Presented by the ISBA Food Law Section
Co-presented by the ISBA Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section
Friday, October 23, 2026
ISBA Regional Office, 20 S. Clark Street, Suite 820, Chicago
Justice Elizabeth Rochford of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for a Resident Circuit Judge vacancy in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Third Subcircuit. The vacancy will be created by the retirement of Judge Charles W. Smith effective Aug. 31, 2026.
Under the Illinois Constitution, judicial vacancies are filled by Supreme Court appointment. The application process will lead to full Court approval.
Marcia M. Meis, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced today that the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Natalie M. Stec as an associate judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit.
Ms. Stec received her undergraduate degree in 1997 from the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois and her Juris Doctor in 2000 from New York Law School in New York, New York. Ms. Stec is currently affiliated with Wolfe and Stec, Ltd. in Woodridge, Illinois.
Marcia M. Meis, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced that the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Kathryn J. Cross as associate judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.
Ms. Cross received her undergraduate degree in 2008 from Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois and her Juris Doctor in 2011 from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. Ms. Cross is currently affiliated with the Boone County Public Defender's Office in Belvidere, Illinois.