Two appellate court judges to vie for soon-to-be vacant spot on Illinois Supreme Court
Swansea’s Judy Cates is one of two Illinois Appellate Court judges who have announced their intentions to run for the state’s highest court.
Cates and David Overstreet, of Mount Vernon, have decided to vie for Justice Lloyd Karmeier’s upcoming vacancy on the bench.
Karmeier announced last week that he will retire from the Illinois Supreme Court on Dec. 6, 2020. His three-year term as chief justice concluded on Oct. 25.
Both Cates and Overstreet currently serve in the fifth district of the Appellate Court. The filing term for nomination petitions opens on Nov. 25 and closes Dec. 6. The election is partisan.
Judy Cates
Cates, who calls herself “Judge Judy,” said she intends to run on a platform of transparency, “without any hint of corruption.”
“People need to trust the civil justice system, which protects this nation from government overreach,” she said in her campaign announcement. “I intend to engage in frank discussions about the Judicial Inquiry Board, its function and the need to make it more responsive. There will be no more covering up for judges who, in the past, have relied on their brethren to protect them from scrutiny.”
Cates was elected to the Appellate Court in 2012. Before that, she was a personal injury lawyer and was elected president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, and is still the only woman to have served in the role. In 2012, she was honored as one of the top 100 women lawyers in Illinois and one of the top 500 lawyers in America.
Cates received her Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University before attending Washington University in St. Louis for law school. She started her career as a prosecutor in the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s office prior to entering private practice. She has also taught classes at both the Washington University School of Law and the St. Louis University School of Law.
In her campaign announcement, Cates said she plans to travel throughout the 37 counties of Southern Illinois that are in the fifth district. She has not specified if she will be running as a Republican or Democrat for the seat.
“At least one of my opponents has already lined up strictly partisan interests,” she said in a news release. “I intend to speak to all of the voters, not just Democrats or Republicans. The courts are for everyone. Politics has no place in our courtrooms.”
According to Matt Dietrich of the Illinois State Board of Elections, the filing period for Independent or new party candidates is June 15-22, 2020. Those candidates are not allowed to circulate nominating petitions until March 24, 2020, so if Cates is out collecting signatures now, she will need to run as a Democrat or Republican.
David Overstreet
Overstreet, who has been presiding judge of the Appellate Court since December 2018, announced his intention to run for Karmeier’s spot. In a news release, Overstreet said he will be running as a Republican and included endorsements from U.S. Rep John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, and the Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider.
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Overstreet graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Lipscomb University in Nashville before getting his law degree from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He practiced law in Knoxville and in Monticello, Illinois, before joining the Neubauer & Overstreet, P.C., law firm in Mount Vernon.
In 2008, Overstreet won a spot on the second judicial circuit court and was retained in 2014. He was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to the firth district of the Appellate Court in 2017, and was elected to the position once again in 2018. In the latter campaign, Overstreet was rated “Highly Qualified” by the Illinois State Bar Association Judicial Evaluations Committee.
Overstreet currently serves on the Illinois Judicial Conference, the Illinois Judicial College, the Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Education, the Supreme Court Judicial Mentoring Committee, as co-chair of the Family Law track at the 2020 Judicial Education Conference and as Secretary of the Illinois Judges Association.
“While I cannot discuss political issues as a judicial candidate, I have always tried to make judgments that are fair, impartial and faithful to the law,” Overstreet said in his campaign announcement. “I believe my experience in private practice, on the circuit court hearing cases of all kinds, and on the appellate court give me a well-rounded background in the law to be able to serve on the Supreme Court.”
Overstreet has also vowed to visit every one of the 37 counties in the district.
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