Chief Justice Fitzgerald has Parkinson's, will leave court

BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Political Reporter/apallasch@suntimes.com

Appellate Justice Mary Jane Theis to be replacement

13, 2010

BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Political Reporter/apallasch@suntimes.com
Thomas Fitzgerald, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois, informed his colleagues Monday that he has Parkinson’s Disease and will leave the court Oct. 25.

On Fitzgerald’s recommendation, the other justices voted to appoint Appellate Justice Mary Jane Theis to replace him for a two-year term beginning Oct. 26.
“I don’t not want to do anything to hurt the court or the people it serves,” Fitzgerald said Monday through a spokesman. “Right now I am fully capable of discharging my duties. I don’t know how long it will be true.”

Fitzgerald, 69, was a former prosecutor and the longtime presiding judge of the Cook County Circuit Court’s Criminal Division at 26th and California before being elected to the state’s high court 10 years ago. As chief justice, he presided over Gov. Blagojevich’s impeachment trial in the state legislature.

He was set to be on the ballot in two months for a vote on retention to serve another 10 years as a Supreme Court justice when he got the news about his illness. Fitzgerald was highly rated by Illinois’ law associations for his stewardship of the criminal court.

“Judge Fitzgerald has been an outstanding judge,” said Daniel Coyne, president of the Chicago Council of Lawyers and a member of Fitzgerald’s committee of lawyers that advise him on the judicial appointments. “This past year he went before the legislature when they were thinking about cutting the heart out of probation and rehabilitative services and he said that would be foolish – that those are what guaranteed that people could get on with their lives. Based on that, the legislature reinstated a lot of money they had cut from probation.”

The council was set to recommend Fitzgerald to voters as “well-qualified” to be retained on the bench. Their evaluation lauded his work at Criminal Court and as chief justice and added, “As a Supreme Court Justice, he is always well-prepared and an active questioner.” The Chicago Bar Association likewise was set to recommend a “yes” vote on Fitzgerald.

“Justice Fitzgerald really had an exemplary career as a judge, both at the circuit level and at the supreme court,” said CBA President Terry Mascherin. “He did many things to improve the profession.”

Theis also enjoys “highly qualified” ratings from bar groups for her work on the appellate court and she was touted for the seat now held by Justice Anne Burke. Her appointment means that for the first time in the state’s history, three of the seven justices on the high court will be women, including Burke and Rita Garman.

Theis is a former public defender, a daughter of former Judge Kenneth Wendt, and wife of well-known defense lawyer John Theis

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/2704690,illinois-chief-justice-parkinsons-resign-091310.article