In Illinois, there are three federal district courts, a state supreme court, an appellate court, and trial courts. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

Federal courts
State supreme court
State appellate court

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Illinois's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Illinois's state court system.

Judicial selection process[edit]

See also: Illinois judicial elections

The seven justices of the Illinois Supreme Court and the 42 judges of the Illinois Appellate Court are selected in an identical manner. Judges are chosen by popular vote in partisan elections and serve 10-year terms, after which they must compete in uncontested, nonpartisan retention elections to remain on the court.^[1]

The Illinois Circuit Court is the unified trial court in the state, divided into 23 judicial circuits. Circuit judges are elected in partisan elections to six-year terms. Upon the completion of these terms, judges that wish to remain on the court must compete in uncontested, nonpartisan retention elections.^[1]

To read more about judicial elections in Illinois, click here.

Federal courts[edit]

The federal district courts in Illinois are the:

Central District of Illinois
Northern District of Illinois
Southern District of Illinois

Appeals go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.

Active judges[edit]

Northern district[edit]

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Charles Norgle	Ronald Reagan (R)	October 4, 1984 -	Northwestern University, 1964	University of Illinois-Chicago, John Marshall Law School, 1969
Rebecca Pallmeyer	Bill Clinton (D)	October 22, 1998 -	University of Valparaiso, 1976	University of Chicago Law School, 1979
Virginia Kendall	George W. Bush (R)	January 3, 2006 -	Northwestern University, 1984	Loyola University, Chicago, 1992
Robert Dow	George W. Bush (R)	December 5, 2007 -	Yale University, 1987	Harvard Law School, 1993
Gary Feinerman	Barack Obama (D)	June 29, 2010 -	Yale College, 1987	Stanford Law School, 1991
Sharon Coleman	Barack Obama (D)	July 13, 2010 -	Northern Illinois University, 1981	University of Washington School of Law, 1984
Edmond E. Chang	Barack Obama (D)	December 20, 2010 -	University of Michigan,E., 1991	Northwestern University School of Law, 1994
John Z. Lee	Barack Obama (D)	May 8, 2012 -	Harvard University, 1989	Harvard Law School, 1992
John Tharp Jr.	Barack Obama (D)	May 16, 2012 -	Duke University, 1982	Northwestern University Law, 1990
Thomas M. Durkin	Barack Obama (D)	December 19, 2012 -	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1975	DePaul University Law, 1978
Sara Lee Ellis	Barack Obama (D)	October 8, 2013 -	Indiana University, 1991	Loyola University Law, Chicago, 1994
Andrea R. Wood	Barack Obama (D)	October 15, 2013 -	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1986	University of Illinois Law, 1989
Manish Shah	Barack Obama (D)	May 1, 2014 -	Stanford University, 1994	University of Chicago Law School, 1998
John Robert Blakey	Barack Obama (D)	December 19, 2014 -	University of Notre Dame, 1988	University of Notre Dame, 1992
Jorge L. Alonso	Barack Obama (D)	December 19, 2014 -	University of Miami, 1988	George Washington University Law Center, 1991
Martha Pacold	Donald Trump (R)	August 19, 2019 -	Indiana University, 1999	University of Chicago Law School, 2002
Mary Rowland	Donald Trump (R)	August 20, 2019 -	University of Michigan, 1984	University of Chicago Law School, 1988
Steven Seeger	Donald Trump (R)	September 13, 2019 -	Wheaton College, 1993	University of Michigan Law School, 1997
John Kness	Donald Trump (R)	February 18, 2020 -	Northwestern University, 1991	Northwestern University, 2003
Franklin Ulyses Valderrama	Donald Trump (R)	September 23, 2020 -	University of Illinois, Chicago, 1985	DePaul University College of Law, 1988
Iain David Johnston	Donald Trump (R)	September 23, 2020 -	Rockford College, 1987	University of Illinois-Chicago, John Marshall Law School, 1990

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

Democrat appointed: 12
Republican appointed: 9

Central district[edit]

