From Left to
Right: Anne M. Burke, Rita B. Garman, Charles E. Freeman, Thomas
L. Kilbride, Robert R. Thomas, Lloyd A. Karmeier, Mary Jane Theis
The Supreme Court,
highest tribunal in Illinois, has seven justices, elected from judicial
districts for a term of 10 years. Three justices are elected from the First
District (Cook County) and one from each of the other four districts. The
Supreme Court has general administrative and supervisory authority over all
courts in the state. This authority is exercised by the Chief Justice with the
assistance of the Administrative Director and staff appointed by the Supreme
Court. The Supreme Court hears appeals from lower courts and may exercise
original jurisdiction in cases relating to revenue, mandamus, prohibition or
habeas corpus.
The
Illinois Constitution of 1970:
The Judicial
Article (Article VI) of the 1970 Constitution decreased the
Supreme Court's mandatory appellate jurisdiction. Appeals from the circuit
courts were directed to the Supreme Court only when considering the death
sentence. Appeals from the Appellate Court to the Supreme Court were made in
only two instances. The first, if a constitutional question is presented as a
result of an action of the Appellate Court. The other is if the Appellate Court
itself determines that the case should be determined by the Supreme Court. The
1970 Constitution increased the supervisory and administrative authority of the
Supreme Court, as well (A History of the Illinois Judicial System).
The Illinois Supreme
Court Justices
Rita B. Garman, Supreme Court Chief Justice (since October 26, 2013)
Republican
Fourth District
Rita B. Garman was born in Aurora… She
received her B.S. degree in economics with highest honors from the University
of Illinois in 1965, Bronze Tablet, and her J.D. degree with distinction from
the University of Iowa, College of Law in 1968. She was Assistant State's
Attorney in Vermilion County (1969-73); she was engaged in private practice
with Sebat, Swanson, Banks, Lessen & Garman (1973) and was an Associate
Circuit Judge for 12 years. She was a Circuit Judge in the Fifth Judicial
Circuit (1986-95) and Presiding Circuit Judge (1987-95). She was assigned to
the Appellate Court, Fourth District, in July 1995 and was elected to the
position in November 1996. Justice Garman was appointed to the Supreme
Court on February 1, 2001 and elected to the Court on November 5, 2002…
Thomas L. Kilbride,
Supreme Court
Democrat
Third District
Thomas L. Kilbride was born in LaSalle. He
received a B.A. degree magna cum laude from St. Mary's College in Winona,
Minnesota in 1978 and received his law degree from Antioch School of Law in
Washington, D.C., in 1981. Justice Kilbride practiced law for 20 years in Rock Island,
engaging in the general practice of law, including appeals, environmental law,
labor law, employment matters, and other general civil and criminal matters. He
was admitted to practice in the United States District Court of Central
Illinois and the United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He was elected
to the Supreme Court of Illinois for the Third District in 2000 and was elected
as Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court in October, 2010…
Charles E. Freeman,
Supreme Court Justice
Democrat
First District
Charles E. Freeman is a resident of the City
of Chicago. He graduated from Virginia Union University in Richmond, VA, with a
B.A. degree in liberal arts in June 1954. He received his J.D. degree from the
John Marshall Law School in Chicago in February 1962… Justice Freeman engaged in the general practice of law
from 1962 to September 1976 when he was elected to the Circuit Court. Justice
Freeman is a member of the Cook County, Illinois State and DuPage County Bar
Associations, the Illinois Judicial Council, the Illinois and American Judges'
Associations and the American Judicature Society. He has received numerous
awards throughout his career. He was elected to the
Illinois Supreme Court on Nov. 6, 1990, as the first African-American to serve
on the Court. On May 12, 1997, he was selected as Chief Justice and served in
that capacity until January 1, 2000.
