Judge Sandra Otaka—the first Asian American to be elected a Cook County judge—died of natural causes June 6, according to the Chicago Tribune. She was 57.
Born in California, Otaka was a third-generation Japanese-American. Her mother and grandparents were held in U.S. internment camps during the second World War.
She moved to Chicago and began her legal career with the law firm Sidley Austin. Appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2000, she became, in 2002, the second Asian-American to be elected a judge by Illinois voters.
Otaka was known as a fierce advocate for human rights, including for the LGBT community, having served on human-rights commissions in Chicago.
Out historian Bill Kelley said of Otaka, “Sandra and I served together on the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance drafting committee and later on the county Human Rights Commission, of which she was vice chairperson for several years while I was chairperson. She was always full of energy, ideas, and humor and had a keen appreciation of coalition-building. All of us are lucky she was always on the go, because she was able to accomplish a great deal for a number of constituencies, among them not only Asian Americans but
also sexual minorities, before her life was cut short so soon.”
Otaka raised her late brother’s son, Jeffrey. She is also survived by a sister, Susan Smith.
Photo courtesy of Aurora Austriaco