Michael Toomin, retired Cook County judge known for high-profile cases, fight with Democratic Party, dead at 85

Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin at a Dec. 3, 2012, induction ceremony for 34 newly elected judges at the Thompson Center. (Brian Jackson / Sun-Times file)

Michael Toomin, a retired Cook County judge who in more than four decades on the bench presided over some of the highest-profile criminal cases heard in Chicago before retiring in December, died Friday at 85.

Mr. Toomin died of an “aggressive cancer,” according to Assistant Cook County Public Defender Bill Murphy, a friend who was at the judge’s side when he died while in hospice care.