Candidate profile: Mark M. Boie
Name: Mark M. Boie
Age: 52
Hometown: Anna
Occupation: 5th District Appellate Court judge
Position seeking: 5th District Appellate Court judge, Chapman vacancy
Party: Republican
Incumbent: No (Editor’s note: Boie was appointed to the 5th District Appellate Court last year to fill the Overstreet vacancy. He is running to fill the Chapman vacancy.)
Website or social media page: Friends for Justice Boie on Facebook
Why are you running and why should people vote for you? I believe that my extensive experience as both a circuit and appellate court judge provides me with the legal traits necessary to serve on the Appellate Court. I believe I possess the integrity, fairness and impartiality that is needed on the bench. These personal traits have been honed and expanded during my 19+ years’ as a judge. I am seeking this elected position to make a long-term commitment to maintain my impartiality and fairness, my extensive experience, my common sense, my Southern Illinois values, and my oath to support the Constitution on the Appellate Court for the citizens of Southern Illinois. As the elected Resident Circuit Judge of Union County, I have been the presiding judge overseeing the judicial system of the county and managing the administrative duties of the office. I have presided over the various dockets for the county, including the civil, family, juvenile, mental health, traffic, small claims and criminal dockets. I have conducted hundreds of contested hearings and bench trials, as well as dealing with high-volume court calls. I have presided over numerous criminal and civil jury trials. I have also been assigned to hear cases throughout the entire First Judicial Circuit. Effective May 1, 2019, I was assigned to serve on the Fifth District Appellate Court by then Justice Lloyd Karmeier and the Illinois Supreme Court. I believe that I possesses the knowledge and experience necessary to competently hear and decide cases on the Appellate Court. I have over 19 years’ experience on both the Circuit and Appellate Courts hearing all types of cases and have proven myself to be sufficiently qualified for the position. I believe that I am respected by the citizens, my judicial colleagues and the attorneys that appear before me. I have been fortunate to be retained by the voters in 2006, 2012 and 2018. During my 2018 retention, I received a 96% attorney approval rating and a 76% retention vote throughout the First Judicial Circuit.
What would your goals be, if elected? Obviously to work hard, gain more knowledge and experience, and continue to be fair and impartial in my considerations and opinions. It has been a pleasure to sit with my colleagues during, and after, oral arguments, and hear their thoughts, opinions and perspectives. We all come from different backgrounds and they are a wealth of information. I will use all this to become a better Justice of the Appellate Court.
What issues are most pressing for your constituency? An issue that is important to my constituents and to me as an Appellate Court justice is complete access to the judicial system for all individuals. I am particularly proud of the work of the Illinois Judicial Conference, under the direction of the Illinois Supreme Court, that has set strategic goals for the future of the judicial branch to improve protection of the rights and liberties of all by providing equal access to justice, resolving disputes fairly and efficiently. The strategies outlined by the Illinois Judicial Conference, such as improving and expanding resources to assist self-represented litigants, advocating for and promoting affordable representation for low and middle-income parties, and promoting and enhancing remote access to our courts are all issues necessary to meet the justice systems’ core values and to protect the rights and liberties of all individuals. After presiding over drug related criminal and mental health cases, as well as serving on the Special Supreme Court Advisory Committee that promulgates the standards, application, certification and review process for the various problem-solving courts in Illinois, the importance of establishing these courts to assist those with drug addiction, mental health issues and our veterans, while collaborating with community partners to advocate for needed community-based services was clear. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on strategies to collaborate with our community resources in order to meet the core values of the court: fairness, accountability, integrity and respect.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 3:17 PM.