Justice Robert L. Carter and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced that Thirteenth Circuit Court Judge Lance R. Peterson has been appointed as an Appellate Court Justice in the Third District following the death of Justice Daniel L. Schmidt on July 5, 2022. 

Judge Peterson’s appointment is effective August 1, 2022, through December 2, 2024. 

“I was saddened by Justice Schmidt’s passing after his valiant battle against ALS,” Justice Carter said. “Judge Peterson has over 20 years of experience as a judge and has received high marks from attorneys who appear before him.”  

Judge Peterson has served on the bench in the Thirteenth Circuit in Grundy County Circuit Court since 2001, first as an Associate Judge and since 2010 as a Circuit Judge for Grundy County. He is a member of the Illinois Courts Commission and the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions in Civil Cases as well as a past member and Chairman of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinating Committee of the Illinois Judicial Conference. 

“I am honored and humbled by this appointment. My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Justice Schmidt, who served the citizens of the Third District so admirably for nearly 20 years,” Judge Peterson said. “I want to thank Justice Carter and the other members of the Illinois Supreme Court for their confidence in me. I am committed to serving on the court with honor just as Justice Schmidt did.”  

Prior to joining the bench, Judge Peterson served as Grundy County State's Attorney from 1996 to 2001 and had been a Judicial Clerk for Justice Mary Ann McMorrow of the Illinois Supreme Court and for Justice Tobias Barry of the Third District Appellate Court. 

Judge Peterson earned his Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of The John Marshall Law Review. 

The Third Judicial District is composed of seven counties: Bureau, DuPage, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, LaSalle, and Will.