Judge Eugene Doherty named new Appellate Court Justice
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Judge Eugene Doherty, the former chief judge of the 17th Judicial Circuit in Boone and Winnebago counties, has been named as a new justice for the Appellate Court’s Fourth District.
Justice Lisa Holder White and the Supreme Court of Illinois announced the selection Monday evening.
Doherty will fill the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Holder White to the state’s Supreme Court. He will begin the role on Thursday and serve through Dec. 2, 2024.
His installation will take place at 1 p.m. Thursday via Zoom, and it can be watched on the court’s YouTube channel.
“Judge Doherty is an accomplished jurist who has proven himself to be a leader among his peers,” Holder White said in a news release. “The citizens of the Fourth District will be well served with him on the Appellate Court.”
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Judge Doherty has served on the bench in the 17th Circuit since 2007. He won election in 2008, was retained by voters in 2014 and 2020 and served as chief judge of the circuit from 2018 to 2021.
His work on Illinois Supreme Court committees includes serving as the current chairperson of the e-
Business Policy Board, as vice-chairperson of Court Operations During COVID-19 Task Force and chairman of the Task Force’s Evictions Subcommittee. He is also a member of the Weighted Caseload Task Force and the Statutory Court Fees Task Force. During his time as chief judge he served as chairman for the Technology Committee and the Supreme Court Article V Committee of the Conference of Chief Judges.
“I am humbled and gratified that Justice Holder White and the Illinois Supreme Court have entrusted me with this assignment,” Doherty said in a news release. “I will do my very best to meet my new responsibilities with diligence, fairness, and adherence to the law.”
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Before becoming a judge, Doherty worked for 16 years as an attorney for Holmstrom & Kennedy in Rockford. He previously worked as a law clerk for Second District Appellate Court Justice Philip G. Reinhard.
