Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman, who is the longest-serving judge in Illinois, announced Monday that she will retire after nearly 50 years on the bench.
Garman’s retirement is effective July 7.
“There is no doubt that I have had the role of a lifetime, a privilege to serve the people of the state of Illinois as a member of the court system at every level,” she wrote in a statement. “But this is the right time for me to step back from my public role and allow someone else to assume this all-important position.”
Garman was born in Aurora, Ill., and grew up in Oswego, Ill., where her parents made education and service a priority.
“I have always considered it a privilege to do my part to help our community and our state,” she wrote.
After graduating valedictorian of her high school class in 1961, Garman earned a B.S. in 1965 at the University of Illinois. She then attended the University of Iowa College of Law, where she began to face “uphill challenges” for being a woman in pursuit of a legal career.
When she decided to become a lawyer, there were no women judges on the Illinois Supreme Court or the Illinois Appellate Court and few women judges serving in state courts.
“In my first-year class at the University of Iowa College of Law, there were only eight women,” Garman wrote. “A professor once told me that he believed I was only there to ‘catch a husband’ and should give up my seat to ‘a more deserving male candidate, who would have a family to support.’”
She went on to graduate with a J.D. alongside her late husband, Gill Garman, in 1968.
“When I graduated in 1968, I had a difficult time getting hired as a lawyer, as there were simply not many women lawyers practicing,” Garman wrote. “I was turned down for a number of open positions, once being told, ‘I don’t know what I would do with you because no one wants to talk to a woman lawyer.’”
“Today, I am proud that these opinions are a relic of the past,” she continued. “I am also pleased that 40 percent of Illinois lawyers are now women, and the number of women in many law classrooms outnumber men.”
Despite her difficulties in finding a job after law school, Garman began practicing law with the Vermilion County Legal Aid Society in Danville, Ill. She later served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Vermilion County and then worked at the Sebat Swanson Banks Lessen & Garman firm. She was appointed Associate Circuit Judge for the Fifth Judicial Circuit in 1974.
Garman describes the moment she learned that she had been appointed judge as historical and life-changing.
“A highlight of my career came on Christmas Eve in 1947,” she wrote. “My husband Gill and I were driving with our two-year-old daughter to Joliet, Illinois, when an alert went out on WGN Radio - a woman had been named judge in downstate Illinois. This was the moment when I learned I had been appointed an associate judge - the first woman judge in my circuit.
“It was a newsworthy event 48 years ago, and a life-changing event for all of us. I was one of eight women judges in the State of Illinois. In 2022, not only am I the longest serving woman judge in Illinois, but also the longest serving judge in the state.”
Garman was later elected circuit judge in Vermilion County in 1986. She became the first female appellate court justice for the Fourth District Appellate Court in 1995, where she served until she was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court in 2001. She was then elected to a ten-year term in 2002 and retained in 2012.
“I am forever grateful that my father was able to see me as a circuit court judge and my mother to witness my service as an appellate court justice,” Garman wrote.
Garman thanked her family for love and support during her career, including her husband, “who was my rock through our entire life together,” and two children, Sara Doyle and Andy Garman.
“I am looking forward to spending more time with them, their spouses, John Doyle and Meredith Garman, and my five wonderful grandchildren - Kathleen and Griffin Doyle, and Samantha, Thomas and Emily Garman,” she wrote. “I am grateful that my sister Lynn Simmons has been a constant source of love and support.”
Garman also expressed gratitude to those who have helped her professionally, including her “incredible and gifted assistant for more than 20 years,” Mary Hurley.
“I am also grateful for the 27 brilliant and dedicated law clerks who have given their time and insight to serve the law, as well as the many people who work in the judicial branch across our state,” Garman wrote. “Finally, I have great appreciation for my marshals Gary Miller and Troy Hogren for providing their friendship and a secure and safe environment over many years.”
Garman also said she has worked with “exceptional” jurists during her lengthy career, calling them “some of the sharpest legal minds and most dedicated public servants in the country, all of wom work diligently to ensure the laws of our state are administered in a fair and unbiased manner.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and the citizens of Illinois,” Garman concluded.