African-American professionals.

He returned to Chicago in 1978 and was employed in the Office of Special Counsel at the U.S. Department of Energy. There he worked with teams of auditors who investigated the major oil refineries compliance with federal pricing and allocation guidelines.

In 1986, Judge Wheatley joined the Law Department of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the second largest transportation company in the United States. He began his career as a staff trial attorney and he ended his career twenty-three years later as a Deputy General Counsel. In his capacity as a deputy, he managed the Tort Litigation Section, the largest group of attorneys in the law department, which defended thousands of lawsuits and claims involving everything from property damage to catastrophic injuries. In addition to supervising a team of tort attorneys and a Claims Department, Judge Wheatley also managed a liability portfolio with an estimated value of 40-50 million dollars. He chaired the CTA's Settlement Committee and served as the CTA Fund Advisor to the Regional Transportation Authority's Loss Finance Plan for catastrophic losses.

Throughout his career, Judge Wheatley has remained active with the Cook County Bar Association. For many years he served on its board for several different presidents and chaired its Judicial Evaluation Committee.

In March 2010, he was appointed to the position of Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. His appointment to the 7th Judicial Subcircuit was a result of the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Amanda Toney. He is seeking to be elected in the March 2012 General Primary Election.

Judge Wheatley and his wife, Byung Soon, a pianist with the United Methodist Church, reside on Chicago's West Side.