A state court of last resort / Established 1870

Illinois Supreme Court

Springfield · A court of last resort in Illinois.

The Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in Illinois. Its justices are chosen by partisan election. This page lists every justice to serve on the court, current and former, with when they joined the bench and whom they succeeded.

Justices in history

Currently serving

Partisan

Selection

10-yr

Term

Current justices

Justice	Since
Thomas L. Kilbride	2000
Robert R. Thomas	2000
Rita B. Garman	2001
Lloyd A. Karmeier	2004
Anne M. Burke	2006
Mary Jane Theis	2010

Former justices

Justice	Years
Philip J. Rarick	2002–2004
Thomas R. Fitzgerald	2000–2010
S Louis Rathje	1999–2000
Moses W. Harrison II	1992–2002
Mary Ann G. McMorrow	1992–2006
John L. Nickels	1992–1998
Michael A. Bilandic	1990–2000
Charles E. Freeman	1990–2013
James Dee Heiple	1990–2000
Horace L. Calvo	1988–1991
John James Stamos	1988–1990
Joseph F. Cunningham	1987–1992
Benjamin Miller	1984–2001
Seymour Simon	1980–1988
William G. Clark	1976–1992
James A. Dooley	1976–1978
Thomas J. Moran	1976–1992
Joseph H. Goldenhersh	1970–1987
Howard C. Ryan	1970–1990
Marvin F. Burt	1969–1970
Caswell J. Crebs	1969–1970
John T. Culbertson Jr.	1969–1970
Thomas E. Kluczynski	1966–1980
Daniel P. Ward	1966–1990
Robert C. Underwood	1962–1984
Roy Solfisburg Jr.	1960–1969
Byron O. House	1957–1969
Charles H. Davis	1955–1975
Ray Klingbiel	1953–1969
George Washington Bristow	1951–1961
Harry B. Hershey	1951–1966
Ralph L. Maxwell	1951–1956
Walter V. Schaefer	1951–1976
Albert M. Crampton	1948–1953
Joseph E. Daily	1948–1963
Jessie L. Simpson	1947–1951
William john Fulton	1942–1954
Charles H. Thompson	1942–1951
June C. Smith	1941–1947
Loren E. Murphy	1939–1948
Walter T. Gunn	1938–1951
Francis S. Wilson	1935–1951
Paul Farthing	1933–1942
Lott R. Herrick	1933–1937
Elwyn Riley Shaw	1933–1942
Norman L. Jones	1931–1940
Warren H. Orr	1930–1939
Henry Paul Samuell	1929–1930
Cyrus E. Dietz	1928–1929
Oscar E. Heard	1927–1933
Frederic R. DeYoung	1924–1934
Clyde Ernest Stone	1918–1948
Warren W. Duncan	1915–1938
Charles C. Craig	1913–1918
George A. Cooke	1909–1918
Frank K. Dunn	1907–1933
Orrin N. Carter	1906–1924
William M. Farmer	1906–1931
Alonzo K. Vickers	1906–1915
James B. Ricks	1901–1906
John P. Hand	1900–1913
Carroll C. Boggs	1897–1906
James H. Cartwright	1895–1924
Jesse J. Phillips	1893–1901
Joseph M. Bailey	1888–1895
Jacob W. Wilkin	1888–1907
Benjamin Drake Magruder	1885–1906
David J. Baker	1878–1893
Benjamin R. Sheldon	1870–1885

How a justice reaches this court. Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court are chosen in partisan elections to 10-year terms and then face yes-or-no retention elections. Justices are first elected in partisan elections, then run in uncontested yes-or-no retention elections for subsequent 10-year terms. Selection methods vary by jurisdiction and have changed over time; this page reflects the court’s current method (source: National Center for State Courts). Open any justice to see their tenure and whom they succeeded.

Source: CourtListener / Free Law Project; selection method from the National Center for State Courts. Data last verified 2026-06-30. Verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).