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
James E. Shadid	Barack Obama (D)	March 10, 2011 -	Bradley University, 1979	University of Illinois-Chicago, John Marshall Law School, 1983
Sue Myerscough	Barack Obama (D)	March 14, 2011 -	Southern Illinois University, 1973	Southern Illinois University Law School, 1980
Sara Lynn Darrow	Barack Obama (D)	August 3, 2011 -	Marquette University, 1992	Saint Louis University Law, 1997
Colin Stirling Bruce	Barack Obama (D)	October 8, 2013 -	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1986	University of Illinois Law, 1989

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

Democrat appointed: 4
Republican appointed: 0

Southern district[edit]

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Nancy J. Rosenstengel	Barack Obama (D)	May 12, 2014 -	University of Illinois, 1990	Southern Illinois University Law School, 1993
Staci Michelle Yandle	Barack Obama (D)	June 19, 2014 -	University of Illinois, 1983	Vanderbilt University Law School, 1987
Stephen Patrick McGlynn	Donald Trump (R)	September 18, 2020 -	University of Dayton, 1983	St. Louis University School of Law, 1987
David Wayne Dugan	Donald Trump (R)	September 23, 2020 -	Eastern Illinois University, 1982	Valparaiso University, 1985

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

Democrat appointed: 2
Republican appointed: 2

District map[edit]

Judicial selection[edit]

Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, click here.

State supreme court[edit]

See also: Illinois Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the state of Illinois. There are seven justices serving five districts, elected to 10-year terms. The Supreme Court has general administrative and supervisory authority over all courts in the state. The court hears appeals from lower courts and may exercise original jurisdiction in cases relating to revenue, mandamus, prohibition, or habeas corpus.^[1]^[2]

The following judges currently sit on the court:

Judge	Appointed By
Mary Jane Theis	Elected
Anne M. Burke	Elected
P. Scott Neville	Illinois Supreme Court
David K. Overstreet	Elected
Michael J. Burke	Illinois Supreme Court
Rita Garman	Illinois Supreme Court
Robert L. Carter	Illinois Supreme Court

State court of appeals[edit]

See also: Illinois Appellate Court

Illinois Appellate Court

The Illinois Appellate Court is the intermediate appellate court in the state. There are five appellate districts and judges are elected to 10-year terms. The court hears appeals from the circuit courts, except for cases explicitly appealed to the state supreme court. The appellate court's rulings can be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.^[1]^[3]^[4]

The following judges currently sit on the court:

First District[edit]

More information on Illinois's state courts:
	Selection methods; Elections; Salaries; Federal courts

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Joy Cunningham	December 4, 2006 - Present	Elected
Eileen O'Neill Burke	2016 - Present	Elected
Carl A. Walker	June 15, 2018 - Present	Elected
Michael Hyman	January 8, 2013 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court
Cynthia Cobbs	September 22, 2011 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court
Aurelia Marie Pucinski	2010 - Present	Elected
Bertina E. Lampkin	2009 - Present	Elected
Daniel James Pierce	2012 - Present	Elected
Thomas Hoffman	1993 - Present	Elected
Jesse G. Reyes	November 6, 2012 - Present	Elected
Terrence J. Lavin	February 1, 2010 - Present	Elected
David Ellis	December 1, 2014 - Present	Elected
James Fitzgerald Smith	November 5, 2002 - Present	Elected
Mary Katherine Rochford	2010 - Present	Elected
Mathias W. Delort	November 6, 2012 - Present	Elected
Sharon Oden-Johnson	December 7, 2020 - Present	Elected
Mary Ellen Coghlan	July 30, 2019 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court
Nathaniel R. Howse	August 10, 2009 - Present	Elected
Robert E. Gordon	December 7, 2020 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court
LeRoy K. Martin, Jr.	January 4, 2021 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court
Mary L. Mikva	2016 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court
Margaret Stanton McBride	1998 - Present	Elected
Maureen Connors	2010 - Present	Elected
Sheldon Harris	2010 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court

Second District[edit]

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Joseph Birkett	2010 - Present	Elected
Liam C. Brennan	March 2, 2020 - Present	Elected
Susan Hutchinson	December 5, 1994 - Present	Elected
Donald Hudson	2009 - Present	Elected
Robert McLaren	December 5, 1988 - Present	Elected
Kathryn Zenoff	2007 - Present	Elected
Ann B. Jorgensen	2008 - Present	Elected
Mary Seminara-Schostok	2008 - Present	Elected
George Bridges	September 16, 2019 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court

