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Vacancies for Judicial Circuit Courts Outside of Cook County Candidates to be certified by State Board of Elections on January 8, 2026. Upon certification by SBE and verification of biographical and campaign data, Know Your State Judges will have full candidate rosters available. Please check back February 1, 2026 for full primary information Court Vacancy Reason Candidates 1st Judicial Circuit, Resident, Jackson Honorable Christy Solverson Retiring 11/30/26 (D) VANWINKLE, CASEY ALLEN (D) REED, BENJAMIN W. (D) HEASLETT, HEATHER (R) SNYDER, LENOARD "JAMIE" 2nd Judicial Circuit, Resident, Edwards County Honorable Michael J. Valentine Retired 7/4/25 (R) SHINKLE, BRIAN T 2nd Judicial Circuit, Resident, Richland County Honorable Ray W. Vaughn Retired 11/30/24 (R) CLARK, CHELSEY E. (R) McCORMICK, MARK A. 2nd Judicial Circuit, Resident, Wayne Honorable Michael J. Molt Deceased 11/5/24 (R) VAUGHN, MATTHEW E. 3rd Judicial Circuit, 2nd Subcircuit Honorable Stephen A. Stobbs Retired 12/31/24 (R) PATRIIA G. KING 4th Judicial Circuit, At Large Honorable Douglas L. Jarman Retired 1/29/25 (R) MATHIS, BRENDA (R) GOZIA, WESLEY A. (R) JONES, AARON C. (R) GIVENS, PHILLIP 8th Judicial Circuit, At Large Honorable Robert K. Adrian Removed by Courts Commission (R) PRATT, CHRISTOPHER W. (R) BASS, TIM 8th Judicial Circuit, At Large Honorable Amy C. Lannerd Appointed to the Appellate Court on 9/18/24 (R) GROSBOLL, GABRIEL "GABE" 9th Judicial Circuit, Resident, Henderson Honorable Raymond A. Cavanaugh Retired 12/6/26 (R) BRYANT, CARISSA ANN 9th Judicial Circuit, Resident, Warren Honorable James R. Standard Retirred 12/6/26 (R) McCLINTOCK, SCOTT P. 10th Judicial Circuit, Resident, Peoria County Honorable John P. Vespa Retired 07/31/24 (D) VESPA, MICHAEL P. (R) CUSACK, TIMOTHY J. 11th Judicial Circuit, Resident, Woodford County Honorable Charles M. Feeney, III Retired 07/31/24 (R) MINGER, GREGORY MICHAEL 11th Judicial Circuit, At Large Honorable John Casey Costigan Retiring 10/16/2026 (R) DUFFY, SARAH R. 11th Judicial Circuit, Resident, Livingston Honorable Jennifer H. Bauknecht Retiring 3/17/2026 (R) YEDINAK, RANDY A. 12th Judicial Circuit, 1st Subcircuit Honorable David M. Carlson Retired 4/30/24 (D) CHRISTIANSEN, AMY (R) I VEC, JOHNPAUL 12th Judicial Circuit, 3rd Subcircuit Honorable John C. Anderson Elected to the Appellate Court 12/2/24 (D) WILLIAMS, SONNI CHOI 12th Judicial Circuit, 5th Subcircuit Honorable Barbara N. Petrungaro Retiring 12/04/26 (R) SMIGIELSKI, ART (R) O'BRIEN, ERIN 13th Judicial Circuit, At Large Honorable Cynthia M. Raccuglia Retired 2/28/25 (D) OLIVERO, MELISSA (R) VESCOGNI, MICHELLE A. 14th Judicial Circuit, Resident, Rock Island County Honorable Linnea E. Thompson Retired 6/30/25 (D) CARTER, TIONN FAMBRO 15th Judicial Circuit, Resident, JoDaviess County Honorable Kevin J. Ward Retired 8/22/25 (R) HAY, JOHN D. 15th Judicial Circuit, Resident, Stephenson Honorable James M. Hauser Retiring 12/6/26 (R) THRUMAN, JUDD (R) NIEMANN, KARLA M. 17th Judicial Circuit, 1st Subcircuit Honorable John S. Lowry Retired Dec. 31, 2025 (D) CARPENTER, PAUL (D) HANNIGAN, ERIN C. 17th Judicial Circuit, 2nd Subcircuit Honorable Eugene Doherty Appointed to the Appellate Court on 8/8/24 (R) ROBINSON, SCOTT 18th Judicial Circuit, 4th Subcircuit Honorable Kate Wilson Retired 8/28/24 (D) KYE, CHRISTINA (R) FLEMING, MICHAEL W. 18th Judicial Circuit, 5th Subcircuit Honorable Paul M. Fullerton Retired 10/15/25 (D) COSTA HOWARD, TERRA Supreme Court Primary Elections Appellate Court Primary Elections Cook County Primary Elections

