Chief Justice Rita B. Garman and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Randall B. Rosenbaum as a Circuit Judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

Mr. Rosenbaum has been appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Harry Clem. His appointment takes effect on October 3, 2016, and terminates on December 3, 2018, when the position will be filled by the 2018 General Election.

Chief Justice Garman recommended the appointment of Mr. Rosenbaum after a review process in which 14 applicants were screened by a judicial screening committee. The committee found him exceptionally well qualified for the position.

In making the announcement, Chief Justice Garman noted that “Mr. Rosenbaum is widely respected for his work as a public defender, not only by his peers, but by prosecuting attorneys, judges, and clients. He is well known for his even temperament and his ability to explain difficult legal concepts. His decades of courtroom experience will serve him well in his new position.”

Mr. Rosenbaum is a native of Overland Park, Kansas. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1987 and the University of Illinois College of Law in 1991.

After spending several years as a public defender with the Legal Aid Society in New York, NY, he returned to the Champaign-Urbana community where he practiced law with the firm of Dodd, McClellan, and Rosenbaum. In 1996, he joined the Public Defender’s Office as an assistant public defender. In 1998, he was appointed Public Defender for Champaign County, where he supervises a staff of 13 assistant public defenders. He has extensive trial experience, having personally tried over 100 jury cases.

Mr. Rosenbaum has served as a hearing officer for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission for over 13 years. In this role, he sits as a member of a hearing board to hear complaints of misconduct against attorneys. He is also been a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Illinois College of Law, where he teaches Trial Advocacy.

He has an impressive record of professional and public service. He is a past president of the Illinois Public Defenders Association and the Champaign County Bar Association. In 2011, he was appointed by then-Governor Quinn to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, a state agency dedicated to improving the administration of criminal justice.

Mr. Rosenbaum and his wife, Jill, live in Champaign with their daughter Abby, 19, and son Jake, 15.

The judicial screening committee, which was appointed by Chief Justice Garman to review the applicants, consisted of four non-attorney members and three attorney members, all of whom reside in the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

The non-attorney members were Sam Banks, Director of the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club, Dr. Lawrence Jeckel, M.D., Mary McGrath of Cozad Asset Management, and Tom Ramage, President of Parkland College, all of Champaign. Mary McGrath served as chairperson of the committee.

The attorney members of the committee were retired Judge Katherine McCarthy of Decatur, attorney Lott Thomas of Champaign, and attorney Suzanne Jennings Wells of Monticello.

The Sixth Judicial Circuit includes Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie, and Piatt Counties.