Judge Kubasiak: Cook County Bench, Beverage Tax Case, and JAMS

Judge Daniel J. Kubasiak is a retired Cook County Circuit Court judge who served on the bench from 2012 to 2026, spending most of that tenure in the Law Division’s Commercial Section. After retiring, he joined JAMS in Chicago as a mediator, arbitrator, and court-appointed neutral.¹

Background and Path to the Bench

Kubasiak earned a bachelor’s degree from Xavier University in 1971, a master’s in management from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1974, and a law degree from Loyola University Chicago in 1981. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1971 to 1980.²

Before practicing law, he spent roughly eleven years in Chicago city government, including stints as First Assistant Budget Director (1974–1980) and First Deputy Comptroller (1980–1981). He later served as Chief Administrative Officer for the City Council Committee on Finance (1983–1987) and as counsel for the Illinois State Treasurer (1987–1994).³

In 1993, he co-founded Kubasiak, Fylstra, Thorpe & Rotunno, P.C., a Chicago firm handling construction law, business litigation, tax, real estate, employment, and mergers and acquisitions. Clients included the Chicago White Sox, Allstate Life Insurance Company, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Toyota Motor Credit, Rush University Medical Center, and Walsh Construction Company.⁴ He remained a partner there until the Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to the Cook County Circuit Court in late 2012 to fill the vacancy left by Judge James D. Egan. The appointment took effect November 30, 2012.³

Time on the Cook County Bench

Kubasiak held three assignments over his nearly fourteen years as a judge:

Municipal Division, Traffic Section, 2012–2017
Law Division, Tax and Miscellaneous Remedies Section, 2017–2018
Law Division, Commercial Section, 2018–2026

The Commercial Section assignment, where he handled complex commercial litigation for his final eight years, was the longest and most defining. More than 115 of his rulings were reviewed on appeal, and his decisions were affirmed in whole or in part roughly 94 percent of the time.²

The Cook County Beverage Tax Case

Kubasiak’s most publicly visible ruling came in Illinois Retail Merchants Association v. Cook County Department of Revenue, a 2017 constitutional challenge to the county’s sweetened beverage tax. Retailers argued the tax violated the Illinois Uniformity Clause and was unconstitutionally vague.⁵

On July 28, 2017, Kubasiak dismissed the complaint. He acknowledged the uniformity concern raised by the tax’s different treatment of pre-made and custom-made sweetened drinks, but found the county had adequately justified the distinction based on administrative burden and product availability. He rejected the vagueness challenge, finding that “people of ordinary intelligence could understand and comply with the requirements of the Tax,” and dissolved the temporary restraining order that had blocked the tax from taking effect.⁵

During the proceedings, Kubasiak criticized the county’s demand for more than $16 million in damages from the retailers to cover lost tax revenue during the restraining order period, saying it would have a “chilling effect” on litigants seeking injunctive relief.⁵

Service Outside the Courtroom

Kubasiak served on the board of the Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program from 2011 to 2026 and was board president during the 2020–2021 term.⁶ The program operates under the Illinois Supreme Court and provides confidential mental health and substance use support to judges and attorneys. The Supreme Court reappointed him to the board in October 2020 for a term running through September 2022.⁷

He also served on the board of the Poshard Foundation for Abused Children from 1999 through 2026.² In 2017, the Illinois Creditors Bar Association honored him with the Alexander P. White Award.

Current Work at JAMS

JAMS announced Kubasiak’s arrival at its Chicago Resolution Center on June 29, 2026. His practice covers business and commercial disputes, employment, professional liability, real estate, construction, personal injury, and intellectual property. He described his approach as working “with counsel and parties to foster productive dialogue and achieve fair, practical, cost-effective resolutions.” JAMS CEO Kimberly Taylor said his bench experience and decades in private practice gave him a strong foundation for resolving complex disputes.¹

1
JAMS. Daniel J. Kubasiak Joins JAMS in Chicago
2
JAMS. Hon. Daniel J. Kubasiak (Ret.) Profile
3
Leyhane Blog. Daniel J. Kubasiak Appointed to Egan Vacancy
4
Martindale-Hubbell. Kubasiak, Fylstra, Thorpe & Rotunno, P.C.
5
Inside SALT. Illinois Court Upholds Cook County’s Beverage Tax
6
Illinois Lawyers’ Assistance Program. Annual Report 2020–2021
7
Illinois Courts. Lawyers’ Assistance Program Board of Directors Reappointed