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For Lisa Holder-White, being a judge wasn’t part of her plan. And certainly a justice on the Illinois Supreme Court wasn’t in the plan, much less breaking barriers as the first African-American woman to sit on the court.

But as the newest justice on the court, who was sworn in last week, she says she’s already surpassed her dreams.

“For me the dream was always to be a lawyer, not necessarily to be a judge,” Holder-White said. “Each position that I’ve had as a judge, I have never necessarily aspired to that next position.”

Holder-White said she was inspired by former Macon County Circuit Judge John Greanias, who she appeared before as a young lawyer.

“I had my very first private [child] custody case in front of Judge Greanias, and I was so impressed by how he handled handled the case and how he treated the attorneys, how he treated the litigants, how he ran his courtroom, his command of the relevant case law,” she said. “After being in his courtroom for that hearing, I started thinking to myself ‘that’s something I think would want to do and that I think I would be good at.”

Holder-White became a Macon County Associate Judge in 2001, a Circuit Judge in 2008, and was appointed to the Appellate Court in 2013.

When longtime Justice Rita Garman retired at the end of June, Holder-White was chosen as her successor to represent the new 4th District on the state’s highest court. The newly redrawn district stretches from nearly the Metro East in the south to Rockford in the north and includes Quincy, Springfield, Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, and the Quad Cities.

Even though the court is broken down on partisan lines, Holder-White says she never brings politics or a bias to any case she hears.

“Each and every case brings a new set of facts, so, of course, you have to go in with an open mind,” she said. “You need to be guided by what the law requires. My usual way of handling things is reading the entire record, I’m gonna read the briefs, I’m going to review the case law that the parties have submitted regarding the case and do some research on my own. Then I do my very best to come to a decision that is supported by the law and required by the law.”

And, she said, the Supreme Court doesn’t base its work politically, even though some highly publicized cases have fallen along party lines over the years.

“I am of the opinion that party affiliation is completely irrelevant to the decisions that we make,” Justice Holder-White said. “How would you like to walk into a courtroom and tell the clerk what your party affiliation is? Because that’s somehow going to impact whether or not you receive real justice? It’s inappropriate for a judge to be making decisions based on party affiliation.”

Holder-White will have to face voters in 2024 in an election for the seat, even though she’ll have a two-year head start serving the district. She did say Tuesday she intends to seek the full 10-year term and is expected to do so as a Republican.

She disagreed on any allegation that the selection to Garman’s seat that came after the 2022 primary essentially made her appointment a “back room deal.”

“I would also point out this is the same way Justice Garman joined the court and we see what a gem we received through that process,” she said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to be on the court. I think it’s important the public will have the opportunity to learn more about me. I don’t want people to wonder ‘who is that?’ when they go to vote in 2024. I want them to say ‘oh, I met her.”

Holder-White and her family did move from Decatur to Sangamon County to meet residency requirements in the new district, a move she said was “no problem at all.”

“What an opportunity. All I had to do is move,” she said. “I’d do it all over again.”

Note: Holder spoke with Patrick Pfingsten Tuesday on WMAY Radio in Springfield.

Patrick Pfingsten

@pfingstenshow

patrick@theillinoize.com