Illinois Judicial Elections 2026 Below are the different judicial elections for Illinois: Supreme Court, Appellate Courts, Cook County Circuit Court, and Non-Cook County Circuit Court justices. Know Your State Judges focuses on the Illinois Judicial Circuit Court races outside of Cook County - as there are many sites available to inform yourself about the others. Injustice Watch's Judicial Voting Guide , Vote for Judges, and Ballotopedia provide expanded information on the Supreme Court, Appellate Court, and Cook County Circuit Court races. 2026 Election Calander Non-Cook County Judicial Circuit Court Elections Cook County Judicial Circuit Court Elections Illinois Judicial Races In 2023, Know Your State Judges embarked on the unique mission to educate Illinoisans about their local, Appellate, and Supreme Court judicial candidates. Know Your State Judges has reviewed multiple credible sources from the Illinois State Bar Associations, county bar associations, the circuit court's websites, the Illinois Election Board, Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, Illinois Sunshine, Martindale, candidate website and social media sites, and have reached out to each candidate to verify the data. In the process a very thorough and non-partisan profile of each candidate has been collected and displayed so that voters can make a more informed determination of who they want sitting on the bench when an important decision is made for them or their community. Supreme Court Races No Vacancies in 2026 Appellate Court Races 2026 Primary Info Non-Cook County Circuit Court Races 2026 Primary Info Cook County Circuit Court Races 2026 Primary Info

Who is up for election ourside of the Cook County judicial Circuit Courts? Illinois Judicial Circuits (Outside of Cook County) Back to Maps Item Title Collapsible text is great for longer section titles and descriptions. It gives people access to all the info they need, while keeping your layout clean. Link your text to anything, or set your text box to expand on click. Write your text here... Read More Back to Maps Item Title Collapsible text is great for longer section titles and descriptions. It gives people access to all the info they need, while keeping your layout clean. Link your text to anything, or set your text box to expand on click. Write your text here... Read More Back to Maps Item Title Collapsible text is great for longer section titles and descriptions. It gives people access to all the info they need, while keeping your layout clean. Link your text to anything, or set your text box to expand on click. Write your text here... Read More Back to Maps

Know Your State Judges provides an informative and unbiased voter education resource for about Illinois Judicial Circuit Court candidates for election and retention outside of Cook County. Our Mission Know Your State Judges is dedicated to helping the voters of Illinois make decisions they believe in and giving equal voice to judicial candidates regardless of favor or funding. Common Questions: Who funds my judges? Learn More In Illinois, judges are appointed, elected, or retained. Voters elect or approve judges on very little information compared to other elected officials. However, judges are extremely impactful on everyone's lives. Decisions are made on every level from local judges making sentencing decisions and marital or liability determinations to constitutional or civil rights determinations on the appellate or state level. Thus, the quality and credibility of judges, locally, divisionally, and statewide, becomes even more important. Know Your State Judges is dedicated to helping the voters of Illinois make more informed decisions when they vote for their judges.

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< Back Hon. Carey C. Gill Republican 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge At Large EXPERIENCE 1st Judicial Circuit Judge, 2017 - Present (Appointed 2017 / Elected 2018) Private Practice, 2001 - 2017 Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois, 2005 - 2017 EDUCATION Undergraduate: Monmouth College, B.A. Government, Summa Cum Laude - 1998 Law School: Southern Illinois University, J.D. - Summa Cum Laude - 2001 info@mysite.com 123-456-7890

< Back Hon. Carey C. Gill Republican 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge At Large EXPERIENCE 1st Judicial Circuit Judge, 2017 - Present (Appointed 2017 / Elected 2018) Private Practice, 2001 - 2017 Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois, 2005 - 2017 EDUCATION Undergraduate: Monmouth College, B.A. Government, Summa Cum Laude - 1998 Law School: Southern Illinois University, J.D. - Summa Cum Laude - 2001 info@mysite.com 123-456-7890

< Back Hon. Carey C. Gill Republican 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge At Large EXPERIENCE 1st Judicial Circuit Judge, 2017 - Present (Appointed 2017 / Elected 2018) Private Practice, 2001 - 2017 Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois, 2005 - 2017 EDUCATION Undergraduate: Monmouth College, B.A. Government, Summa Cum Laude - 1998 Law School: Southern Illinois University, J.D. - Summa Cum Laude - 2001 info@mysite.com 123-456-7890

< Back Hon. Carey C. Gill Republican 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge At Large EXPERIENCE 1st Judicial Circuit Judge, 2017 - Present (Appointed 2017 / Elected 2018) Private Practice, 2001 - 2017 Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois, 2005 - 2017 EDUCATION Undergraduate: Monmouth College, B.A. Government, Summa Cum Laude - 1998 Law School: Southern Illinois University, J.D. - Summa Cum Laude - 2001 info@mysite.com 123-456-7890

< Back Hon. Carey C. Gill Republican 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge At Large EXPERIENCE 1st Judicial Circuit Judge, 2017 - Present (Appointed 2017 / Elected 2018) Private Practice, 2001 - 2017 Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois, 2005 - 2017 EDUCATION Undergraduate: Monmouth College, B.A. Government, Summa Cum Laude - 1998 Law School: Southern Illinois University, J.D. - Summa Cum Laude - 2001 info@mysite.com 123-456-7890

< Back Hon. Carey C. Gill Republican 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge At Large EXPERIENCE 1st Judicial Circuit Judge, 2017 - Present (Appointed 2017 / Elected 2018) Private Practice, 2001 - 2017 Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois, 2005 - 2017 EDUCATION Undergraduate: Monmouth College, B.A. Government, Summa Cum Laude - 1998 Law School: Southern Illinois University, J.D. - Summa Cum Laude - 2001 info@mysite.com 123-456-7890