McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge took the bench after a career as a private attorney representing several municipalities in the far northwest suburban area.
“He had a brilliant mind,” said McHenry County Associate Judge Mary Nader. “He was one of the sharpest jurists I’ve ever met — he could remember statutory citations, case law citations and he could recite them to you as though he was reading from a teleprompter.”
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Coppedge, 61, died Nov. 13 of a cardiac arrest at Northwestern Medicine in Woodstock after falling ill while in his chambers, said his wife of 39 years, Meg. He was a longtime Crystal Lake resident.
Born and raised in Joliet, Coppedge graduated from Minooka High School in 1980 and received a bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Francis in Joliet, now known as the University of St. Francis, in 1984 followed by a law degree from Northern Illinois University three years later.
Coppedge began practicing law for the Crystal Lake firm now known as Cowlin, Naughton, Curran & Hanzel. The firm’s senior partner, John Cowlin, recalled that during the interview process in 1987, he felt that Coppedge “was above the rest that were interviewed, even though he was right out of law school.”
Coppedge largely practiced municipal law. He was Crystal Lake’s city attorney for many years, and also village attorney for Huntley.
“He was a litigator, and when he would litigate for cities, especially Huntley, he was well-known for giving it his all and always being tenacious and working as hard as he could for the cities and villages that he was representing,” Coppedge’s wife said.
Retired McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather recalled Coppedge appearing before her for many years before he became a judge.
“He was an outstanding lawyer. He was an ethical, honest, hardworking and compassionate man,” Prather said. “He took his work very seriously and he did an outstanding job.”
In 2015, Coppedge applied to be an associate judge in McHenry County, and he was selected by the court’s judges. At the outset, he heard divorce cases in the court’s family law division. Later, he began hearing felony cases.
Nader said she had encouraged Coppedge to apply to be a judge and that she was “delighted, of course, that he was appointed.”
“He was very respectful to everyone regardless of their lot in life,” Nader said.
Afternoon Briefing
Within the courthouse, Coppedge was known for his compassion and support for his colleagues, Nader said.
“Despite all his amazing-ness, he was very modest and never thought he was better than anybody else, and if you tried to compliment him, he would deflect it,” Nader said. “He has left a huge hole in our judiciary.”
Coppedge was reappointed to be an associate judge in 2019 and again in June.
In addition to his wife, Coppedge is survived by a son, Matthew; his mother, Janice; two sisters, Debbie Shreve and Jacque Arnold; and two grandchildren.
Services were held.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
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