Justice Carol Pope, currently serving on the Fourth District Appellate Court, has announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination to fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Justice Sue Myerscough to the Federal District Court. Justice Pope has served on the appellate court since Dec. 1, 2008. Prior to that she served for 17 years as the Resident Circuit Judge of Menard County in the 8th Judicial Circuit. Justice Pope also served as the Menard County State’s Attorney from 1984-1991. Justice Pope graduated magna cum laude in 1975 from the University of Illinois, where she was named to the Bronze Tablet, the university’s highest recognition of academic excellence. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree with honor from DePaul University College of Law in 1979 where she was Lead Articles Editor of the Law Review. Justice Pope, by the election of her peers, currently serves as Third Vice President of the Illinois Judges’ Association (IJA), an organization of over 1,100 active and retired judges. She will serve as President of the IJA in 2013-2014.