Justice Lisa Holder White to be first Black woman on Illinois Supreme Court

Appellate Justice Lisa Holder White, who was appointed to succeed Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman.

Illinois Supreme Court

SPRINGFIELD — Appellate Justice Lisa Holder White has been appointed to succeed Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman, making Holder White the first Black woman to serve on the state’s high court.

“Being appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court is the honor of a lifetime. I am humbled by the confidence Justice Rita B. Garman and the entire Court have placed in me,” Holder White said in a news release. “My service to the judiciary for the past 21 years has helped prepare me for this historic moment. I look forward to the privilege of resolving matters my fellow citizens bring before the Court.”

Garman, 78, a Republican, announced Monday that she would retire from the bench effective July 7 after 21 years on the court and 48 years as a judge in Illinois. She was the first woman to be named judge in a downstate circuit and the first woman to serve on the 4th District Court of Appeals.

Because Garman’s official retirement will come after the primary on June 28, the Illinois Supreme Court had the constitutional authority to appoint her successor.

AP Photos

Holder White, 54, also a Republican, will be sworn in on July 8, which will roughly coincide with the swearing in of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court during that court’s summer recess. Holder White’s term will expire Dec. 2, 2024, after a full-time replacement is chosen in the November 2024 elections.

A native of Decatur, Holder White earned a bachelor’s degree from Lewis University in Romeoville in 1990 and a law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign in 1993.

She began her career as an assistant state’s attorney in Macon County before going into private practice. She was named an associate judge in the 6th Judicial Circuit in 2001, making her the first Black judge in that circuit, and was appointed to be a circuit judge in 2008 to fill a retirement vacancy.

She was appointed to the 4th District Court of Appeals in 2013 to succeed the late Justice John T. McCullough, who died the previous October, …read more

Source:: Chicago Sun Times

(Visited 7 times, 1 visits today)

USA News Posts - Related Posts:

Democratic Party of Illinois bids to make Illinois early presidential primary state This combination of pictures created on Nov. 3, 2020, shows polling places across the United States on Election Day.AFP via Getty Images WASHINGTON – The Democratic Party of Illinois, looking to make the state a power player in choosing presidential nominees, formally asked the Democratic National Committee on Thursday to make Illinois one of the first primary states in 2024. The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee passed a resolution at its April meeting calling for a 2024 nominating calendar that…
Pritzker signs two-year extension of early pension buyout program Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks about the extension of the state pension buyout programs before signing the bill in Springfield on Thursday.Blue Room Stream SPRINGFIELD — Certain state employees will have an additional two years to opt for cashing out all or part of their pensions early under an extension Gov. J.B. Pritzker approved on Thursday, saying the pilot programs reduce the state’s long-term pension obligations and will save taxpayers money “for decades to come.” The bill that the governor signed…
Clearview AI, controversial facial recognition firm, barred from taking on most private clients, operating in Illinois for 5 years Hoan Ton-That, CEO of Clearview AI, demonstrates the company’s facial recognition software using a photo of himself in New York on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. Seth Wenig/AP Clearview AI, the Manhattan-based developer of a highly controversial facial recognition tool, agreed Monday to stop providing its technology to most private clients and to halt doing business in Illinois for five years as part of a settlement in a lawsuit filed in Cook County. The suit was brought by the ACLU and…
Soaring prices force families to turn to food banks as inflation also hurting food pantries A truck filled with groceries brought a sigh of relief for the Franquiz family Saturday morning. “I’m a lung transplant patient and my medical bills are through the roof,” Rita Franquiz said. “My whole paycheck goes to health insurance.” Farm Share hosted a food distribution event at The Truth Church in Sandalwood on Saturday and Rita and Tony Franquiz were among those in line for fresh produce and other necessities. “Have you ever heard of working poor? That is us.…
Lawsuit challenging traffic ticket fines, late fees gets a boost Chicago might he unlawfully collecting more revenue from parking and traffic tickets than state law allows, a lawsuit alleges.Alex Wroblewski/Sun-Times The city collects about $270 million in parking ticket and traffic camera fines each year, with a good amount of that small fortune coming from late fees and penalties tacked on when the citations are not paid on time. But a once-dismissed class-action suit challenging the legality of the amount of those penalty fees — and the onerous way they…
LaSalle audit faults veterans home staff, public health officials for COVID response Gov. J.B. Pritzker puts away his face mask before delivering a daily Illinois coronavirus update in April of 2020.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times file The Illinois Department of Public Health “did not identify and respond to the seriousness” of an outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home in November 2020 that killed nine veterans in just 10 days, the state’s auditor general concluded in a painstakingly detailed report released on Thursday. The outbreak — which ultimately killed 36 veterans from November 2020 through January…
Former porn star says Elon Musk needs to ban x-rated content from Twitter Ex-porn star Lisa Ann (R) has called on Elon Musk (L) to clean up Twitter when he takes over (Credits: Getty)An ex-porn star has hit out at the amount of smut on Twitter and called on Elon Musk to clean up the platform. Lisa Ann, 49, has urged the world’s richest man to address the problem when his £43 billion takeover of the social network is approved. The former adult entertainer says it’s too easy for children and young people…
California will protect abortion rights, state, Long Beach officials say California will remain a beacon for bodily autonomy and bolster abortion rights even more, state and local leaders said during a press conference in Long Beach on Friday, May 6. State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and abortion-rights advocates gathered in the overwhelmingly progressive city to tout past and current efforts to protect the ability of women to make their own health care choices, including whether to terminate a pregnacy. The leaders sought…
Hiltzik: Why we need term limits for Supreme Court justices The Supreme Court’s now-confirmed intention of overturning the half-century-old protection for abortion rights in Roe v. Wade is energizing the debate over how to rein in the court’s extreme conservative slant. Expanding the court beyond its current complement of nine justices has long been the most widely discussed option. Another idea may be gaining traction, however: Eliminating the justices’ right to lifetime appointments by imposing a term limit. This option, which has been discussed for decades, received its most recent airing in March at…
As a society, we should move away from student loans and provide free college The campus of the University of Illinois Chicago in 2020.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times Regarding student loans: In the past, a high school diploma was sufficient, and one could advance in society and find a meaningful career with one. Thanks to taxpayers, a high school education has been free and accessible to everyone. Nowadays, a high school diploma doesn’t have the weight it once had, and so a bachelor’s degree or more is becoming necessary for one to advance in society and find…