Robert R. Thomas, Supreme
Court Justice
Republican
Second District
Robert R. Thomas was born on August 7, 1952,
in Rochester, NY. He received his B.A. degree in Government from the University
of Notre Dame in 1974… He received his J.D. degree from Loyola University
School of Law in 1981. He was elected Circuit Court Judge in DuPage County in
1988. He presided over civil jury trials and was the Acting Chief Judge from
1989 to 1994. In 1994, he was elected to the Appellate Court Second District.
On December 4, 2000, Justice Thomas was sworn in as the Illinois Supreme Court
Justice for the Second District. Justice Thomas was elected to serve as
Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice on September 6, 2005 and served as the
Chief Justice until September 5, 2008. In April 1996, Justice Thomas was
inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame, and in January 1999 he
received the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award…
Lloyd A. Karmeier, Supreme
Court Justice
Republican
Fifth District
Lloyd A. Karmeier was born January 12, 1940…
He received his B.S. degree in 1962 and his J.D. degree in 1964, both from the
University of Illinois… He was engaged in the general practice of law with the
firm of Hohlt, House, DeMoss & Johnson from 1964 to 1986. He was resident
Circuit Judge of Washington County from 1986 to 2004, when he was elected to
the Illinois Supreme Court. Justice Karmeier is a member of the Illinois
Judges' Association, the Washington County, St. Clair County, East St. Louis
and Illinois State Bar Associations, and past member of the American Bar
Association and the American Judicature Society. He served as a member of the
Assembly of the Illinois State Bar Association from 1996 to 2002 and as chair
of the Bench and Bar Section Council. He also served on the Illinois Supreme
Court Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases, chairing the
committee from 2003 to 2004…
Anne M. Burke, Supreme
Court Justice
Democrat
First District
Anne M. Burke was born on Feb. 3, 1944, in
Chicago. She received her B.A. degree in education from DePaul University in
1976 and her J.D. degree from IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1983. She was
admitted to the Federal Court, Northern District of Illinois in 1983; the
United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in 1985; and certified for
the Trial Bar, Federal District Court in 1987. In that same year, Governor
James Thompson appointed her Judge to the Court of Claims and, in 1991, she was
reappointed by Governor Jim Edgar. In April 1994, she was appointed special
counsel to the Governor for Child Welfare Services. In August 1995, she was
appointed to the Appellate Court, First District. In 1996, she was elected to
the Appellate Court, First District, for a full term…
Mary Jane Theis, Supreme
Court Justice
Democrat
First District
Mary Jane Theis was born in Chicago. She
received her bachelor's degree from Loyola University Chicago in 1971 and her
law degree from the University of San Francisco, School of Law in 1974. From
1974-83, she was an Assistant Public Defender in Cook County. Justice Theis has
served at every level of the Judiciary in the State of Illinois. In 1983, she
was appointed an Associate Judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, where she
served for five years. In 1988, Justice Theis was elected to the Circuit Court,
where she was assigned to both the Criminal and Chancery Divisions until 1993,
when she was appointed to the Appellate Court, First District. She was elected
to the Appellate Court in 1994. When Chief Justice Thomas R. Fitzgerald retired
in 2010, the Supreme Court appointed Justice Theis to fill his vacancy on the
Court. In her 17 years on the Appellate Court, Justice Theis served as a
Presiding Judge. She was Committee Chair of both the Committee on Judicial
Education and the Committee on Judicial Conduct of the Illinois Judicial
Conference, and a member of the Supreme Court Rules Committee…
Michael Madigan
believes the Illinois Supreme Court will approve his bill: Click Here.
For a review of the antedated Supreme Court cases regarding
violating Article XIII, Section 5 of the Illinois State Constitution: Antedated Court Cases: Challenging the Pension Clause…
The Illinois Supreme Court information is
from http://www.state.il.us/court/SupremeCourt/meetsupremecourt.asp
and http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Illinois_Supreme_Court
For Kanerva v.
Weems, 2014 IL 115811, 13 N.E.3d 1228, 383 Ill. Dec. 107,
Click Here.
