Quish elevated to Appellate Court, Martin appointed to Hoffman vacancy

We'll get to the outcome of last week's Cook County Democratic Party slating meeting as soon as possible... but some things we must cover first....

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the assignment of Judge Clare J. Quish to the Illinois Appellate Court (click here for the Supreme Court's press release concerning the assignment).

Judge Quish, who currently sits in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court, will join the Appellate Court on September 2. The assignment is open-ended; she will remain on the Appellate Court "until further order of the Court."

Quish will take over the cases that were being handled by the Justice Thomas E. Hoffman at the time of his passing, but she has not been appointed to his vacancy.

Instead, the Supreme Court has appointed Justice LeRoy K. Martin to Justice Hoffman's vacancy. Justice Martin has served on the Appellate Court since the beginning of 2021, but he has been, and remains, a Circuit Court judge sitting by Supreme Court assignment. Unless he is elected to the Appellate Court, this new appointment (which is also effective September 2) will terminate on December 7, 2026, when Justice Hoffman's successor is sworn into office. On the other hand, Martin has not been appointed to the Appellate Court, so, if he does not secure election to the Appellate Court, he would still be a Circuit Court judge.

While Justice Martin is technically filling Justice Hoffman's vacancy, Justice Martin keeps his existing Appellate Court caseload. As noted, Judge Quish will inherit Justice Hoffman's cases.