Justice Lisa Holder White replaces retiring Justice Rita Garman on the Illinois Supreme Court.

Illinois Appellate Justice Lisa Holder White, Justice Rita Garman’s preferred replacement on the Illinois Supreme Court when the latter retires this month, is known for her emphasis on judicial education, community involvement, and neutrality on the bench.

“You must do everything you can to treat litigants fairly. If you are unable to do that, you have the responsibility to recuse yourself,” says Justice Holder White, 54.

Justice Holder White has been an appellate justice for the Fourth District of the Illinois Appellate Court since 2013. Before joining the Fourth District, she served as a circuit judge and an associate judge in the Sixth Judicial District. She also has worked in private practice, as an assistant state’s attorney for Macon County, and as an assistant public defender. As is the case with the Illinois Supreme Court, Justice Holder White joined the Sixth District and the Fourth District as each jurisdiction’s first Black female justice. As a justice, she has chaired the Illinois Supreme Court Judicial Conference Committee on Education.

“Meeting with her in a professional capacity and so forth, I have grown to have great respect for her,” says retiring Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman, who has known Justice Holder White for roughly 20 years and endorsed her previous ascents to the bench. “So, when I determined that I should retire, I thought, ‘I don’t know if she’s interested in becoming a Supreme Court justice. But if she is, she should be the person.’ There are some very, very bright committed people in the Fourth District, but I thought Lisa was uniquely qualified.”

Like Garman, Justice Holder White is a Republican. As an appointee, she will be required to seek election in November 2024 to keep her spot on the bench for a full 10-year term.

Active in the community

Justice Holder White is married with two adult children ages 27 and 23. She describes her extended family as “very tight knit” for which faith is a foundational component.

“As far as my family and politics are concerned, we tend to favor the candidate more than the party. But basically, I’m comfortable running as a Republican and my party affiliation represents my core values. I am a woman of faith and support personal responsibility.”

According to Millikin University, where she once served as a trustee, Justice Holder White “was named ‘Woman of the Year’ at the 2013 Women of Excellence Awards, hosted by the Decatur YMCA and United Way of Decatur and Mid-Illinois. She … also received the Joe Slaw Civil Rights Award from the Decatur branch of the NAACP, the Illinois Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award, the University of Illinois College of Law Black Law Students Association’s James Seaberry Award for Excellence, and the Illinois Judges Association Harold Sullivan Award.” She is also a former board member of the Decatur Public Schools Foundation.

“Civility and respect are very important to me. How you say things should always be top of mind,” she says. “I am very involved in my church and am a community-minded person; though, I can also be somewhat of a homebody. Like everyone, there are different aspects to me.

“As for being a judge, when you enter someone’s courtroom—someone who is deciding a case for you—no party should have to be concerned about the judge’s politics,” she says. “What you want from a judge is to be fair, listen, give you your day in court, and decide the case according to the law. It is what I have done and it is what I will always continue to do.”

Pete Sherman is managing editor of the Illinois Bar Journal.
psherman@isba.org