The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois serves the residents of forty-six counties, which are divided into four divisions. The counties are: Adams, Brown, Bureau, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Kankakee, Knox, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McLean, Macoupin, Macon, Marshall, Mason, Menard, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Vermilion, Warren, and Woodford counties.
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five appellate judicial districts of the state: three justices from the First District and one from each of the other four districts. Each justice is elected for a term of ten years and the chief justice is elected by the court from its members for a three-year term.
Careen M. Gordon is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who served as a representative from the 75th district from her appointment in December 2003 until leaving office in January 2011.
Rita B. Garman is a former American judge who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois. She represented the Fourth Judicial District on the Supreme Court. She was elected by her peers to serve a three-year term as chief justice from October 26, 2013, to October 25, 2016. Garman announced on May 9, 2022, that she would retire from the Supreme Court on July 7, 2022. On May 10, 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court announced that Fourth District Appellate Justice Lisa Holder White would be appointed to succeed Garman effective July 8, 2022.
LeRoy Francis Millette Jr. is a senior justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Millette was appointed to the Court by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Justice G. Steven Agee, who had been appointed to the federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. On February 11, 2009, Millette was confirmed for a full 12-year term by the Virginia General Assembly beginning retroactive to February 1, 2009. He entered senior service in 2015. Millette previously served for less than one year on the Court of Appeals of Virginia, also having been appointed by Governor Kaine and then being subsequently confirmed by the General Assembly. Prior to that, he served as a judge of the Circuit Court of Prince William County, Virginia, in which position he presided over the capital murder trial of John Allen Muhammad, the infamous Beltway Sniper. Millette confirmed the jury's sentence of death of Muhammad. Millette also was involved in some of the proceedings of the Lorena Bobbitt trial in 1993. Prior to serving on the Circuit Court, he was a general district court judge, making him one of only three Virginia jurists, along with Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr. and Justice Barbara Milano Keenan, to have served at all four levels of courts in Virginia. He received his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary and his law degree from the Marshall–Wythe School of Law at William and Mary. Millette is married to M. Elizabeth O’Brien Millette and they have two children, Lauren Elizabeth Millette and LeRoy F. Millette III.
Speculation abounded over potential nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States by Ronald Reagan even before his presidency officially began, due to the advanced ages of several justices, and Reagan's own highlighting of Supreme Court nominations as a campaign issue. Reagan had promised "to appoint only those opposed to abortion and the 'judicial activism' of the Warren and Burger Courts". Conversely, some opposed to Reagan argued that he could "appoint as many as five Justices" and would "use the opportunity to stack the Court against women, minorities and social justice".
Mary Jane Theis is an Illinois Supreme Court Justice for the First Judicial District in Cook County, Illinois.
Mary Lane Mikva is an American jurist who is a judge of the First District Appellate Court of Illinois in Chicago, serving from her appointment in July 2016.
The 2020 Illinois judicial elections consisted of both partisan and retention elections, including those for three seats on the Supreme Court of Illinois and 10 seats in the Illinois Appellate Court. Primary elections were held on March 17, 2020, and the general election was held on November 3, 2020. These elections were part of the 2020 Illinois elections.
The 2018 Illinois judicial elections consisted of both partisan and retention elections, including those for one seat on the Supreme Court of Illinois and five seats in the Illinois Appellate Court. Primary elections were held on March 20, 2018, and general elections were held on November 6, 2018. These elections were part of the 2018 Illinois elections.
The 2014 Illinois judicial elections consisted of both partisan and retention elections, including those one seat of the Supreme Court of Illinois for ten seats in the Illinois Appellate Court. Primary elections were held on March 18, 2014, and general elections were held on November 4, 2014. These elections were part of the 2014 Illinois elections.
The 2012 Illinois judicial elections consisted of both partisan and retention elections, including those one seat of the Supreme Court of Illinois for ten seats in the Illinois Appellate Court. Primary elections were held on March 20, 2012, and general elections were held on November 6, 2012. These elections were part of the 2012 Illinois elections.
David K. Overstreet is a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court.
Robert L. Carter is a former justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. Carter was sworn in on December 8, 2020, and left office on December 5, 2022. He is the son-in-law of former Judge and Representative Paul E. Rink
Jackie Haas is a Republican member of the Illinois House from the 79th district since her appointment on December 8, 2020. The 79th district, located mostly in the Chicago area, includes all or parts of Aroma Park, Beecher, Bonfield, Bourbonnais, Braceville, Bradley, Buckingham, Cabery, Chebanse, Coal City, Diamond, East Brooklyn, Essex, Gardner, Godley, Herscher, Hopkins Park, Irwin, Kankakee, Limestone, Momence, Peotone, Reddick, Sammons Point, South Wilmington, St. Anne, Sun River Terrace, and Union Hill.
The 2022 Illinois judicial elections consisted of both partisan and retention elections.
Lisa Holder White is an American lawyer who has served as a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court since July 2022. She previously served as a judge of the Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court from 2013 to 2022, and as a trial judge in the Illinois Sixth Judicial Circuit Court from 2001 to 2013. She is the first Black woman to be elevated to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Joy Virginia Cunningham is an American lawyer from Illinois who serves as a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. She previously served as a justice of the Illinois First District Appellate Court from 2016 until 2022.
Elizabeth M. Rochford is an American lawyer from Illinois who serves as a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court since 2022.