Third District[edit]

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Vicki Wright	December 4, 2006 - Present	Elected
Tom Lytton	December 7, 1992 - Present	Elected
Daniel Schmidt	2002 - Present	Elected
William Holdridge	December 5, 1994 - Present	Elected
Mary O'Brien	December 26, 2003 - Present	Elected
Mary McDade	December 4, 2000 - Present	Elected
Eugene P. Daugherity	December 8, 2020 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court

Fourth District[edit]

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Lisa Holder White	January 14, 2013 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court
Robert Steigmann	1989 - Present	Elected
Thomas M. Harris	2013 - Present	Elected
John W. Turner	2001 - Present	Elected
Craig H. DeArmond	2017 - Present	Elected
Peter C. Cavanagh	2018 - Present	Elected
James Knecht	December 1, 1986 - Present	Elected

Fifth District[edit]

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Barry L. Vaughan	January 4, 2021 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court
Mark M. Boie	May 1, 2019 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court
Judy Cates	November 6, 2012 - Present	Elected
James R. Moore	January 2, 2015 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court
John B. Barberis Jr.	2016 - Present	Elected
Thomas Welch	1980 - Present	Elected
Milton S. Wharton	December 7, 2020 - Present	Illinois Supreme Court

Trial courts[edit]

See also: Illinois Circuit Court

Illinois Circuit Court

The circuit courts are the unified trial court system in Illinois and hold original jurisdiction. The circuit courts are divided into 24 judicial districts. Six are single-county circuits and the remaining 18 circuits are multi-county districts. The court shares jurisdiction with the state supreme court to hear cases about habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, and revenue. The circuit courts also conduct reviews of certain state agency administrative orders.^[5]^[6]

Circuit judges are elected to a six-year term and may run for retention for additional six-year terms. Judges are originally elected from within their judicial circuit, from their county of residence, or from a sub-circuit within the judicial circuit, depending on the relevant court vacancy. Associate judges are appointed by circuit judges in the relevant circuit. Circuit judges elect one of their members to serve as the chief judge of the court. Chief judges have general administrative authority in the judicial circuit and can assign cases to general or specialized divisions in the circuit. The chief judge is subject to the administrative authority of the Illinois Supreme Court.^[5]

In other states[edit]

Click the map below to explore the court structure in other states.

External links[edit]

Search Google News for this topic
Illinois Supreme Court
Illinois Appellate Court

Footnotes[edit]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Illinois Courts, "About the courts in Illinois," accessed March 3, 2021
↑ Illinois General Assembly; Courts: (705 ILCS 25/) Appellate Court Act
↑ Illinois courts, "Illinois Appellate Court General Information," accessed March 3, 2021
↑ Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court, "History of the Illinois Courts," archived August 16, 2014
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Illinois courts, "Illinois Circuit Court General Information," accessed March 3, 2021
↑ Illinois Courts, "Illinois Circuit Court General Information"

Illinois courts

Federal courts:

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois

State courts:

Illinois Supreme Court • Illinois Appellate Court • Illinois Circuit Court

State resources:

Courts in Illinois • Illinois judicial elections • Judicial selection in Illinois

[about-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Illinois Courts, "About the courts in Illinois," accessed March 3, 2021

[jurisdiction-2] Illinois General Assembly; Courts: (705 ILCS 25/) Appellate Court Act

[appelct-3] Illinois courts, "Illinois Appellate Court General Information," accessed March 3, 2021

[4] Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court, "History of the Illinois Courts," archived August 16, 2014

[circ-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Illinois courts, "Illinois Circuit Court General Information," accessed March 3, 2021

[6] Illinois Courts, "Illinois Circuit Court General Information"

Courts In Illinois

Contents

Judicial selection process[edit]

Federal courts[edit]

Active judges[edit]

Northern district[edit]

Central district[edit]

Southern district[edit]

District map[edit]

Judicial selection[edit]

State supreme court[edit]

State court of appeals[edit]

First District[edit]

Second District[edit]

Third District[edit]

Fourth District[edit]

Fifth District[edit]

Trial courts[edit]

In other states[edit]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Footnotes[edit]