Celebrating Polish Heritage Month with Justice Pucinski

To celebrate Polish Heritage Month, we're highlighting diverse voices in the judiciary to uplift and inspire others in the community. The following features First District Appellate Court Justice Aurelia Pucinski and her thoughts on her career, diversity, and more.

What inspired you to pursue a career in law?

My father. He went to John Marshall Law School and always told me that every day he was happy he had that legal training. He was very liberating for a dad in the 50'and 60's. If we were watching a TV show about a lawyer, he'd say: "See that secretary? She's smarter than that lawyer. You be the lawyer!" It was important to me because I knew I would always be working, probably a working mother, and I wanted to set a good example for my children. But at the back of my mind, I knew I wanted to go into politics and seek election someday, and that a law background would be great for that.

When you reflect on your career, what accomplishments stand out to you?

Being a Commissioner at the Water Reclamation District and getting 126 suburban mayors and the federal government to agree on a different way to accomplish a major water project which saved the suburbs millions of dollars. Being able to read and understand the federal laws, rules, and regulations in a lawyerly way made that possible. As Clerk of the Circuit Court - making sure we were doing everything the laws of Illinois required, while still finding new ways to do the job was the best part of the job. As a judge - being a real person and understanding the underdog while following the law but acknowledging when the law and fairness are not in sync, has been both a challenge and a privilege. As a judge on the Appellate Court, dealing with a difficult "SLAPP" case in a way that encouraged the legislature to clarify the law.

What are your favorite traditions or customs of your culture?

I love everything about a Polish Christmas. The menus, the glass ornaments from Poland, the beautiful music that I learned as a child, the sense that family is everything, sharing Oplatek - unconsecrated wafer - where everyone takes some of everyone else's wafer, kissing and hugging and wishing each other special blessings for happiness. During Polish Heritage month I share my heritage with my colleagues and my community. Poles arrived on the shores of America in 1619 with Captain John Smith and were the first workers to hold a work stoppage to ensure their right to own land and vote!

How has your heritage shaped who you are today?

The core commitment of every Pole is to God, family and community. The work ethic is to do every task with a commitment to excellence. The determination to be free and independent is in our genes and has been through all the different stages of Poland as a nation through to today as both Poles abroad and Polish Americans stand firm for independence and the recognition of human dignity for everyone. I have seen all of that in my parents and grandparents and hope that every day I share those core values with my own children and grandchildren.

Why is diversity important on the bench?

Every court case is nerve wracking for everyone: the litigants, the lawyers, the jury, the gallery. The value of diversity in the judiciary is that by being of the community and from the community judges lower the pressure on everyone. When litigants know that judges are either from their own heritage or are talking to other judges of their heritage it makes the whole process of court more reassuring that everyone's experience is understood. This is one of the reasons I think it is good for judges to be elected: it forces candidates to get outside of their own bubble and meet people in different neighborhoods, from different backgrounds and with different ideas.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I'm proud of my Polish heritage and the role Poles have played in America and in Chicago since the earliest days. Look at the beautiful churches Polish immigrants built; the economic success of our city that Polish immigrants and Polish Americans have built with their hard work and entrepreneurship; the long list of famous Poles like Kosciuszko, Pulaski, Copernicus, Lech Walesa, Pope John Paul II, Steve Wozniak, Chopin, Enigma code breakers, Martha Stewart, Marie Curie, Christine Baranski, John Krasinski, and many more. Our community has about 160 languages, each representing a different heritage. Each brings beauty and strength to our shared life. This mosaic is fabulous and dynamic, and I work every day to make it strong, resilient, and open.