| Judicial Succession in the Eighteen Judicial Circuit
By Hon. Anthony Peccarelli
Article VI of the 1870 Illinois Constitution vested judicial powers in one Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, County Courts, Justices of the Peace, Police Magistrates and such other courts as the general assembly may provide. It divided the state into seven districts unless otherwise provided by law. The Seventh District consisted of the counties of Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kankakee and Will. From 1897 to 1958 DuPage County was part of the 16th Judicial Circuit. The statute, 705 ILCS 35/1 (formerly Chap. 37 Ill.Rev.Stat 72.1), was amended February 28, 1957, L.1957 page 29, S.B. No.3, creating the 18th Judicial Circuit to encompass all of DuPage County, the second single county circuit court in Illinois. Article VI provided for the elected office of Circuit Judge, to serve within a district, whose term of office was six years and the elected office of County Judge whose term of office was four years; it further provided that the general assembly may provide for a Probate Court and an elected Judge whose term of office was four years; and permitted the election of Justices of the Peace and Police Magistrate as may provided by law.
Article VI of the 1870 Illinois Constitution was amended in 1962, effective in 1964, which eliminated the elected offices of Probate Judge and County Judge but continued the judges in office, designated them Associate Judge and extended their term to six years.. The 1962 amendment eliminated the elected office of Justice of the Peace and Police Magistrate and created the office of Magistrate. Magistrates were appointed by the Circuit Judges to serve at the pleasure of the Chief Judge of the circuit. The Illinois Supreme Court limited the number of Magistrates to be appointed in each circuit.
The Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention proposed and Illinois adopted a new constitution in 1970 to succeed the 1870 Illinois Constitution in its entirety. The Transition Schedule for Article VI of the 1970 Illinois Constitution provided elected Associate Judges became Circuit Judges on July 1, 1971 and eliminated the office of Magistrate effective June 30, 1971. Article VI provided all Circuit Judges were subject to retention every six years; created the office of Associate Judge whose term of office was four years, to begin July 1, 1971; and provided for the appointment of Associate Judges by the Circuit Judges subject to a retention appointment every four years.
There appears no ascertainable record available, other than anecdotal, of many Justices of the Peace and Police Magistrates in office prior to 1964. Prior to January 1, 1964 there was no constitutional requirement for a judge to be a licensed attorney-at-law. The 18th Judicial Circuit Court, DuPage County, currently has fifteen elected Circuit Judges and twenty-six appointed Associate Judges.
Judges serving in the 16th Judicial Circuit, DuPage County, Illinois prior to the creation of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court, DuPage County, Illinois
1930-1953 Win G.Knoch (County Judge; Circuit Judge; Judge, U.S.District Court, Northern District of Illinois; Judge, U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals)
1940-1956 Russell W. Keeney (County Judge; Circuit Judge, 16th Circuit)
1953-1958 Mel Abrahamson (Circuit Judge, 16th Circuit)
1954-1958 William C. Atten (County Judge, DuPage County, 16th Circuit)
1955-1958 Bert E.Rathje (Probate Judge, DuPage County, 16th Circuit)
1957 William E. Hooper (Circuit Judge, 16th Circuit)
Chief Judges of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court,
DuPage County, Illinois
1958 - 1964 Mel Abrahamson
1964 - 1972 Bert B. Rathje
1972 - 1973 LeRoy L. Rechenmacher
1973 - 1975 Alfred B. Woodward
1975 - 1979 George W. Unverzagt
1979 - 1980 William V. Hopf
1980 - 1984 Bruce R. Fawell
1984 - 1989 Carl F. J. Henninger
1989 - 1993 Anthony M. Peccarelli
1993 - 1995 Edward W. Kowal
1995 - 1999 Michael R. Galasso
1999 - Thomas B. Callum
CIRCUIT JUDGES
1958
Mel Abrahamson (Elected Appellate Court, 2nd District 1964)
William C. Atten (Retired)
Bert E. Rathje (Retired)
County Judge
William L. Guild (Elected County Judge 1958-60; 1962-1964; Elected Circuit Judge 1966; Elected Appellate Court, 2nd District 1970)
Probate Judge
Philip F. Locke (Elected Circuit Judge 1964; Retire)
1964
William J. Bauer (Appointed U.S. District Attorney, Northern District of Illinois; Appointed U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Illinois; Appointed Judge Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals)
Associate Judge
LeRoy L. Rechenmacher (Circuit Court 1971; Assigned to the Appellate Court, 2nd District 1974)
1970
George W. Unverzagt (Assigned Appellate Court, 2nd District 1979)
Alfred E. Woodward (Assigned Appellate Court,
2nd District 1979)
Associate Judge
Edwin L. Douglas (Circuit Court 1971; Retired)
Bruce R. Fawell (Circuit Court; Retired)
1973
William V. Hopf (Assigned Appellate Court, 2nd District, 1990)
1975
James B. Fitzgerald (Retired)
1976
