Illinois Supreme Court Picks Replacement For Justice Kilbride

FILE – In this Sept. 10, 2013 file photo, Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride listens to oral arguments at the Michael A. Bilandic Building in Chicago. A published report Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014, says that Illinois Supreme Court justices, who will decide Illinois’ pension issue, received nearly $3 million during the past 13 years from groups that support both sides of the issue. The report says that most of the money was collected by Kilbride, in a 2010 campaign to retain his seat that was the nation’s most expensive of that type in a quarter-century. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

The Illinois Supreme Court is choosing a Democratic appellate judge to replace Justice Tom Kilbride. The state’s high court picked Robert Carter as an interim justice. Carter has been serving on various benches since 1979. His selection comes after Kilbride lost a retention bid last week after coming under fire for his ties to Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. Carter’s appointment takes effect next month and lasts until December 2022.