Illinois

Illinois Supreme Court By The Numbers:

Justice

Former prosecutor

Former public defender

Former civil rights lawyer

Both a former prosecutor & public defender

  • 7 total seats
  • 0 current vacancies
  • 3 prosecutors
  • 2 public defenders
  • 1 Justice is both a former prosecutor & public defender
  • 0 Justices have other indigent defense experience
  • 1 civil rights lawyer

How Members of the Illinois Supreme Court are Selected:

Partisan Election, Retention Election

Justices are selected in partisan elections to 10-year terms by voters in the region that their seat represents. To remain on the court, justices must win approval in uncontested retention elections. Interim selections to fill vacancies that occur between elections are made by the state supreme court via majority vote.

Selection method sources:

Ballotpedia, Judicial Election Methods By State; Brennan Center for Justice, Judicial Selection: An Interactive Map