Lisa Holder White set to become first Black woman on Illinois Supreme Court

Judge Lisa Holder White will replace retiring Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman this summer, the court announced Tuesday.

She becomes the first Black woman to serve on the state's highest court.

“Being appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court is the honor of a lifetime. I am humbled by the confidence Justice Rita B. Garman and the entire Court have placed in me,” Justice Holder White said. “My service to the judiciary for the past 21 years has helped prepare me for this historic moment. I look forward to the privilege of resolving matters my fellow citizens bring before the Court.”

Holder White also was the first Black appellate court judge in the Fourth District when she was appointed in 2013. The next year she was elected to the court after running unopposed, according to records from the state board of elections.

Past coverage: Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman to retire, leaving opening on the court

The Supreme Court's first Black justice, Charles Freeman, retired in 2018 after serving on the court 28 years. Garman was the first woman to serve on the Fourth District Appellate Court when she was appointed in 1995.

During Holder White's time on the appellate court, she participated in several important decisions.

In February of this year, Holder White partially dissented from a decision not to rule on an appeal of a Sangamon County judge’s decision that invalidated Gov. JB Pritzker’s school mask mandate.

A majority in that case said the issue was moot because the emergency rules issued earlier by the Illinois Department of Public Health had expired and a legislative panel in charge of reviewing such rules had declined to extend them. Holder White dissented from that part of the opinion and said the court should have ruled on the issue.

On Feb. 25, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed that the issue was moot but vacated the circuit court’s temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the mask requirement. Pritzker lifted the mask mandate for schools and most other public places on Feb. 28.

She participated in a 2020 decision surrounding a lawsuit brought by John Tillman of the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative think tank, which unsuccessfully challenged the validity of $25.2 billion worth of state bonds.

Holder White also ruled in 2020 that the governor had authority to set protocols for the transfer of inmates from county jails to state prisons during the pandemic, allowing the governor to pause those transfers.

Holder White officially joins the court on July 8, the day after Garman's retirement. Her term will expire on Dec. 2, 2024. The seat will be filled by a partisan election in the 2024 election cycle.

Both Holder White and Garman are Republicans.

Others in the Illinois legal world have praised Holder White's qualifications.

“I couldn't be more thrilled and inspired by the historic appointment of Lisa Holder White to the Illinois Supreme Court. Her qualifications and dedication to fair and equitable justice are remarkable," said Erika Harold, who heads the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism.

Harold has collaborated with Holder White in the past to develop programming addressing inequities in the legal system and building trust in the profession.

"The appointment of Justice Holder White feels like a significant shift in what’s possible for Black women and all people across Illinois," said Harold.

Holder White previously served on the Illinois Supreme Court Judicial Conference Committee on Education, which provides professional development and continuing education to Illinois judges. She's a member of the Decatur Bar Association, Illinois Judges Association, Central Illinois Women's Bar Association and the University of Illinois College of Law Leadership Project.

She attended Lewis University and University of Illinois College of Law.

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Praise for Garman continued Tuesday.

“Rita has been my close friend, mentor, and role model since I joined the bench in 2006. I have so much gratitude for her service to the Illinois judiciary,” Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said in a statement. “No words can describe her loss. However, she has provided hope for the future by nominating for her replacement a wonderful woman who will be able to step right into her shoes. It is a pleasure to welcome Justice Holder White to the Court.”

Garman announced her retirement Monday, leaving the bench after 48 years. Garman has been a judge at all levels of the state court system. Her term was set to expire at the end of this year.

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During her time on the court, Garman authored two "milestone cases," according to a release from the court. The first, People v. Caballes, found that a dog sniff during a traffic stop did not constitute an infringement on civil liberties under the state's constitution. The federal Supreme Court also ruled in that case that the sniff did not violate the U.S. Constitution's fourth amendment, which protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The second, In re Estate of Feinberg, found that a man did not violate any law by requiring that his children marry within the Jewish faith in order to receive benefits in his estate plan. Garman authored the court's unanimous decision, ruling that the individual in the case was free to dispose of his property however he chose.

Capitol News Illinois reporter Peter Hancock contributed reporting to this story.

Contact Andrew Adams: aadams1@gannett.com; (312)-291-1417; twitter.com/drewjayadams.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Lisa Holder White to become first Black woman on state Supreme Court