Illinois Appellate Court
The Illinois Appellate Court is the intermediate appellate court in Illinois. First established in 1877, it hears appeals from verdicts reached at the trial level (the circuit courts in the state), and its decisions, in turn, can be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.[1]
Each district represents a particular geographical region. Judges are elected to the courts to renewable 10-year terms in partisan elections.[2]
The appellate court districts review transcripts of the trial and briefs filed by interested parties and consider oral arguments from lawyers to determine if the law was correctly applied by the trial court. In addition to resolving the specific case before it, rulings by each appellate district set precedent for the circuit courts in their geographic region on the proper way to apply Illinois law.[3]
Districts
The court is divided into five judicial districts.[2]
- Illinois First District Appellate Court
- Illinois Second District Appellate Court
- Illinois Third District Appellate Court
- Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court
- Illinois Fifth District Appellate Court
Judges
Cook County, the First District, has 24 appellate judges. The remaining 101 counties are divided into four districts that elect six judges each. Additional judges are assigned by the Supreme Court to the Appellate Court, temporarily, on a showing of need. Elgin is the seat of the Second District; Ottawa, the Third; Springfield, the Fourth; and Mount Vernon, the Fifth.[2][4]
Judicial selection
Illinois appellate judges serve terms of 10 years. When an Appellate Court seat is vacant, judicial candidates run for the nomination in a primary election before running for the seat in a general election. Elections for the court are partisan. Incumbents run in nonpartisan retention elections, and subsequent terms are also 10 years.[2]
See also: Judicial selection in Illinois
Qualifications
To be considered for election, a candidate must be:
- a U.S. citizen
- a district resident
- licensed to practice law in Illinois[5]
Salary
The annual salary for judges of the Illinois Appellate Court has been $203,806 since 2014.[6]
Elections
To see results of Appellate Court elections, visit the individual district pages.
For details about Illinois's judicial elections, visit the Illinois judicial elections page.
2018
The terms of five Illinois Court of Appeals judges expired on December 2, 2018. Two must stand for retention and one must stand for partisan election by voters in 2018 in order to remain on the bench. Two vacant seats were also up for election. A full term on the court is ten years.
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 seven canons:
- Rule 61 - Canon 1: "A Judge Should Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary"
- Rule 62 - Canon 2: "A Judge Should Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in all of the Judge's Activities"
- Rule 63 - Canon 3: "A Judge Should Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially and Diligently"
- Rule 64 - Canon 4: "A Judge May Engage in Activities to Improve the Law, the Legal System and the Administration of Justice"
- Rule 65 - Canon 5: "A Judge Should Regulate His or Her Extrajudicial Activities to Minimize the Risk of Conflict With the Judge's Judicial Duties"
- Rule 66 - Canon 6: "Nonjudicial Compensation and Annual Statement of Economic Interests"
- Rule 67 - Canon 7: "A Judge or Judicial Candidate Judicial Office Shall Refrain from Inappropriate Political Activity"[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:
- By the Illinois Courts Commission, which may hold a hearing upon a complaint from the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board
- By a two-thirds vote of the Illinois State Senate upon a majority vote for impeachment by the Illinois House of Representatives[8]
Caseload
| Year | Civil cases filed | Civil cases disposed | Criminal cases filed | Criminal cases disposed | Total filed | Total disposed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 4,153 | 4,370 | 3,788 | 3,384 | 8,134 | 7,954 |
| 2012 | 4,273 | 4,180 | 3,635 | 3,740 | 8,079 | 8,062 |
| 2011 | 4,067 | 4,376 | 3,614 | 3,731 | 7,826 | 8,276 |
| 2010 | 4,111 | 4,167 | 3,542 | 3,628 | 7,836 | 7,962 |
| 2009 | 4,185 | 4,207 | 3,545 | 3,605 | 7,730 | 7,812 |
| 2008* | ||||||
| 2007 | 4,000 | 4,119 | 3,631 | 3,734 | 7,631 | 7,853 |
| 2006 | 4,186 | 4,271 | 3,652 | 3,980 | 7,838 | 8,251 |
*2008 statistics are unavailable.[9]
State profile
| Demographic data for Illinois | ||
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 12,839,047 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 55,519 | 3,531,905 |
| 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.[10]
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
- Elections in Illinois
- United States congressional delegations from Illinois
- Public policy in Illinois
- Endorsers in Illinois
- Illinois fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Illinois Appellate Court. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Illinois Courts, "Illinois Appellate Court"
- Illinois Courts, "Appellate Court District map"
- Illinois Courts, "Appellate Court caseload statistics"
Footnotes
- ↑ Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court, "History of the Illinois Courts," accessed July 8, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Illinois Courts, "About the Courts in Illinois," archived March 15, 2015
- ↑ Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, "Courts," archived June 11, 2009
- ↑ Illinois Courts, "First District Appellate Judges," accessed August 31, 2015
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Illinois," accessed August 31, 2015
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Judicial Salary Tracker," accessed August 31, 2015
- ↑ State of Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, "Code of Judicial Conduct," accessed August 31, 2015
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Illinois, Removal of Judges," accessed August 31, 2015
- ↑ Illinois Courts, "Total All Districts of Appellate Court Criminal and Civil Caseload Statistics," accessed August 31, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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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