The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday the appointment of Wm. Hugh Finson, a longtime Monticello attorney and public servant as a resident circuit judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

Mr. Finson was appointed to fill the Circuit Court vacancy created by the death of longtime Piatt County Chief Judge John P. Shonkwiler. The appointment is effective September 4, 2012 and will expire December 1, 2014.

Justice Rita B. Garman of the Supreme Court of Illinois has begun an application process for a Circuit Court vacancy in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. The vacancy will be created by the retirement of Judge John P. Shonkwiler on July 31, 2012. Judge Shonkwiler has been a resident circuit judge since 1974.

Under the Illinois Constitution, judicial vacancies are filled by Supreme Court appointment. The application process will lead to final Court approval. The applicants will undergo an evaluation and screening process.

Notice of the vacancy has been posted in courthouses throughout the Circuit. The application form and instructions may be obtained by visiting the Illinois Supreme Court’s website at www.state.il.us/court and follow the instructions on the “Latest News” scroller announcing the Sixth Judicial Circuit vacancy. Original applications must be submitted via mail to:

• Supreme Court of Illinois
• attn.: Mrs. Mary Hurley
• 3607 North Vermilion, Suite 1
• Danville, Illinois 61832

No electronic or facsimile applications will be accepted.

Deadline for submission of applications is Tuesday, June 12, 2012. The person appointed to fill the vacancy will serve until the position is filled by election in November, 2014. To be eligible for consideration for appointment, the applicant must be a lawyer licensed to practice law in Illinois.

The Sixth Judicial Circuit is comprised of Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Macon, Moultrie and Piatt counties.

The Illinois Supreme Court announced Monday that the Hon. Robert T. Hanson has been appointed as Circuit Judge for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, at Large. The position was previously held by the Hon. Stephen C. Pemberton, who is retiring from judicial office on July 3, 2012.

The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Alex F. McGimpsey, III as an associate judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit.

Mr. McGimpsey received his undergraduate degree in 1985 from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and his Juris Doctor in 1989 from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. McGimpsey is currently affiliated with the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office in Wheaton.