Patricia Martin, former presiding judge of the juvenile court’s child protection division, bilked a decorated WWII vet out of more than $380,000. She pleaded guilty to theft and also was ordered to pay $122,763.73 in restitution.
Former Cook County Judge Patricia Martin was sentenced Friday to four years of probation after pleading guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from World War II veteran Oscar Wilkerson Jr., who was one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen.
Martin, who was head of the Cook County juvenile court’s child protection division until her 2020 retirement, appeared before Judge Terry Gallagher and pleaded guilty to one count of theft with a value between $100,000 and $500,000.
She was sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to pay $122,763.73 in restitution.
Wilkerson, who died in February 2023 at 96, had been the last known surviving member of the Tuskegee Airmen in the Chicago area. In 2007, he was among about 300 surviving members of the trailblazing all-Black aviation unit awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President George W. Bush.
more at https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2025/12/05/ex-cook-county-judge-sentenced-to-probation-for-stealing-from-tuskegee-airman