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.

Justice Lisa Holder White and the Supreme Court of Illinois announced today the appointment of retired Judge Richard H. Gambrell in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Judge Gambrell is being appointed to the vacancy created by the retirement of Fulton County Resident Circuit Judge Thomas B. Ewing on Jan. 2, 2026. The appointment is effective Jan. 19, 2026, and concludes on Dec. 4, 2028.

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.

Justice Elizabeth M. Rochford of the Supreme Court of Illinois seeks public comment on the 11 applicants for an At-Large Circuit Judge vacancy in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, Kane County.

The vacancy will result from the retirement of the Honorable Kevin T. Busch effective January 29, 2026.

Under the Illinois Constitution, the vacancy will be filled by Supreme Court appointment. Applicants being considered for appointment to the judgeship are:

The names of the 11 Fellows selected to participate in the 2026 Rural Practice Fellowship Program, which is designed to meet the critical need of providing access to justice for those living in rural areas with a declining lawyer population, have been announced.