Chicago City Wire

State Representative Brad Stephens recently congratulated Justice Lisa Holder White on her appointment to the Illinois Supreme Court.

"Justice Lisa Holder White made history today as she became the first black woman to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court," Stephens said in a Facebook post.

White succeeded Justice Rita Garman on the state Supreme Court.

"Being appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court is the honor of a lifetime," Holder White said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "I am humbled by the confidence Justice Rita B. Garman and the entire Court have placed in me. 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 was sworn in on July 7 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, according to a release from the Illinois Courts. Holder White graduated with honors from Lewis University before earning her Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law. She served as an assistant state's attorney in Macon County, then served as an assistant public defender while also practicing privately. In 2001 she became the first black judge on the Sixth Judicial Circuit, working as an assistant judge. She then went on to serve on the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District.

Holder White, a Republican, will serve on the Supreme Court at least until her current term ends in December 2024, according to Ballotpedia.