Naheda Zayyad-Hussien

Prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
Class of 2000
Naheda Zayyad-Hussien is a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She currently serves as the first chair assistant state’s attorney in the Felony Trial Division in the Fifth District in Bridgeview.

After receiving her associate degree from Moraine Valley, Zayyad-Hussien earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Governors State University and went on to study law at the University of Illinois Chicago. While in law school, she served as a law clerk at two defense firms and as a judicial intern for two judges who heard civil cases. She later served as a law clerk with the Attorney General’s Office, working in the Criminal Division alongside senior assistant attorney general prosecutors on cases involving drug enforcement, gambling violations
and more before completing her law degree in 2006.

Over the 18 years Zayyad-Hussien has served in the State’s Attorney’s Office, she worked in various divisions, including appeals, felony review, grand jury, homicide and sex crimes and preliminary branch courts, and
now is the highest-ranking state’s attorney in the felony courtroom, where she oversees over 400 cases. She is dedicated to advocating for victims of crime.

Zayyad-Hussien is the president of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Middle Eastern and North American employee resource group and the women’s employee resource group. In addition, she serves with
law enforcement professionals from the Hate Crime Commission of Illinois, Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the Illinois State Police on a board that addresses hate crimes. She has organized and participated in events to educate the community on legal topics and regularly
mentors young people who are interested in pursuing a legal career.

As an active member in the Arab American community, Zayyad-Hussien volunteers for organizations such as the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, American Middle East Voter Alliance Political Action Committee, Arab American Bar Association, Justice Coalition Action and Muslim Bar Association. Her commitment to her profession and dedication to her community led to her being named a 40 Under 40 awardee by the Arab
America Foundation in 2021.

She has been a speaker on discussion panels at Moraine Valley to show her gratitude for the positive experience she had as a student at the college.

Zayyad-Hussien and her husband, Jacoub, are parents of 9-year-old twins, Mohammed and Miriam.