To become a judge in Illinois, you need to be a United States citizen, hold an active Illinois law license, and live in the judicial unit where you want to serve. Beyond those three constitutional requirements, the path splits: most judges win a partisan election for a seat on the Circuit, Appellate, or Supreme Court, while associate judges skip the campaign trail and are appointed by the circuit judges already on the bench.
The Baseline Requirements
The Illinois Constitution sets the same three qualifications for every level of court, from the Circuit Court up to the Supreme Court: U.S. citizenship, a license to practice law in Illinois, and residency in the unit you will serve. Associate judges answer to the same baseline.1Illinois Courts. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 39
Illinois has no separate judicial license. Your standing as an attorney is the gatekeeper, which means staying in good standing with the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. A lapsed registration or a pending disciplinary proceeding that affects your license affects your eligibility for the bench.2State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts. Attorney Licensure
There is also a ceiling on the other end. The Illinois Constitution lets the General Assembly set a mandatory retirement age, and current law fixes it at 75.3Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Constitution – Article VI The Constitution does not set a minimum number of years in practice, so once you are a licensed Illinois attorney and a resident of the unit, the constitutional door is open. Whether voters or your future colleagues will actually let you through is another matter.
The Election Path
Supreme Court, Appellate Court, and Circuit Court judges are chosen in partisan elections. You pick a party, gather signatures, survive a primary, and win in November. The mechanics look much more like a legislative race than anything most attorneys have run before, and it takes real campaign infrastructure.
Petition Signatures and Filing
To appear on the primary ballot, you file a nominating petition signed by voters in your party. How many signatures you need depends on the court:
- For Supreme Court and Appellate Court races (judicial district), you need signatures equal to 0.4% of the votes cast for your party’s gubernatorial candidate in the last gubernatorial general election, with a minimum of 500.
- For Circuit and subcircuit races, you need signatures equal to 0.25% of the votes cast for the top judicial candidate of your party in that circuit or subcircuit at the last relevant general election. The minimum is 1,000 in the First Judicial District (Cook County) and 500 everywhere else.
The petition packet must also carry a statement of candidacy with your address, the office sought, a sworn declaration that you are a qualified primary voter of the party, and confirmation that you have filed or will file a statement of economic interests under the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act.4FindLaw. Illinois Statutes Chapter 10 Elections 5/7-10
Primary, General, and Term
Judicial candidates are nominated at the primary and advance to the general under a party label. In heavily partisan areas, the primary is where the real contest happens; the November race is often uncompetitive.
What you win depends on the seat. Supreme Court and Appellate Court judges serve ten-year terms. Circuit judges serve six.5FindLaw. Constitution of the State of Illinois Art VI 10
The Associate Judge Path
Not every judge in Illinois campaigns. Associate judges are appointed by the circuit judges already sitting in each circuit, and they make up a substantial share of the bench. If you want to avoid running for office, this is the route worth studying.
Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 39, circuit judges within each circuit fill associate judge vacancies through an appointment vote. The qualifications are the same three: U.S. citizen, active Illinois attorney, resident of the unit from which you seek appointment. Associate judges serve four-year terms and are reappointed by the circuit judges rather than by voters.1Illinois Courts. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 39
Because the electorate here is a group of sitting judges rather than the public, the process is quieter but not easier. Candidates typically need a majority of the circuit’s judges behind them, and bar association recommendations carry weight inside those decisions.
Interim Vacancy Appointments
When a Supreme, Appellate, or Circuit judge leaves before a term ends, the seat is filled by appointment. The General Assembly can set the process by statute, and in the absence of legislation, the Illinois Supreme Court appoints.6FindLaw. Constitution of the State of Illinois Art VI 12
How long the appointee serves depends on timing. If the appointment happens 60 or more days before the next primary for judicial nominations, the appointee serves until a candidate wins the seat at the next general or judicial election. If it happens within 60 days of that primary, the appointee holds the seat until the second general or judicial election after the appointment. Either way, the appointed judge eventually faces voters, so an interim appointment is a head start on a campaign, not a substitute for one.
Bar Association Evaluations
Before every election, bar associations rate judicial candidates and publish the results. These ratings are advisory, but they influence voters who often have little else to go on and they show up in newspaper endorsements.
The Illinois State Bar Association evaluates candidates for Appellate and Supreme Court seats outside Cook County. Its Judicial Evaluations Committee works from a detailed questionnaire, attorney interviews, and a formal candidate interview, then assigns a rating of Highly Recommended, Recommended, or Not Recommended. Judges up for retention are rated either Recommended or Not Recommended. Separately, the ISBA sends a judicial advisory poll to members in the relevant circuit or district; a candidate needs at least 60% favorable responses to earn a Recommended rating from the poll.
In Cook County, the Chicago Bar Association and other local bar groups run parallel evaluations with similar scales. A poor rating does not knock you off the ballot, but it hands your opponent and every editorial board a talking point.
What Judges Earn
The legislature sets judicial salaries, and they vary by court. As of July 1, 2025:
- Supreme Court justices: $298,910
- Appellate Court judges: $281,331
- Circuit Court judges: $258,158
- Associate judges: $245,250
The figures are adjusted periodically based on legislative action and recommendations from the Compensation Review Board.7Office of the Illinois Courts. State and Local Funding for the Illinois Courts Judges also receive health insurance, paid leave, and membership in the Judges’ Retirement System of Illinois, though anyone joining the bench today falls under Tier 2 pension rules that are considerably less generous than what earlier judges received.
Staying on the Bench
Winning your first term is not the end of the process. Elected judges seeking to keep the seat run in retention elections rather than contested races. Retention is an uncontested, nonpartisan ballot question asking voters whether the judge should remain in office, and the threshold is 60% yes. Supreme and Appellate judges face retention every ten years; Circuit judges every six. Most judges pass without difficulty, but a judge who has drawn public criticism can find retention becoming a real referendum.
On the job, you owe the state 30 hours of continuing judicial education every two years, a requirement the Illinois Supreme Court tracks and enforces. Most judges satisfy it through the biennial Education Conference and programs run by the Judicial Education Division of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.8State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts. Judicial Education in Illinois The Illinois Judicial College, established by the Supreme Court in November 2015, supports that work with professional development resources for judges statewide.9State of Illinois Office of the Illinois Courts. What is a Judicial College? New judges attend orientation before taking on regular duties.
You also take on the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct of 2023, adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court. It sets standards for impartiality, integrity, and independence, and reaches both your professional and personal conduct. Judges must recuse from any case where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned, including matters involving personal relationships or financial interests. The Code restricts political activity as well: sitting judges cannot personally solicit campaign contributions, and campaign conduct is governed by Canon 4.10Illinois Courts Commission. Code of Judicial Conduct11Illinois Courts. Illinois Supreme Court Rules – Article XI Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct of 2023 Misconduct complaints are investigated by the Judicial Inquiry Board and adjudicated by the Illinois Courts Commission, which can reprimand, censure, suspend, or remove a judge.