The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that the Twelfth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Brian E. Barrett as an associate judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit. Mr. Barrett received his undergraduate degree in 1995 from DePaul University and his Juris Doctor in 1999 from Chicago-Kent. Mr. Barrett is currently engaged in solo practice in New Lenox, Illinois.

The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it has recalled retired Appellate Court Justice Robert W. Cook and assigned him to the Fourth Judicial District Appellate Court to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the Hon. Sue E. Myerscough upon her appointment as a federal district judge for the Central District of Illinois. His assignment will be effective April 1, 2011 and will terminate on December 3, 2012. Appellate Justice Cook graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.A. degree in History. He received his juris doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1967. After graduation, he entered the United States Marine Corps as a captain, serving with the Judge Advocate General from 1967 to 1970, and in Vietnam from 1969 to1970. Before his initial appointment to the bench, Appellate Justice Cook worked as an attorney with the law firm of Schmiedeskamp, Robertson, Neu & Mitchell in Quincy from 1970-1981. From 1983 to 1991, Appellate Justice Cook served as a Circuit Court Judge in Adams County. He was appointed to the Fourth Judicial District Appellate Court in 1991. He was subsequently elected in 1994 and was retained in 2004. The Fourth Judicial District is comprised of 30 counties across central Illinois. Those counties are: Adams, Pike, Calhoun, Schuyler, Brown, Scott, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Morgan, Cass, Mason, Menard, Sangamon, Logan, DeWitt, Macon, Piatt, Moultrie, McLean, Woodford, Livingston, Ford, Champaign, Douglas, Coles, Cumberland, Clark, Edgar and Vermilion.

The Illinois Supreme Court announced today that the Fourth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Jeffrey M. “Marc” Kelly as an associate judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Mr. Kelly received his undergraduate degree in 1996 from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and his Juris Doctor in 2000 from John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Mr. Kelly is currently affiliated with Burnside, Johnston, Sheafor & Kelly, PC in Vandalia, Illinois.

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Lionel Jean-Baptiste as a Circuit Judge of Cook County, Ninth Subcircuit.  This appointment fills the vacancy created by the death of the Hon. Gerald C. Bender. It takes effect March 4, 2011, and terminates on December 3, 2012.