The Illinois Supreme Court announced on Friday that retired Justice Milton S. Wharton has been unanimously reappointed as an appellate court justice in the Fifth District.
Wharton is filling the vacancy created by the election of Fifth District Appellate Justice David K. Overstreet to the Supreme Court. The appointment begins Monday (Dec. 7)through Dec. 5, 2022, when the vacancy will be filled by the winner of the November 2022 general election.
Wharton was originally assigned to the Fifth District on Nov. 1, 2019, to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Melissa Chapman.
He is the only African-American to have served at the Fifth District.
Justice Overstreet will administer the oath to Wharton.
“Serving with Justice Wharton over the past year on the Appellate Court, I have witnessed firsthand his wisdom, temperament, and diligence to the law,” Overstreet said. “His experience and accomplishments throughout his remarkable career speak for themselves, and I am very pleased that he has agreed to continue his service to the Fifth District.”
For 35 years, Wharton served in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, first as an associate judge from 1976 to 1988 and then as a circuit judge until his retirement in 2012.
Wharton has served on numerous committees involving the local and state bar associations and previously served as president of the St. Clair County Bar Association. Among his other accomplishments, he is also former 1st Vice President of the East St. Louis Chapter of the NAACP, past board member of the East St. Louis chapter of Habitat for Humanity, past co-chair of the crime study committee of the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council, and recipient of a Special Recognition Award for Access to Justice from the Illinois State Bar Association.
He earned his bachelor of arts from the Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville and his juris doctor from the DePaul University School of Law in 1974.
He is a member of the SIU Edwardsville Hall of Fame and a former Alumnus of the Year.
The Fifth Judicial District is composed of 37 counties in the southernmost part of Illinois, including: Alexander, Bond, Christian, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, Shelby, St. Clair, Wabash, Wayne, Washington, White, Williamson, and Union.