The Illinois court system will get a new leader next week. Friday Tom Kilbride concludes his 3-year term as chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, and on Monday Justice Rita Garman will take over. IPR’s Herb Trix has more:
He's probably best known for his effort to allow cameras and microphones in trial courts, and it's now allowed in 35 counties and 13 judicial circuits. But Kilbride is also proud of some other accomplishments, starting with educating legislators about the needs of the court system.
“After more or less beating my head against the wall for the first two years, the third year we were successful in getting a modest bump up and not a decrease, not a cut,” Kilbride says.
That modest increase was 16 million dollars for probation services after many years of reductions.
As associate justice, he'll give up his administrative duties to the new chief, and now focus most of his attention on cases and opinions.
Kilbride was first elected to the Illinois Supreme Court in 2000, and survived a well-funded attempt in 2010 to block his retention.