Judicial Appointments

 When an Illinois judge quits or retires before the end of her term, Article VI, Section 12 of the Illinois Constitution allows the Illinois Supreme Court to select her replacement. This process happens behind closed doors --the vacancy is not announced publicly and there is no public notice period. Once appointed, these interim judges stand a greater than 70% chance of election. Astonishingly, more than one-third of current Illinois judges were originally Supreme Court appointees, making interim appointment a de facto path to a lifetime on the bench.