Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White announces candidacy for the Supreme Court of Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Justice Lisa Holder White has announce she is running for a full term on the Supreme Court of Illinois. 

The Supreme Court appointed Holder White on July 7, 2022, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Rita B. Garman.  

Holder White was sworn in as an Associate Judge for the 6^th Judicial Circuit in 2001.  From 2008 to 2013, she served as a Circuit Judge, including time as the Supervising Judge of the Criminal Law Division.  In January 2013, Holder White began serving on the Fourth District Appellate Court, where she served until her elevation to the Supreme Court of Illinois in July 2022.  She previously served as both an Assistant State’s Attorney and Assistant Public Defender in Macon County.  Holder White also worked in private practice with the firm formerly known as Brinkoetter & White.  

“I am truly honored to serve on the Supreme Court of Illinois,” said Holder White.  “My service at all levels of the judiciary has prepared me to serve the citizens of the 4^th District and the citizens of the entire state with integrity, competency and fairness. I will faithfully uphold the Constitution and the laws of the State of  Illinois and the United States as your Justice on the Court from the Fourth District. ”

Holder White was the first Black Associate Judge and Circuit Judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, the first Black Justice on the Fourth District Appellate Court and the first Black Female Justice on the Supreme Court of Illinois.  

Retired Justice Carol Pope said “Justice Holder White has not rested on her laurels.  She has given generously of her time to her judicial colleagues by her active involvement teaching courses and organizing the curriculum so that judges are kept apprised of changes in the law and best practices on the bench.  During our time together on the Appellate Court, I saw first-hand the diligent work ethic and common-sense reasoning Justice Holder White possessed.  She will follow the law as written and will not legislate from the bench.”

“It was my pleasure to recommend the appointment of Justice Holder White to both the Appellate and Supreme Courts,” Garman said. “My colleagues on the Supreme Court agreed unanimously that Justice Holder White has all the characteristics that are important to the fair and impartial administration of justice.  I found her to have a brilliant mind, the highest integrity and a strong dose of common-sense.” 

Holder White and her husband James live in Sangamon County and have two adult children.

The Fourth District of the Illinois Supreme Court includes 41 counties, from Jersey County in the South to Winnebago County in the North and from Adams County in the West to Ford County in the East.