(Above) Illinois Supreme Court Justice David K Overstreet swears in Robert E McIntire as Circuit Judge for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Illinois.
It was a special moment at the Vermilion County Courthouse Friday morning (January 6th), with the Investiture of Robert E McIntire as Circuit Judge for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Illinois. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed McIntire to replace the retired Judge Nancy Fahey. Judge McIntire’s term will run until December 2, 2024; when the position will then be filled by the winner of the November, 2024 General Election.
On two different occasions during his career as an attorney, Judge McIntire had served as Vermilion County Public Defender. One term was from 1986 to 2000, and the other from 2002 to 2010. During his speech following the swearing in, before a crowd of local dignitaries in room 4B of the Courthouse, Judge McIntire joked about some new judges taking only a “nanosecond” to forget that they used to be a lawyer. As he explained to us afterwards during a reception in his honor, that was a funny way of saying this judge will always appreciate his background.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: Kind of a bit of lawyer joke humor, but it’s also something that I think every judge needs to remember. You also have to remember that there’s also litigants and actual people that you’re making decisions for. But yes, you can’t forget where you came from, and that’s how you got here.
Judge McIntire concluded his address after the swearing in by saying, “I’m sure many of you are curious what kind of judge I will be. So am I. Let’s get to work!”
