In the Illinois Bar Journal’s December issue, new Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis says “We have to return to the idea of the public’s trust and confidence,” citing Alexander Hamilton who, in the Federalist Papers No. 78, writes that the judicial branch derives its power neither from the sword nor the purse, but from the public’s confidence in its integrity. “The people give us this incredible authority and power over their lives, and the response must be that we, as the judiciary, act in a manner that promotes trust in what we’re doing,” Chief Justice Theis continues.

For more about the new chief justice, read the IBJ’s entire December profile of her in “Matters of the Heart.”