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Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court

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Illinois Appellate
Court Districts
Illinois Second District Appellate CourtIllinois First District Appellate CourtIllinois Third District Appellate CourtIllinois Fourth District Appellate CourtIllinois Fifth District Appellate CourtIllinois Judicial District Map 2022.png


The Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court is one of five districts of the Illinois Appellate Court. It encompasses the following 48 counties across central and southern Illinois: Alexander, Bond, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Macon, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Montgomery, Moultrie, Perry, Platt, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Shelby, St. Clair, Union, Vermillion, Wabash, Washington, and White.[1]

The Fifth District court is based in Mt. Vernon.

Note: Published opinions of the Illinois Appellate Court can be found here.

 
Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court
Intermediate Appellate Courts Seal-template.png
Court information
Judges:   7
Founded:   1964[2]
Salary:  Associates: $281,331[3]
Judicial selection
Method:   Partisan election of judges
Term:   10 years

Judges

The Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court has six elected judges. The Illinois Supreme Court may assign additional judges to the court, as needed, selecting retired or circuit court judges to hold office temporarily. Circuit court judges assigned to the Court of Appeals continue to hold their lower court office and run for retention to their circuit court seat.[4]

Elected judges

Assigned judges


Office Name Party Date assumed office
Illinois 5th District Appellate Court (Assigned) Amy Sholar Nonpartisan March 1, 2024
Illinois 5th District Appellate Court (Assigned) Barry L. Vaughan Nonpartisan January 4, 2021

Salary

See also: Illinois court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $281,331, according to the National Center for State Courts.[5]

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Illinois

Judges on the appellate court are chosen by popular vote in partisan elections and serve 10-year terms, after which they must compete in uncontested, nonpartisan retention elections to remain on the court.[6]

Qualifications

To serve on the appellate court, a judge must be:

  • a U.S. citizen;
  • a district resident; and
  • licensed to practice law in Illinois.[6]

Presiding judge

The judges of each division select a presiding judge by peer vote to serve a one-year term.[6]

Vacancies

In the event of a midterm vacancy, the Illinois Supreme Court is responsible for appointing an interim judge. If a judge is appointed more than 60 days before the next primary election, the judge must run in a partisan election in the next general or judicial election to remain on the court. The appointed judge's term will end on the first Monday in December after their election. If a judge is appointed less than 60 days before the next primary election, the judge will have to run in a partisan election to remain on the court in the second general election. The appointed judge's term will end on the first Monday in December after their election.[6]

Elections

See also: Illinois intermediate appellate court elections, 2030


There are no official candidates yet for this election.


See also: Illinois intermediate appellate court elections, 2026

Regular election: Thomas Welch vacancy

General election

The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Republican primary

Republican primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Amy Sholar (R) is running in the Republican primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on March 17, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Amy Sholar
Amy Sholar

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = 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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Retention election: James Moore's seat


There are no official candidates yet for this election.


Retention election: John Barberis' seat


There are no official candidates yet for this election.


See also: Illinois intermediate appellate court elections, 2022

Retention election: Cates' seat

Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Judy Cates was retained to the Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on November 8, 2022 with 74.8% of the vote.

Retention Vote
%
Votes
✔ Yes
 
74.8
 
440,124
No
 
25.2
 
148,536
Total Votes 588,660

The results have been certified. Source

Regular election: Wharton's seat - Overstreet vacancy

General election

General election for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Mike McHaney (R) defeated Brian Roberts (D) in the general election for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mike McHaney
Mike McHaney (R)
 
64.5
 
413,778
Image of Brian Roberts
Brian Roberts (D)
 
35.5
 
227,429

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 641,207
Candidate Connection = 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

Democratic primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Brian Roberts (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on June 28, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Brian Roberts
Brian Roberts
 
100.0
 
60,960

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 60,960
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Mike McHaney (R) defeated incumbent Barry L. Vaughan (R) in the Republican primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on June 28, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mike McHaney
Mike McHaney
 
56.6
 
94,115
Image of Barry L. Vaughan
Barry L. Vaughan  Candidate Connection
 
43.4
 
72,129

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2

Total votes: 166,244
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

See also: Illinois intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

Retention election: Retention election for Thomas Welch

Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Thomas Welch was retained to the Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on November 3, 2020 with 75.4% of the vote.

