Justice Rita B. Garman and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Robin Schmidt as a Resident Circuit Judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit.
Mrs. Schmidt is being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John Belz in July 2021.
The appointment takes effect on June 8, 2022, and will conclude on December 5, 2022, when the vacancy will be filled by the winner of the November 2022 general election. Mrs. Schmidt is currently running unopposed for that seat.
“Robin’s service as a prosecutor and administrative law judge have prepared her well for this new role serving the community,” Justice Garman said. “I welcome her to the bench and am confident she will be an excellent member of the judiciary.”
Mrs. Schmidt is currently an Assistant State’s Attorney in Sangamon County where she serves as Felony Prosecutor with a focus on domestic violence, and elder abuse and exploitation. Prior to this, she was an administrative hearings representative/prosecutor for the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office and had served from 1999 to 2006 as Chief Administrative Law Judge and Administrative Law Judge with the Illinois Department of Public Health. She has been an elected trustee of the Springfield Park Board since 2013.
“I am very honored and humbled by this appointment and thank Justice Garman and the Illinois Supreme Court,” Schmidt said. “I look forward to serving the people of Sangamon County and the Seventh Judicial Circuit in this new role.”
Mrs. Schmidt earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and her Juris Doctor from the Southern Illinois University School of Law.
Her professional associations include the Illinois State Bar Association, the Central Illinois Women’s Bar Association, and the Sangamon County Bar Association, where she is a past President of the Young Lawyer’s Division.
The Seventh Judicial Circuit encompasses six counties: Jersey, Macoupin, Greene, Scott, Morgan, and Sangamon.