Illinois Supreme Court

Justice Lisa Holder White and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Associate Judge Randy Yedinak as a Circuit Judge for Livingston County in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

Judge Yedinak is being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the impending retirement of Judge Jennifer Bauknecht on March 17, 2026. The appointment is effective March 18, 2026, and will conclude on December 7, 2026. Judge Yedinak is running unopposed by a party candidate for the seat in the March 2026 primary and November 2026 general election.

Justice Lisa Holder White and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Erin C. Hannigan as Resident Circuit Judge for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Subcircuit 1, Winnebago County.

Ms. Hannigan is being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Chief Judge John Lowry. The appointment of Ms. Hannigan is effective January 20, 2026, and will conclude on December 7, 2026.

Marcia M. Meis, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced today that the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Jonathan C. Ruud as an associate judge of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit.

Mr. Ruud received his undergraduate degree in 1999 from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, and his Juris Doctor in 2004 from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Mr. Ruud is currently affiliated with Hanna & Ruud, LLC in Moline, Illinois.

Chief Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. and the Supreme Court of Illinois announced today the recall and assignment of seven retired circuit court judges from Cook, Will, and Pope counties to address a shortage of judges in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Section 15 of article VI of the Illinois Constitution provides that any retired Judge, with his or her consent, may be assigned by the Supreme Court to judicial service for which he or she shall receive the applicable compensation in lieu of retirement benefits. Ill. Const. 1970, art. VI § 15