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Lance R. Peterson (Illinois)
2022 - Present
2034
3
Lance R. Peterson is a judge of the Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court. He assumed office on August 1, 2022. His current term ends on December 4, 2034.
Peterson (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for judge of the Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Peterson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Peterson to the Court of Appeals on July 11, 2022.[1]
Biography
Education
Peterson graduated from Morris Community High Schoo. He earned a bachelor's degree from Milikin University in 1990 and a J.D. from the John Marshall Law School in 1993.[2][3]
Career
- 2022 - Present: Judge, Illinois Third District Appellate Court
- 2010-2022: Circuit judge, Illinois Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court (Elected)
- 2001-2010: Associate judge, Illinois Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court (Appointed)[1]
Prior to joining the bench, Peterson served as a state's attorney for Grundy County.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Illinois intermediate appellate court elections, 2024
General election
General election for Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court
Incumbent Lance R. Peterson defeated John F. Costello Jr. in the general election for Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lance R. Peterson (D)  | 50.0 | 450,589 |
| John F. Costello Jr. (R) | 50.0 | 450,377 | ||
| Total votes: 900,966 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court
Incumbent Lance R. Peterson advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lance R. Peterson | 100.0 | 102,552 |
| Total votes: 102,552 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court
John F. Costello Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | John F. Costello Jr. | 100.0 | 92,389 | |
| Total votes: 92,389 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Peterson in this election.
2016
Judges of the Illinois Circuit Court stand for retention after their first full term. To be retained, a judge must receive at least 60 percent of the vote.[4][5] Lance R. Peterson was retained in the Illinois Thirteenth Circuit Court, Lance Peterson Retention Election with 82.14 percent of the vote.
| Illinois Thirteenth Circuit Court, Lance Peterson Retention Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Lance R. Peterson | 82.14% | |
| Source: Illinois Board of Elections, "Elections Results, General Election 11/8/2016," accessed November 28, 2018 | ||
2010
- See also: Illinois judicial elections, 2010
Peterson defeated Richard Black with 52.05 percent of the vote in the general election.[6][7]
Bar Association recommendation
Peterson has been recommended for election by the Illinois State Bar Association.[8]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lance R. Peterson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Peterson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I am very proud of creating a special juvenile justice court for our youth and a mental health court for defendants in the justice system as a result of mental illness. Both programs addressed the root cause of criminal activity in fragile populations and both have been acknowledged for their success.
In 2022 I was unanimously appointed to the Appellate Court by our Illinois Supreme Court where I serve you today.- My first key message is that like any job, experience matters. However, this is especially important at the Appellate Court. Having been a trial lawyer, a trial judge for 21 years presiding over more than 100 jury trials, and an Appellate Justice now for over two years, you can know you are voting for a proven, qualified, respected judge.
- My second key message is that I grew up in a strong, grounded, blue collar family. My grandmother started special education in my home county in the early 1960's because of her daughter, my aunt Margie Ray was born with severe Down's Syndrome. My entire extended family helped care for her all through the years until she passed in 2011. Everyone shared the responsibility. From that experience I learned what truly matters in life and to always have uderstanding for the underprivileged.
- The judiciary is very important. We need judges that are not influenced by the extreme political climate of today. Having judges that are highly qualified, experienced, compassionate and have common sense makes a difference in our communities an our country.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court |
Officeholder Illinois 3rd District Appellate Court |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Supreme Court of Illinois, "Illinois Supreme Court appoints Judge Lance Peterson as third district appellate justice," July 11, 2022
- ↑ John Marshall Law School, "Nota Bene," 2006 (Cached)
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 8, 2024
- ↑ Illinois State Bar Association, "Judicial Evaluations - How it works," accessed November 19, 2019
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Illinois," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "2010 General Election Results"
- ↑ Illinois State Bar Association, "Tuesday's judicial results for all circuit outside of Cook," November 2010
- ↑ Morris Daily Herald, "Polled lawyers recommend Peterson for circuit judge," January 14, 2010
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