John J. Bowman (Elected Appellate Court, 2nd District 1990)
Helen C. Kinney (Retired)
1977
John S. Teschner (Retired)
Charles R. Norgle, Sr. (Reappointed Associate Judge 1978; Elected Circuit Judge 1982; Appointed District Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois 1984)
1978
Carl F. J. Henninger (Retired)
Robert A. Nolan (Retired)
1981
Lewis V. Morgan, Jr. (Reappointed Associate Judge,
December 1982)
1982
Anthony M. Peccarelli (Appointed Appellate Court,
2nd District 1993)
1984
William B. Black (Retired)
Edward W. Kowal (Retired)
Robert D. McLaren (Elected Appellate Court, 2nd District 1988)
1986
John W. Darrah
1988
Michael R. Gallasso (Assigned Appellate Court,
2nd District 1999)
John J. Nelligan (Retired)
Robert R. Thomas (Elected Appellate Court, 2nd District 1994)
1990
Bonnie M. Wheaton
1991
Robert E. Byrne
Peter J. Dockery (Reappointed Associate Judge 1992)
Ronald B. Mehling
Robert K. Kilander
1992
S. Lewis Rathje (Elected Appellate Court, 2nd District 1994; Appointed Illinois Supreme Court 1999)
1994
Thomas E. Callum
Edward R. Duncan
Ann B. Jorgensen
1995
Robert J. Anderson
Perry R. Thompson
Hollis L. Webster
1996
George J. Bakalis
Rodney W. Equi
Kenneth Moy
Magistrates and Associate Judges in the 18 Judicial Circuit Court, DuPage County Illinois
1964
Fred N. Banister, Sr. (Retire)
George H. Bunge (Retired)
Walter Bard Carroll (Resigned)
Wence F. Cerne (Retired)
Beryl H. Childs (Retired)
Bruce R. Fawell (Circuit Judge 1971)
Robert A. Nolan (Elected Circuit Judge 1978)
Lester P. Reiff (Retired)
1965
James E. Fitzgerald (Appointed Circuit Judge 1975)
Marvin E. Johnson (Retired)
Jack T. Parish (Retired)
1966
Gordon Moffett (Retired)
Edward Van de Houten, Jr. (Resigned)
1968
George Borovic, Jr. (Deceased)
1971
William E. Black (Appointed Circuit Judge 1984)
Richard L. Calkins (Deceased)
George B. Van Vleck (Resigned)
Blair Varnes (Retired)
1972
Helen C. Kinney (Elected Circuit Judge 1976)
1973
Charles R. Norgle, Sr. (Appointed Circuit Judge 1977)
1975
Fredrick Henzi (Deceased)
Edward W. Kowal (Appointed Circuit Judge 1984)
Carl F. J. Henninger (Elected Circuit Judge 1978)
Charles W. Spencer (Retired)
Lewis V. Morgan, Jr. (Appointed Circuit Judge 1975;
Reappointed Associate Judge 1982)
John S. Teschner (Appointed Circuit Judge 1977)
1976
Robert A. Cox (Retired)
James R. Sullivan (Resigned)
S. Keith Lewis (Retired)
Kevin P. Connelly (Retired)
1977
Philip J. R. Equi (Retired)
Duane G. Walter (Retired)
Richard A. Lucas
S. Bruce Scidmore (Resigned)
1979
Anthony M. Peccarelli (Elected Circuit Judge 1982; Appointed
Appellate Court, 2nd District 1993)
John J. Nelligan (Elected Circuit Judge 1988)
1981
C. Andrew Hayton
Edmund P. Bart
Charles E. Ruth (Retired)
Robert D. McLaren (Appointed Circuit Judge 1984;
Elected Appellate Court,
2nd District 1988)
Patrick M. Coolahan (Retired)
James W. Jerz
1984
Michael R. Galasso (Appointed Circuit Judge 1988)
1985
Margaret O. Coffin (Retired)
Francis W. Faris (Retired)
Donald J. Hennessy (Retired)
Ronald B. Mehling (Appointed Circuit Judge 1991)
Maryellen Provenzale (Retired)
1986
Robert E. Byrne (Appointed Circuit Judge 1991)
Thomas E. Callum (Elected Circuit Judge 1994)
Roy F. Lawrence (Retired)
1987
Edward R. Duncan (Appointed Circuit Judge 1994)
Perry R. Thompson (Appointed Circuit Judge 1994)
1988
Brian F. Telander (Resigned)
Bonnie M. Wheaton (Appointed Circuit Judge 1990)
1989
Peter J. Dockery (Appointed Circuit Judge 1991; Reappointed
Associate Judge 1992)
Ann B. Jorgensen (Appointed Circuit Judge 1994)
1990
George J. Bakalis (Elected Circuit Judge 1996)
Joseph S. Bongiorno
Eugene A. Wojcik
1991
John T. Elsner
Carp B. Pierce
Hollis L. Webster (Appointed Circuit Judge 1995)
1992
Robert J. Anderson (Appointed Circuit Judge 1995)
C. Stanley Austin
Michael J. Burke
Thomas C. Dudgeon
Paul Noland (Resigned)
1994
Kenneth A. Abraham
1995
Nicolas J. Galasso
Patrick J. Leston
Thomas J. Riggs
Kathyrn E. Cresswell
Mark W. Dwyer
Jane Hird Mitton
Kenneth W. Torluemke
Terrence M. Sheen
1996
Elizabeth W. Sexton
1997
John W. Demling
Kenneth L. Popejoy
1998
William I. Ferguson
Stephen J. Culliton
History reflects other judges served DuPage County throughout time. The information that follows is taken from an historical treatise (Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, Munsell Publishing Company, Chicago, Page 643, 1913), anecdotal inquiry and photographic memorabilia.
Circuit Judges
George W. Brown 1890-1896
Linus C. Ruth 1904-1907
Max F. Alleben 1932-1936
Probate Judge
Edgar F. Thoma 1930-1948
Honorable Anthony M. Peccarelli (retired) was appointed to the Illinois Appellate Court, 2nd Judicial District in 1993 and served through 1994. Judge Peccarelli was Chief Judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court, DuPage County, Illinois for four years prior to his appointment to the Appellate Court. He joined the judiciary in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court as an Associate Judge in 1979, was elected Circuit Judge in 1982, and retained as a Circuit Judge in 1988. Prior to 1979 he was a trial attorney for 17 years.
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