Retention Vote
%
Votes
✔ Yes
 
75.4
 
416,928
No
 
24.6
 
136,244
Total Votes 553,172

The results have been certified. Source

Regular election: Chapman vacancy

General election

General election for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Incumbent Mark M. Boie (R) defeated Sarah Smith (D) in the general election for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mark M. Boie
Mark M. Boie (R)
 
59.9
 
367,036
Image of Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith (D)  Candidate Connection
 
40.1
 
246,166

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 613,202
Candidate Connection = 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.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Sarah Smith (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on March 17, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith  Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
84,509

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 84,509
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Incumbent Mark M. Boie (R) defeated Katherine Ruocco (R) in the Republican primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on March 17, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mark M. Boie
Mark M. Boie
 
54.5
 
52,619
Image of Katherine Ruocco
Katherine Ruocco
 
45.5
 
44,011

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 96,630
Candidate Connection = 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.

See also: Illinois intermediate appellate court elections, 2018

General election

General election for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Incumbent David K. Overstreet (R) defeated Kevin Hoerner (D) in the general election for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of David K. Overstreet
David K. Overstreet (R)
 
58.8
 
281,846
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Kevin Hoerner (D)
 
41.2
 
197,723

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 479,569
Candidate Connection = 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.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Kevin Hoerner (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on March 20, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Kevin Hoerner
 
100.0
 
69,967

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 69,967
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court

Incumbent David K. Overstreet (R) advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois 5th District Appellate Court on March 20, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of David K. Overstreet
David K. Overstreet
 
100.0
 
84,744

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 84,744
Candidate Connection = 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.

Previous election results


Ethics

The Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Illinois. It consists of four canons:

  • Canon 1: "A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of the judge's activities."
  • Canon 2: "A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently, and diligently."
  • Canon 3: "A judge shall conduct the judge's personal and extrajudicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with the obligations of judicial office."
  • Canon 4: "A judge or judicial candidate shall not engage in political or campaign activity that is inconsistent with the independence, integrity, or impartiality of the judiciary."[7]

The full text of the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Illinois may be removed in one of two ways:


Redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Illinois after the 2020 census


Illinois Appellate
Court Districts
Illinois Second District Appellate CourtIllinois First District Appellate CourtIllinois Third District Appellate CourtIllinois Fourth District Appellate CourtIllinois Fifth District Appellate CourtIllinois Judicial District Map 2022.png

New state supreme court district maps were signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) on June 4, 2021. The Illinois Supreme Court lifted a pause order on this map on Jan. 1, 2022, resulting in its full implementation. This was the first time the state updated its judicial districts map since they were first enacted in 1964.[10]

An image of the enacted state Supreme Court district map appears on the right. Click here for an interactive viewer of the enacted Supreme Court map.

State profile

Demographic data for Illinois
 IllinoisU.S.
Total population:12,839,047316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):55,5193,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:72.3%73.6%
Black/African American:14.3%12.6%
Asian:5%5.1%
Native American:0.2%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.2%3%
Hispanic/Latino:16.5%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:87.9%86.7%
College graduation rate:32.3%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$57,574$53,889
Persons below poverty level:16.8%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Illinois.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Illinois

Illinois voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, 11 are located in Illinois, accounting for 5.34 percent of the total pivot counties.[11]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Illinois had 11 Retained Pivot Counties, 6.08 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Illinois coverage on Ballotpedia

See also

Illinois Judicial Selection More Courts
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Courts in Illinois
Illinois Appellate Court
Illinois Supreme Court
Elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017
Gubernatorial appointments
Judicial selection in Illinois
Federal courts
State courts
Local courts

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Illinois Courts, "Illinois Judicial District Map," accessed April 30, 2024
  2. ↑ Four Illinois appellate court districts were founded in 1877, but they were reorganized into five districts in 1964. See: Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court, "History of the Illinois Courts," accessed July 8, 2014
  3. ↑ The salary of the chief judge may be higher than an associate judge.
  4. ↑ Illinois Courts, "Appellate Court," accessed August 6, 2025
  5. ↑ National Center for State Courts, "2025 Salaries and Rankings," accessed October 8, 2025
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed September 8, 2021
  7. ↑ State of Illinois, "Code of Judicial Conduct," accessed July 17, 2023
  8. ↑ State of Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed July 17, 2023
  9. ↑ Constitution of the State of Illinois, "ARTICLE IV," accessed July 17, 2023
  10. ↑ Daily Herald, "Illinois Supreme Court lifts hold on judicial redistricting," Dec. 8, 2021
  11. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

Illinois courts

Federal courts:

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois

State courts:

Illinois Supreme Court • Illinois Appellate Court • Illinois Circuit Court

State resources:

Courts in Illinois • Illinois judicial elections • Judicial selection in Illinois

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