Sue Tohinaka, age 54, died Monday, October 20, 1997 in Chicago, Illinois after a long battle with cancer.
Sue was born in Brigham City, grew up in Salt Lake City, and moved to the midwest in 1973. In Chicago, Sue was the executive director of the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board.She is survived by her two sons, Matthew and Jonathan Kato; mother, Ayako; sister, Janice (Dennis) Jarrett; brothers, Ken (Shirley), Carl
(Shizuko) and Ray (Sallie). She was predeceased by her father, George Tohinaka.
Memorial services will be held Tuesday, November 4, 1997 at 7 p.m. at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, 211 West 100 South.
From Chicago Tribune:
Sue Tohinaka, 54, executive director of the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, helped handle that agency's proceedings against a number of judges and an Illinois Supreme Court chief justice.
A resident of the Lakeview neighborhood, she died of cancer Monday in the hospice at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
"Sue was very dedicated to her job," said Sandra Otaka, chairwoman of the Judicial Inquiry Board. "After she became ill, she had a cot put in her office so she could lie down when she was tired, but . . . continue her work."
Ms. Tohinaka was appointed to her position as executive director and general counsel a year and a half ago. Prior to that, she had served as an investigator for it.
A native of Brigham City, Utah, she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1984 and her law degree from the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1989. She served as an associate with the Carroll Law Firm and then Morrison & Weil in Northbrook. From 1991 to 1994, she was a shareholder with Morrison, Carroll & Tohinaka, Northbrook.
In her short time with the Judicial Inquiry Board, she helped direct two high-profile proceedings. One involved State Supreme Court Chief Justice James Heiple for misusing his office to avoid traffic citations. These charges were used by the Illinois Courts Commission to censure him.
"She was a calm individual, who handled the matter with class and with dignity," Otaka said.
The other highly-publicized case, not yet resolved, involves two Cook County associate judges who allegedly conspired to have a traffic citation dismissed.
Ms. Tohinaka was on the board of directors and past secretary of the Asian-American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area and past board member of the Japanese-American Citizens League.
Survivors include two sons, Jonathan Kato and Matthew Kato; her mother, Ayako; two brothers; and a sister.
Services will be held in Salt Lake City.
Lisle Brown
From Deseret News:
Sue Tohinaka, age 54, died Monday, October 20, 1997 in Chicago, Illinois after a long battle with cancer.
Sue was born in Brigham City, grew up in Salt Lake City, and moved to the midwest in 1973. In Chicago, Sue was the executive director of the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board.She is survived by her two sons, Matthew and Jonathan Kato; mother, Ayako; sister, Janice (Dennis) Jarrett; brothers, Ken (Shirley), Carl
(Shizuko) and Ray (Sallie). She was predeceased by her father, George Tohinaka.
Memorial services will be held Tuesday, November 4, 1997 at 7 p.m. at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, 211 West 100 South.
From Chicago Tribune:
Sue Tohinaka, 54, executive director of the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, helped handle that agency's proceedings against a number of judges and an Illinois Supreme Court chief justice.
A resident of the Lakeview neighborhood, she died of cancer Monday in the hospice at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
"Sue was very dedicated to her job," said Sandra Otaka, chairwoman of the Judicial Inquiry Board. "After she became ill, she had a cot put in her office so she could lie down when she was tired, but . . . continue her work."
Ms. Tohinaka was appointed to her position as executive director and general counsel a year and a half ago. Prior to that, she had served as an investigator for it.
A native of Brigham City, Utah, she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1984 and her law degree from the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul in 1989. She served as an associate with the Carroll Law Firm and then Morrison & Weil in Northbrook. From 1991 to 1994, she was a shareholder with Morrison, Carroll & Tohinaka, Northbrook.
In her short time with the Judicial Inquiry Board, she helped direct two high-profile proceedings. One involved State Supreme Court Chief Justice James Heiple for misusing his office to avoid traffic citations. These charges were used by the Illinois Courts Commission to censure him.
"She was a calm individual, who handled the matter with class and with dignity," Otaka said.
The other highly-publicized case, not yet resolved, involves two Cook County associate judges who allegedly conspired to have a traffic citation dismissed.
Ms. Tohinaka was on the board of directors and past secretary of the Asian-American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area and past board member of the Japanese-American Citizens League.
Survivors include two sons, Jonathan Kato and Matthew Kato; her mother, Ayako; two brothers; and a sister.
Services will be held in Salt Lake City.